A few holdings cut its appeal

Article Excerpt

ISHARES CDN REIT INDEX FUND $16.61 (Toronto symbol XRE; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) holds all 15 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 4.8%. The ETF’s top ten holdings are RioCan REIT (16.5% of holdings), H&R REIT (13.2%), Canadian Apartment Properties REIT (11.3%), Allied Properties REIT (8.4%), Canadian REIT (8.2%), SmartCentres REIT (7.5%), Dream Global REIT (5.3%), Granite REIT (5.2%), Cominar REIT (4.8%), and Artis REIT (4.4%). Beyond those top holdings, the fund’s breakdown includes Boardwalk REIT (3.8%), Dream Office REIT (3.6%), Northview Apartment REIT (2.7%), Killam Apartment REIT (2.5%), and Crombie REIT (2.4%). We like some of the 15 REITs this ETF holds, but there are some that we don’t currently view as buys. iShares CDN REIT Sector Index Fund is a hold. hold…