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
tii2416 (August 29, 2024)
Big gain for RRIF portfolio… Falling rates buoy utilities, REITs, and pipelines… Top Pick: Northland Power Inc…. Gavin Graham updates National Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia… Perpetual preferreds revisited… Shawn Allen updates perpetual preferreds of Canadian Utilities, Fortis, Royal Bank, Great-West Life, Power Financial, Intact Financial, Emera
tii2415 (August 15, 2024)
Signs of life in bond markets… Cash flow from weight loss drugs…Top Pick: Evolve Global Healthcare Enhanced Yield Fund… Gordon Pape updates North West Company
tii2414 (July 25, 2024)
Rate resets revisited… Shawn Allen’s preferred share updates… A tale of two gold funds… The risk/reward dilemma… Richard Croft updates Power Corp., CIBC, Manulife… Gordon Pape updates Enbridge, Fortis
tii2413 (July 11, 2024)
Immigration boosts stock returns… This month’s Top Pick: InterRent REIT… Gordon Pape updates Russel Metals, iShares 0-5 Years TIPS Bond Index ETF, Harvest Brand Leaders Plus Income ETF
tii2412 (June 27, 2024)
A mixed first half… Forget bank deposits, buy the shares… National Bank buys CWB… Gavin Graham updates AltaGas, Ecora Resources, Lundin Mining, Sucor Energy… Top PHN fund reopens
tii2411 (June 13, 2024)
A rock and a hard place… Infrastructure ETFs offer hidden value… Top Picks: iShares Global Infrastructure Index ETF, BMO Global Infrastructure Index ETF… Adam Mayers updates TC Energy… Gordon Pape updates Innergex
tii2410 (May 30, 2024)
US utility stocks surge… Gordon Pape’s Top Pick: Southern Company… Gordon Pape updates Emera Inc., Duke Energy… Copper-bottomed certainty… Gavin Graham’s Top Pick: BHP Billiton… Gavin Graham updates Intact Financial, Leon’s Furniture, Pason Systems
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%.