A yield to caution

Article Excerpt

TD 1ST PREFERRED CLASS A SERIES 1 $23.05 (Toronto symbol TD.PF.A) is a preferred share issue from TD Bank (symbol TD on Toronto). The TD Series 1 preferreds yield 4.0%. That’s higher than the 3.5% offered by the bank’s common shares. Note, though, that preferred shares behave more like long-term fixed-income instruments than short-term instruments. That means that prices of pref shares are inversely correlated to interest rates. Simply put, this means that when rates go up, prices of fixed-return investments—including pref shares—tend to drop. We like TD Bank, but the underlying credit quality of preferred-share issuers can be a negative factor in some other cases; for example, when the issuer’s share price is falling. So unlike, say, GICs, which don’t fall in value, the prices of preferreds can decline along with stock markets. All in all, with rates trending up, now is a particularly bad time for buying preferred shares. If you want income, you’re better off owning a high-quality, dividend-paying stock. This can provide you…