Buy the best TSX REITs

Article Excerpt

ISHARES S&P/TSX REIT INDEX ETF $19.77 (Toronto symbol XRE; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) holds all 19 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 4.1%. The ETF’s top holdings are Canadian Apart. REIT (14.1%), RioCan REIT (13.2%), H&R REIT (10.7%), Allied REIT (10.0%), SmartCentres REIT (6.6%), Choice Properties (5.9%), Granite REIT (5.2%), Dream Global REIT (4.6%), Cominar (3.8%), and InterRent REIT (2.6%). Beyond those top holdings, the fund’s breakdown includes Killam REIT (3.1%), Northview Apartment REIT (2.9%), Boardwalk REIT (2.7%), Artis REIT (2.8%), Northwest Healthcare REIT (2.3%), Crombie REIT (2.3%), Dream Industrial (2.3%), Dream Office REIT (2.2%), and Summit Industrial REIT (2.1%). We like some of the 19 REITs this ETF holds, but there are others we don’t view as buys. iShares S&P/TSX REIT ETF is a hold. hold…