Designed to help Canadians find investment solutions to the two big problems they’re facing: low interest rates and volatile stock markets, the Income Investor was chosen by The Globe and Mail as one of the top five investment newsletters in Canada. If you need income from investments with minimal risk, the Income Investor covers all types of income securities including income trusts, preferred shares, high-yielding common stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, and GICs. Any security that generates cash flow is fair game for our experts.
Edited and published by Gordon Pape. Editor: Mike Keerma.
With Gavin Graham, Shawn Allen, Richard Croft, & David Kitai.
Recent Issues
tii2319 (October 12, 2023)
Covered call bonds… Gordon Pape updates Fortis, North West Company, Emera… Gavin Graham updates Unilever… Your Questions: Transferring funds; Rate resets
tii2318 (September 28, 2023)
It’s the cash that counts… The end of rising rates, or just a pause?… Top Pick: Boardwalk REIT… Gavin Graham updates Diageo, Fiera Capital, Richards Packaging Income Fund… Gordon Pape updates NorthWest Healthcare Properties REIT… Your Questions: DXQ taxation
tii2317 (September 14, 2023)
Enbridge’s big gamble… Gordon Pape update Russel Metals, B&G Foods, Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure PLC… Your Questions: What to do with losing ETFs
tii2316 (August 31, 2023)
Rate hikes hit RRIF portfolio… An options alternative to single mortgages… Richard Croft updates iShares Core Canadian Short-Term Bond Index ETF, BMO Short Corporate Bond Index ETF, Manulife Financial… Gordon Pape updates Keyera Corp., Gibson Energy, Pembina Pipeline, Proctor & Gamble
tii2315 (August 17, 2023)
How safe are energy dividends?… Gordon Pape updates BCE, Freehold Royalties, Algonquin Power & Utilities, Macquarie Infrastructure… Members’ Corner: Registered plans
tii2314 (July 27, 2023)
The worst place for your money… Buy perpetual preferred shares now… Good news for REITs: rate cycle ending… Gavin Graham updates Allied Properties, Primaris REIT… Gordon Pape updates Firm Capital, Mullen Group, The North West Company, Innergex… Your Questions: What about annuities?
tii2313 (July 13, 2023)
NorthWest looks oversold… Gordon Pape updates TransAlta Renewables, Algonquin Power & Utilities, Canoe EIT Income Fund… Gavin Graham updates AltaGas… Your Questions: Variable income securities
Recent Updates
Brookfield Renewable Partners (TSX: BEP.UN, NYSE: BEP)
Brookfield operates one of the world’s largest publicly traded platforms for renewable power and decarbonization solutions. It operates over 40 gigawatts of total installed capacity including hydroelectric, wind, solar, and utility-scale battery energy storage systems, alongside sustainable solutions like nuclear services (via Westinghouse Electric) and green fuels.
Hold
Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (TSX: BIP.UN, NYSE: BIP)
This is a Bermuda-based limited partnership that owns infrastructure assets in North and South America, Europe, and Australia. These include railways, ports, transmission lines, toll roads, utilities, and more.
Hold
RBC Canadian Bank Yield Index ETF (TSX: RBNK)
You may wonder how an ETF that invests only in six banks can outperform the Financials sub-index and funds like the BMO Equal Weight Banks Index ETF (TSX: ZEB). The answer is asset mix.
Whereas the BMO fund equally divides its holdings among the Big Six banks, this one makes bets on which will perform best. At present, Bank of Montreal is the top position at 26.1% followed closely by Scotiabank at 25.1%. They’ve both done well, with BMO ahead about 43% year to date while Scotiabank has added about 24%.
Buy
Power Corporation of Canada (TSX: POW, OTC: PWCDF)
Power Corp. is a diversified financial holding company with controlling stakes in Great-West Lifeco and IGM Financial. It also owns two alternative‑asset platforms: Sagard and Power Sustainable.
This suite of companies allows POW to combine stable earnings from insurance and wealth management augmented by exposure to private markets and sustainable infrastructure.
Hold
iShares S&P/TSX Capped REIT Index Fund (TSX: XRE)
This fund invests in all classes of REITs, including residential, industrial, retail, and office. It has 14 holdings, the largest of which is RioCan REIT, which accounts for 13.14% of total assets. Retail REITs form about 51% of the portfolio while exposure to office REITs, which were hit hard during the pandemic, is very low at 3.33%.
The REIT has not delivered anything in the way of capital gains since it was recommended 15 years ago, which says a lot about the overall state of Canada’s real estate business. But it has delivered steady cash flow to investors and has significantly outperformed the overall sector year-to-date with a gain of just over 15%.