Tap into the best REITs

Article Excerpt

ISHARES S&P/TSX REIT INDEX ETF $18.80 (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 4.4%. The ETF’s top holdings are RioCan REIT (14.1%), Canadian Apart. REIT (13.1%), H&R REIT (11.5%), Allied REIT (9.3%), SmartCentres REIT (7.2%), Choice Properties (6.1%), Granite REIT (5.2%), Dream Global REIT (4.6%), Cominar (4.0%), and Killam REIT (3.1%) Beyond those top holdings, the fund’s breakdown includes Artis REIT (2.8%), Boardwalk REIT (2.7%), InterRent REIT (2.6%), Northview Apartment REIT (2.6%), Crombie REIT (2.3%), Northwest Healthcare REIT (2.3%), Dream Industrial REIT (2.3%), Dream Office REIT (2.0%), and Summit Industrial REIT (2.0%). 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. …