Brian Madden Smart REIT SRU.UN-T COMMENT May 16, 2018

Likes real estate in general, sector will benefit from lower interest rates. In particular, likes those that are building their businesses; not the ones that are just collecting rents, paying dividends, and going sideways. A good business run by good people. 

REIT space is doing well because of interest rates coming down in Canada. Formula is tried, tested, and true. Good value in the name. Good place to be, as long as you have some diversification. Watch the payout ratio.

He's generally positive on retail across Canada. WMT is its largest tenant, with very good credit; but doesn't pay a lot in terms of "escalators" on rents. Lower growth profile than other opportunities. Last quarter, income growth just 1.3%. Own it for a consistent yield; previously not covered, but now it is. 

With 10-year bond yields popping up, some of the REITs are a bit challenged. This is a Canadian REIT, even though WMT is its anchor tenant. He prefers storage REITs in the US. He worries about the Canadian economy. Yield looks strong at over 7%, seems safe.

Walmart is its major tenant, secure, great cashflow. Investors like the distribution of over mid-7%. Retiring low-cost debt, so earnings will have negative FFO growth. He likes to see a return beyond the yield. See his Top Picks.

Very attractive dividend, especially for large caps. Walmart anchor tenant which is very good for business. Stable business that could only get better. 

Very defensive income profile. Main anchor is WMT, and the flipside of that stability means internal rent growth is quite low. Not a lot of earnings growth. Attractive yield in low 7% range, but high payout ratio. Better retail opportunities elsewhere.

True that main tenant WMT typically doesn't have to pay large annual increases in rent, but it does attract other tenants and that's who pays the rent increases. Entering new leases with WMT as it expands. The very large parking lots can be converted to other uses. Great potential to collect the yield and wait for that potential to be realized.

Main tenant is WMT, which is a blessing and a curse. WMT drives a lot of traffic and attracts a lot of tenants, and it has great credit. But WMT has locked in low rents for a long time, though rents can be raised for the other tenants. Not as much growth as some of the other grocery-anchored REITs.

Very defensive, and so distribution is high. Flipside of being defensive and with high occupancy rates is that growth of 1-1.5% is below inflation. Higher leverage means income doesn't translate to earnings potential. Better opportunities, especially in necessity-based retail.