Income Trusts

Rockslinger

Banned
Apr 24, 2005
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Does anybody know how INCOME TRUSTS are doing? They were really popular because of their high yield but took a hit when Ottawa eliminated their tax-free status and then became popular again when commodity prices soared but now commodity prices have crashed and burned.
 
It would depend on what industry the income trust is in. The markets have pushed almost everything down. Nevertheless, I would think that non-cyclical dividend paying income trusts, like utilities, would still be in demand.

Long-term, I suspect income trusts are a bad investment. I think they have governance issues. Every industry has cycles and requires reinvestment. Eventually, someone will choose to make consistent divident payments instead of reinvesting in the core asset. The income trust will gain in value, because the payments are being made, but the core asset will actually be depleting because the reinvestments are not being made. Eventually, the income trust will collapse in a sudden scandal, and the late investors will be left with worthless stock.