Avoid U.S. withholding taxes with RRSPs

FORT CHICAGO ENERGY TRUST $8.68 (Toronto symbol FCE.UN; Shares outstanding: 134.1 million; Market cap: $1.2 billion; SI Rating: Extra Risk) owns 50% of the Alliance Pipeline, which runs 3,000 kilometres from Fort St. John, B.C., to Chicago. Enbridge Inc. owns the other 50% interest. The… Read More

Acquisitions Raise Risk for These Two Trusts

EPCOR POWER, L.P. $17.41 (Toronto symbol EP.UN; Shares outstanding: 53.9 million; Market cap: $938.3 million; SI Rating: Extra risk) owns 20 power plants in Canada and the U.S. with total generating capacity of 1,464 megawatts.

In the three months ended September 30, 2008, revenues fell 10%,… Read More

Two Utility Buys for Income and Growth

FORT CHICAGO ENERGY TRUST $10.89 (Toronto symbol FCE.UN; SI Rating: Extra Risk) owns 50% of the Alliance Pipeline, a 36-inch diameter natural gas pipeline. It extends 3,000 kilometres from Fort St. John in B.C. to Chicago, Illinois. Enbridge Inc. owns the other 50% interest. The… Read More

Four Trust Buys for Income and Growth

BELL ALIANT REGIONAL COMMUNICATIONS INCOME FUND $28.75 (Toronto symbol BA.UN: SI Rating: Above average) is the main provider of telephone services in Atlantic Canada. It also serves rural parts of Ontario and Quebec.

As part of the deal that created Bell Aliant, the fund transferred the… Read More

Here are Two Best Buys in Income Trusts

GREAT LAKES HYDRO INCOME FUND $20.30 (Toronto symbol GLH.UN; SI Rating: Extra Risk) owns 26 hydroelectric generating stations located on seven river systems in four distinct geographic regions: Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia and New England. Its facilities have 1,015 megawatts of generating capacity.

In the three… Read More

Stable Assets, High Yield

FORT CHICAGO ENERGY TRUST $10.82 (Toronto symbol FCE.UN; SI Rating: Extra Risk) owns 50% of the Alliance Pipeline, a 36-inch diameter natural gas pipeline. It extends 3,000 kilometres from Fort St. John in B.C. to Chicago, Illinois. Enbridge Inc. owns the other 50% interest. The… Read More

The 12 Factors We Use to Judge Trusts

In evaluating investments, many investors focus on what we’d call ‘investment outputs’, such as earnings, dividends, cash flow, return on equity, sales growth and so on. These are all important, of course, but you shouldn’t focus on them to the exclusion of what you might… Read More