investment
An investment is an asset or property acquired to generate income or gain appreciation. Appreciation is the increase in the value of an asset over time. It requires the outlay of a resource today, like time, effort, and money, for a greater payoff in the future or for generating a profit.
An investment involves using capital in the present to increase an asset’s value over time.
Investments may include bonds, stocks, real estate, or alternative investments.
Investments can be diversified to reduce risk, though this may reduce the amount of earning potential.
In business contexts, investments are financial; however, consider how some people spend time to make higher incomes in the future (i.e. invest in a college education).
Read More
Close
Every Wednesday, we publish our “Investor Toolkit” series on TSI Network. Whether you’re a new or experienced investor, these weekly updates are designed to give you advice on how to trade stocks and other investment topics that will help you develop a successful approach to investing. Each Investor Toolkit update gives you a fundamental tip and shows you how you can put it into practice right away. Today’s tip: “Practice accounts are advertised as a good way to learn how to invest, but they can encourage investors to develop bad habits.”...
PRIMARIS RETAIL REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $24.14 (Toronto symbol PMZ.UN; Units outstanding: 92.8 million; Market cap: $2.3 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 5.1%; www.primarisreit.com) owns large malls in medium-sized Canadian cities and suburban areas. In all, it owns 33 properties that contain 13.7 million square feet of leasable area.
Primaris has 43% of its properties in Ontario, followed by Alberta, 16%; B.C., 15%; Quebec, 13%; Saskatchewan, 9%; Manitoba, 3% and New Brunswick, 1%. Primaris has a 97.4% occupancy rate.
In the quarter ended June 30, 2012, acquisitions increased Primaris’s revenue by 19.5%, to $98.9 million from $82.8 million a year ago. Cash flow rose 53.3%, to $33.4 million from $21.8 million. Cash flow per unit rose 26.7%, to $0.384 from $0.303, on more units outstanding. The trust yields 5.1%.
...
Primaris has 43% of its properties in Ontario, followed by Alberta, 16%; B.C., 15%; Quebec, 13%; Saskatchewan, 9%; Manitoba, 3% and New Brunswick, 1%. Primaris has a 97.4% occupancy rate.
In the quarter ended June 30, 2012, acquisitions increased Primaris’s revenue by 19.5%, to $98.9 million from $82.8 million a year ago. Cash flow rose 53.3%, to $33.4 million from $21.8 million. Cash flow per unit rose 26.7%, to $0.384 from $0.303, on more units outstanding. The trust yields 5.1%.
...
RIOCAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $27.48 (Toronto symbol REI.UN; Units outstanding: 295.9 million; Market cap: $8.2 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 5.0%; www.riocan.com) is Canada’s largest real estate investment trust (REIT). It has interests in 278 shopping malls in Canada, including 10 under development. These properties contain over 59 million square feet of leasable area.
RioCan recently ended its joint venture with Cedar Shopping Centers in the U.S., so it now owns 100% of all of its 48 malls in that country. RioCan held 80% of this venture, which owned 22 shopping centres in the U.S. Under the deal, RioCan will buy Cedar’s 20% stake in 21 malls, while Cedar will buy RioCan’s 80% stake in another mall.
In the quarter ended June 30, 2012, RioCan’s revenue rose 13.5%, to $269 million from $237 million a year earlier. Cash flow per unit rose 2.8%, to $0.37 from $0.36. The units yield 5.0%.
...
RioCan recently ended its joint venture with Cedar Shopping Centers in the U.S., so it now owns 100% of all of its 48 malls in that country. RioCan held 80% of this venture, which owned 22 shopping centres in the U.S. Under the deal, RioCan will buy Cedar’s 20% stake in 21 malls, while Cedar will buy RioCan’s 80% stake in another mall.
In the quarter ended June 30, 2012, RioCan’s revenue rose 13.5%, to $269 million from $237 million a year earlier. Cash flow per unit rose 2.8%, to $0.37 from $0.36. The units yield 5.0%.
...
Vanguard Canadian Short-Term Bond Index ETF, $24.96, symbol VSB on New York (Shares outstanding: 1.7 million; Market cap: $42.4 million; www.vanguard.com), mirrors the performance of the Barclays Global Aggregate Canadian Government/Credit 1-5 Year Float Adjusted Bond Index. This index consists of a wide range of investment-grade federal, provincial, municipal and corporate bonds with between one- and five-year terms to maturity. The fund holds 184 bonds with an average term to maturity of 3.0 years. The bonds in the index are 72.9% government and 27.1% corporate. The fund’s MER is 0.15%. The Vanguard Canadian Short-Term Bond Index ETF yields 2.8%. However, this high yield is due to the fact that some of the fund’s bonds pay above-market interest rates. But as a result they trade above their face value. When these bonds mature, holders will only get the bonds’ face value, which means the portfolio will incur predictable capital losses. These losses will offset some of the appeal of the above-market yields....
iShares S&P/TSX Capped Financials Index Fund, $22.71, symbol XFN on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 35.6 million; Market cap: $808.5 million; ca.ishares.com), aims to mirror the performance of the S&P/TSX Capped Financials Index, which is made up of the largest-capitalization financial-sector stocks on the Toronto exchange. The fund currently holds 25 stocks. The weight of any one company is capped at 25% of the index’s market capitalization, regardless of how big the stock is in relation to the index. The fund’s MER is 0.55%. It yields 3.5%. The iShares S&P/TSX Capped Financials Index Fund’s top holdings are Royal Bank at 20.5%; TD Bank, 18.7%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 15.6%; Bank of Montreal, 9.5%; CIBC, 7.8%; Manulife Financial, 5.5%; Sun Life Financial, 3.6%; National Bank, 3.1%; Power Corporation, 2.1%; and Intact Financial, 2.0%....
