Topic: How To Invest

Q: Pat: Can I have your opinion on Richards Packaging, please. I am a long-term conservative investor, looking for safe stocks, some growth and good dividends. Thank you.

Article Excerpt

A: Richards Packaging Income Fund, $30.00, symbol RPI.UN on Toronto (Units outstanding: 10.9 million; Market cap: $329.0 million; www.richardspackaging.com), is a full-service packaging distributor to small- and medium-sized North American businesses. The fund first sold shares to the public at $10 a unit, and began trading on Toronto in April 2004. In 2011, Richards decided to remain an income trust despite Ottawa’s move to drop tax breaks for businesses structured that way. Richards is the largest packaging distributor in Canada and the third largest in North America. The company distributes more than 5,000 different types of cardboard, glass, and plastic packaging containers such as bottles, caps, trays and food cups. These products are sourced from over 600 suppliers and from its own manufacturing facilities. The fund’s customers include over 14,000 regional food, beverage, cosmetic, chemical, and pharmaceutical companies throughout North America. About 48% of its sales come from Canada and 52% from the U.S. Richards is the only North American distributor of rigid-plastic packaging…