True North Apartment REIT (TN.UN-T)

He thinks that there is a chance that the deal might fall apart.with Northern Properties. People aren't very happy with it. If the deal doesn't go through, both shares should recover. If the deal goes through , he thinks you might be in for some pain.

(Top Pick Jul 14/14, Up 3.26%) A good yielder. A residential real estate play. Apartments in Ontario, Quebec and Alberta. Out of favour, but another one with a very high distribution. 8.8% distribution is easily sustainable at this point.

Has a very nice portfolio of low income-ish kind of housing, so occupancy is very stable. Because of the stability of income, they do tend to run at a higher payout ratio and a higher debt level than he is comfortable with. In the past, they have shown the ability to turn these apartments around, raise rents, and increase income over time.

He likes the apartment REIT space because of the safety it offers. There are a number of opportunities that he sees in the large cap space that would be a preferred investment to this. This one is very small and highly levered. Great portfolio, but he thinks others have a better balance sheet and a better price.

An apartment REIT. Not one of his favourites because of the market cap size and the amount of debt it has. It does have quite a good portfolio and he likes management’s reputation on that level. Feels there is a bit more value in others. Yield of about 8%.

Quite a small portfolio, diversified portfolio. He does not recommend commercial or office REITs for a couple of years. Likes apartments because people have to live somewhere.

He likes the apartment space at all times. Some of the stocks have had a bit of a run because people like the safety that is in apartment REITs. That is also attracting a lot of institutions into buying apartments as well. That has really driven the price up. This one's payout is a little high, so he hasn't been in this. Yield of about 8.5%.

Apartments are the safest thing you can get. There is always execution risk. It is safe for a long term hold.

The name means Canadian properties, not Northern Canada. Have one of the most attractive balance sheets in the space. It is a very safe REIT. Exposure to the energy market which is still booming.

This is one that a lot of people don’t know about because it is small cap, and hasn’t been on the market for a very long time. Likes the operator who has a lot of his own money in this. Just acquired a big new portfolio of about 150 buildings. Yield of 8.55%. Pay out ratio is 92%.

He is really focused on organic growth versus growth by acquisition. This REIT happens to be externally managed, and he prefers internal management. Making acquisitions is good, because it increases the size and liquidity of the REIT, and hopefully that increases the institutional appeal. However, this one continues to trade at a discount to NAV. The acquisition they recently did, according to his math, was barely accretive, and remains highly leveraged with a high payout ratio. He would prefer something like Pure Multi-Family REIT (RUF.UN-T), which is somewhat similar in yield of about 8%, but it also has US apartment exposure.

Trading at a deep discount to its NAV at about $9. Had a lousy quarter in the winter because it was so cold and everybody was cranking up their heat. As new renters move out, they are able to charge people for the Hydro, so that will really improve. Distribution is completely safe. Yield of 8.7%. This is a real asset and is not one that can be replaced.

Canadian REITs are trading at very attractive prices with very high current yields. In particular, he likes H&R (HR.UN-T) for industrial, RioCan (REI.UN-T) for retail and True North Apartments (TN.UN-T) for residential.

(A Top Pick Feb 26/13. Down 12.54%.) Did a 2 for 5 stock split in March. Not happy with the outcome, but this is a factor of the entire REITs market. Surprised that REITs have not come back with the bond yields shrinking. Has good faith in apartment buildings in Canada. There is a lot of margin of safety in this type of business. When REITs come back into favour, this one will recover.

(Market Call Minute.) There is better quality in the multi residential sector such as Boardwalk (BEI.UN-T) or CAP REIT (CAR.UN-T).