REIT yields will stay high

Article Excerpt

ISHARES CDN REIT SECTOR INDEX FUND $14.43 (Toronto symbol XRE; buy or sell through a broker; ca.ishares.com) holds the 13 Canadian real estate investment trusts (REITs) in the S&P/TSX Capped REIT Index. The weight of any one REIT is limited to 25% of iShares CDN REIT Sector Index Fund’s value. iShares CDN REIT’s expenses are just 0.55% of its assets. RioCan REIT is the fund’s largest holding, at 24.5%, followed by H&R REIT (12.4%), Canadian REIT (8.9%), Calloway REIT (8.4%), Boardwalk REIT (7.3%), Primaris Retail REIT (5.8%), Canadian Apartment Properties REIT (5.8%), Dundee REIT (5.4%), Chartwell Seniors Housing REIT (5.0%), Cominar REIT (4.7%), Artis REIT (4.2%), Allied Properties REIT (3.8%) and Extendicare REIT (3.3%). The fund yields 5.1%. Most REITs, including those held by the iShares CDN REIT Sector Index Fund, are exempt from Ottawa’s income-trust tax, which took effect on January 1, 2011. That will help keep their distributions high. iShares CDN REIT is a buy. buy…