Ironically, the Canadian edge is even greater after taking into consideration the gains former trusts have realized after formally converting into corporations. Read More

Can well-run trusts and high-dividend-paying corporations extend these gains, or are we headed for an inevitable relapse and retracement along the lines of late 2008? Read More

No matter what happens in Canadian politics, however, investor returns will still depend mainly on the health of underlying businesses. The good news: The future still looks bright for well-run Canadian trusts and high-yielding corporations. Read More

Canadian Edge Portfolio picks are up an average of 34.3 percent thus far in 2009. That’s against a 17 percent gain for the broad-based S&P/Toronto Stock Exchange Income Trust Index. Read More

Market reaction to no-cut conversions has been highly favorable, particularly compared to conversions with dividend cuts. I detect two clear reasons for this. One is investors like dividends. And while trusts that have cut during their conversions have eventually attracted more growth-focused investors, the cuts have initially triggered a disruptive mass exodus from their shares. Read More

The universe of Canadian trusts and high-yielding corporations is still on the bargain counter. Despite some herculean market moves, the bar of expectations is still very low, even for businesses that, quarter after quarter, are proving more than a match for still-abysmal overall conditions. Read More

After a two-year meltdown of global markets--including Canada’s--this reversal of fortune is welcome indeed. The question is whether the rally has staying power or is simply one of the inevitable bounces that occur on the way to lower lows. Read More

What we’re seeing now may mark a real turning point. Or it might be simply a fleeting rally before another major down leg. But there’s one strong argument that we’ve seen the worst for trusts and companies whose underlying businesses have stayed strong: They’ve been noticeably holding their own in the stock market since late October. Read More

Global markets are, of course, responding to what seems to be a bottomless pit of bad economic news. Canada’s fourth quarter gross domestic product (GDP) shrank at an annual rate of 3.4 percent, its worst showing since 1991. And that was a dramatic outperformance relative to the US (a 6.4 percent annualized contraction), European Union (5.9 percent) and Japan (12.7 percent). Read More

A dozen oil and gas producer trusts cut distributions last month. Of Canadian Edge Portfolio producers, only Peyto Energy Trust (TSX: PEY-U, OTC: PEYUF) and Vermilion Energy Trust (TSX: VET-U, OTC: VETMF) have the same monthly payouts as last summer. Read More