From time to time, companies set up one or more of their divisions or subsidiaries as an independent company, then hand out shares in that company to their own shareholders, as a special dividend or “spinoff”. Many investors seem to view spinoffs as a nuisance, because they leave you with a tiny holding in a stock you didn’t choose and that you know little about. They may dump them as soon as they get a chance. On the other hand, a number of studies have shown that after an initial adjustment period of a few months, spinoffs tend to outperform groups of comparable stocks for several years....
DUNDEE CORP. $24 (Toronto symbol DC.A; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 54.7 million; Market cap: $1.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.8; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.dundeecorp.com) is a holding company with investments in wealth management, real estate, resources and agriculture.
In the quarter ended June 30, 2012, Dundee lost $16.8 million, or $0.34 a share. That’s because it wrote down the value of securities it holds by $34.0 million. A year earlier, it earned $21.0 million, or $0.28 a share, partly due to $1.9 million in investment gains. Revenue jumped 40.7%, to $171.2 million from $121.7 million.
Dundee is still a buy.
...
In the quarter ended June 30, 2012, Dundee lost $16.8 million, or $0.34 a share. That’s because it wrote down the value of securities it holds by $34.0 million. A year earlier, it earned $21.0 million, or $0.28 a share, partly due to $1.9 million in investment gains. Revenue jumped 40.7%, to $171.2 million from $121.7 million.
Dundee is still a buy.
...
EMERA INC. $35 (Toronto symbol EMA; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 123.9 million; Market cap: $4.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.0; Dividend yield: 4.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.emera.com) owns Nova Scotia Power, which is that province’s main electricity supplier. It also owns electrical utilities in the U.S. and the Caribbean.
In the three months ended June 30, 2012, revenue fell 0.1%, to $501.3 million from $501.7 million a year earlier. Two large industrial customers in Nova Scotia closed their operations, which cut electricity sales in the province by 19.8%. That offset the positive impact of higher power rates.
However, earnings jumped 44.7%, to $46.3 million from $32.0 million a year earlier. Because it had slightly more shares outstanding, earnings per share rose 42.3%, to $0.37 from $0.26. If you exclude a gain on an investment, Emera would have earned $0.28 a share in the latest quarter.
...
In the three months ended June 30, 2012, revenue fell 0.1%, to $501.3 million from $501.7 million a year earlier. Two large industrial customers in Nova Scotia closed their operations, which cut electricity sales in the province by 19.8%. That offset the positive impact of higher power rates.
However, earnings jumped 44.7%, to $46.3 million from $32.0 million a year earlier. Because it had slightly more shares outstanding, earnings per share rose 42.3%, to $0.37 from $0.26. If you exclude a gain on an investment, Emera would have earned $0.28 a share in the latest quarter.
...
RIOCAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $27 (Toronto symbol REI.UN; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Units outstanding: 291.3 million; Market cap: $7.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 5.0; Dividend yield: 5.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.riocan.com) is Canada’s largest real estate investment trust (REIT).
RioCan specializes in big-box-style outdoor malls. It owns 278 shopping centres in Canada, 10 of which are under development. Most are in suburban areas, where land is generally cheaper than in towns and cities. The trust often leaves room at its malls for expanding existing stores and building new ones. This makes itseasy to add more tenants.
In the past few years, RioCan has expanded in the U.S., where it now owns or invests in 48 malls, 22 of which the trust operates through a joint venture with Cedar Shopping Centers, Inc. (New York symbol CDR). RioCan owns 80% of this joint venture and 14.3% of Cedar.
...
RioCan specializes in big-box-style outdoor malls. It owns 278 shopping centres in Canada, 10 of which are under development. Most are in suburban areas, where land is generally cheaper than in towns and cities. The trust often leaves room at its malls for expanding existing stores and building new ones. This makes itseasy to add more tenants.
In the past few years, RioCan has expanded in the U.S., where it now owns or invests in 48 malls, 22 of which the trust operates through a joint venture with Cedar Shopping Centers, Inc. (New York symbol CDR). RioCan owns 80% of this joint venture and 14.3% of Cedar.
...
Pat McKeough responds to many personal questions about stock investing and other investment topics from the members of his Inner Circle. Every week, his comments and recommendations on the most intriguing questions of the past week go out to all Inner Circle members. And each week, we offer you one of the highlights from these Q&A sessions. While we reserve our buy-hold-sell advice for Inner Circle members, these excerpts provide a great deal of information and analysis on stocks we’ve covered for the Inner Circle.
This week, we had a question from an Inner Circle on a U.S. company that operates a group of bakery-cafes. This stock has seen its share price rise substantially in the past year and Pat examines whether it can continue to maintain its strong niche in the face of intense competition among restaurant chains....
This week, we had a question from an Inner Circle on a U.S. company that operates a group of bakery-cafes. This stock has seen its share price rise substantially in the past year and Pat examines whether it can continue to maintain its strong niche in the face of intense competition among restaurant chains....