Hold this top REIT ETF

Article Excerpt

ISHARES S&P/TSX REIT INDEX ETF, $19.63, is a hold. The ETF (Toronto symbol XRE; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) lets investors tap all 19 Canadian real estate investment trusts in the S&P/TSX REIT Index. Investors pay an MER of 0.61%, and the REIT fund gives you a 2.8% yield. The ETF’s top holdings are Canadian Apart. REIT (10.4%), RioCan REIT (10.0%), Granite REIT (9.5%), Allied REIT (7.8%), H&R REIT (6.7%), First Capital Reality REIT (5.8%), SmartCentres REIT (5.7%), Choice (5.7%), Dream Industrial (5.4%) and Summit Industrial REIT (5.1%) Beyond those top holdings, investors also have exposure to Northwest Healthcare REIT (3.7%), Killam REIT (3.6%), InterRent (3.0%), Boardwalk REIT (2.8%), Cominar REIT (2.8%), Crombie REIT (2.5%), CT REIT (1.8%). Artis REIT (1.6%), and Dream Office REIT (1.3%). 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 is a hold. hold…