A Yield to Caution: TD 1ST Preferred Class A Series 1

Article Excerpt

TD 1ST PREFERRED CLASS A SERIES 1 $17 (Toronto symbol TD.PF.A) is a preferred-share issue from TD Bank (symbol TD on Toronto). The TD Series 1 preferreds yield 5.3%. That’s higher than the 4.5% 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. The underlying credit quality of preferred share issuers can be a negative factor in some 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 still trending up, now is a particularly bad time for buying preferred shares. If you want the income of a high yield, you’re better off owning a high-quality, dividend-paying stock. This provides you with…