Topic: How To Invest

Hello Pat: Could I have your opinion please on the iShares S&P/TSX Canadian Dividend Aristocrats Index Fund ETF? I am basically a dividend investor. Thank you.

Article Excerpt

iShares S&P/TSX Canadian Dividend Aristocrats Index Fund ETF, $23.47, symbol CDZ on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 36.9 million; Market cap: $866.0 million; ca.ishares.com), seeks to replicate the performance of the S&P/TSX Canadian Dividend Aristocrats Index. The ETF’s MER is 0.60%, and it yields 3.2%. The S&P/TSX Canadian Dividend Aristocrats Index only includes stocks or trusts that have increased their dividends every year for five years—although it has now changed that to include stocks or trusts that have maintained the same dividend for a maximum of two consecutive years within that five-year period. That means the index excludes a number of sound companies that pay dividends but haven’t increased them every year, including three of Canada’s big-five banks. The ETFs top 10 holdings are AGF Management, 6.4%; Atlantic Power, 4.6%; AG Growth International, 3.8%; Reitmans (Canada), 3.2%; Transcontinental Inc., 3.1%; Exchange Income Corp., 2.8%; IGM Financial, 2.6%; Enbridge Income Fund Holdings, 2.6%; Bird Construction, 2.3%; and Keyera Corp., 2.3%. As well, the index caps…