Topic: How To Invest

Q: I’d appreciate your comments on Canoe EIT. Its big dividend is attractive, but that often signals unidentified risk, I think. Thanks.

Article Excerpt

A: Canoe EIT Income Fund, $10.97, symbol EIT.UN on Toronto (Units outstanding: 123.3 million; Market cap: $1.4 billion; www.canoefinancial.com), changed its name from EnerVest Diversified Income Trust in November 2013. The stock symbol is unchanged. Canoe EIT is a closed-end fund that invests in a portfolio of dividend-paying stocks. Canadian stocks account for 50.3% of its holdings, followed by the U.S. at 43.0%. Other countries comprise 6.7%. The fund’s top individual stock holdings are Tourmaline Oil (7.4%); Bank of Nova Scotia (7.2%); Royal Bank of Canada (5.7%); Anthem Inc. (5.3%); Canadian Natural Resources (4.7%); Bristol-Myers Squibb (4.5%); Chubb Ltd. (4.5%); Berkshire Hathaway (4.3%); UnitedHealth Group (3.9%); and International Flavors & Fragrances (3.8%). More generally, Canoe EIT has 28.5% of its assets in financial stocks, 23.0% in oil and gas firms, and 20.3% in Health Care. Closed-end funds, such as this one, are a lot like conventional, open-end mutual funds. They hold a diversified portfolio of stocks, chosen by a fund manager who gets a..