These REITs deserve a spot in your portfolio

Article Excerpt

Supermarket operator Loblaw is still Choice Properties’ largest tenant. While that exposure adds risk to your investment, it also adds stability: Loblaw and Choice share a parent company, George Weston. Still, the REIT’s May 2018 purchase of Canadian REIT has helped it diversify its portfolio, and further protect your investment. Allied Properties is another REIT we recommend to you. It focuses on redeveloping older office towers in big cities; its own recent acquisitions are set to bolster the high distributions that investors already receive. CHOICE PROPERTIES REIT, $14, remains a top pick for 2019. Choice (Toronto symbol CHP.UN; Cyclical-Growth Payer Portfolio; Manufacturing & Industry sector; Units o/s: 699.6 million; Market cap: $9.8 billion; Dividend yield: 5.3%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.choicereit.ca) owns 727 retail, industrial and office properties, including 20 under development. Its occupancy rate is a high 97.7%. Choice Properties pays monthly distributions of $0.061667 a unit. The annual rate of $0.74 yields 5.3%. Revenue in the most-recent quarter rose 11.9%, to $340.5 million from $304.3…