riocan

Dear safe-money investor:


We’ve selected our top picks for 2019—one stock, one real estate investment trust (REIT) and one exchange-traded fund (ETF). Each offers an attractive combination of growth prospects and a reasonable price.


We feel that investors profit the most by holding a well-balanced portfolio of high-quality stocks and REITs—like our first two recommendations....

RIOCAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $25 (Toronto symbol REI.UN; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Units outstanding: 306.8 million; Market cap: $7.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 6.4; Dividend yield: 5.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.riocan.com) owns all or part of 250 shopping centres and other properties across Canada....

RIOCAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $24.77 (Toronto symbol REI.UN; Units o/s: 306.8 million; Market cap: $7.5 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 5.8%; www.riocan.com) is preparing to lease the units of its first rental development, eCentral, in midtown Toronto before the end of this year....

CHOICE PROPERTIES REIT $12.22 (Toronto symbol CHP.UN; Units outstanding: 277.2 million; Market cap: $8.3 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 6.1%; www.enbridge.com) acquired Canadian REIT (old symbol REF.UN), a recommendation of Canadian Wealth Advisor, on May 7, 2018.


The merger created Canada’s biggest real estate investment trust: 751 properties for a total of 66.8 million square feet of retail, industrial and office space.


In the quarter ended September 30, 2018, the REIT’s revenue jumped 52.5%, to $315.6 million from $207.0 million a year earlier....

CHOICE PROPERTIES REIT $12 (Toronto symbol CHP.UN; Cyclical-Growth Payer Portfolio; Manufacturing & Industry sector; Units o/s: 277.2 million; Market cap: $3.3 billion; Divd. yield: 6.2%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.choicereit.ca) acquired Canadian REIT (old symbol REF.UN) on May 7, 2018....

RIOCAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $24.48 (Toronto symbol REI.UN; Units outstanding: 310.5 million; Market cap: $7.5 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 5.9%; www.riocan.com) owns all or part of 250 shopping centres and other properties across Canada....

ALLIED PROPERTIES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $42 (Toronto symbol AP.UN; Cyclical-Growth Payer Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Units o/s: 103.8 million; Market cap: $4.4 billion; Dividend yield: 3.7%; Divd. Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.alliedreit.com) owns 147 office buildings, mainly in major Canadian cities.


With the January 2018 payment, Allied raised its monthly distribution by 2.0%....

The best real estate investment trusts (REITs) have good management and balance sheets strong enough to weather an economic downturn. They also have high-quality tenants. The best ones still do well despite economic slowdowns, and they have also taken advantage of low interest rates to refinance long-term mortgages on favourable terms.


Here are two ETFs focused on REITs: One invests in Canada; the other in the U.S....

ISHARES CDN REIT INDEX FUND $17.70 (Toronto symbol XRE; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) holds all 15 Canadian real estate investment trusts in the S&P/TSX REIT Index.


The fund has an MER of 0.61%, and it currently yields a high 4.7%.


The ETF’s top ten holdings are RioCan REIT (16.7% of holdings), Canadian Apartment Prop....

RIOCAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $25.13 (Toronto symbol REI.UN; Units outstanding: 311.9 million; Market cap: $7.8 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 5.7%; www.riocan.com) continues to make progress with its plan to focus on six major urban markets: Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.


RioCan expects those six cities will account for 90% of its rental revenue when it completes the plan in 2019.


Meanwhile, the REIT also aims to profit from the upcoming legalization of recreational cannabis on October 17, 2018....