Buy this ETF for its high yield

Article Excerpt

ISHARES CDN REIT SECTOR INDEX FUND $12.72 (Toronto symbol XRE; buy or sell through a broker) holds the 11 Canadian real estate investment trusts (REITs) in the S&P/TSX Capped REIT Index. The weight of any one REIT is limited to 25% of this index’s value. RioCan REIT is the fund’s largest holding, at 25%, followed by H&R REIT (14.2%), Canadian REIT (10.7%), Boardwalk REIT (8.6%), Calloway REIT (8.4%), Primaris Retail REIT (6.7%), Canadian Apartment Properties REIT (5.8%), Cominar REIT (5.5%), Chartwell Seniors Housing REIT (5.4%), Dundee REIT (4.9%) and Extendicare REIT (3.8%). The fund yields 5.6%. Most REITs, including those held by the iShares CDN REIT Sector Index Fund, are exempt from Ottawa’s new income-trust tax, which takes effect on January 1, 2011. That will help keep the fund’s distributions high. iShares CDN REIT’s expenses are 0.55% of its assets. iShares CDN REIT is a buy. buy…