Access Canada’s top REITs

Article Excerpt

ISHARES CDN REIT SECTOR INDEX FUND $16.23 (Toronto symbol XRE; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) holds all 16 Canadian real estate investment trusts in the S&P/TSX REIT Index. The fund’s MER is 0.61%, and it yields 4.5%. The ETF’s top ten holdings are RioCan REIT at 17.4%, H&R REIT (13.5%), Canadian Apartment Properties REIT (10.2%), Allied Properties REIT (8.4%), Canadian REIT (7.5%), SmartCentres REIT (7.4%), Cominar REIT (5.3%), Granite REIT (5.1%), Artis REIT (4.6%) and Pure Industrial REIT (4.5%). After that, the fund’s breakdown includes Dream Global REIT (4.3%), followed by Dream Office REIT (3.3%), Boardwalk REIT (3.2%), Crombie REIT (2.6%) and Northview Apartment REIT (2.3%). We like some of the REITs this ETF holds, but there are some among the 15 we don’t see as buys. iShares CDN REIT Sector Index Fund is a hold. hold…