Investment capsule: equities; mutual funds; fixed income; mortgage rates

Money Digest, June, 1998

EQUITIES

The common stocks mentioned here trade on Canadian stock exchanges and pay dividends that are above 3.5%. If the stock is of a qualifying Canadian corporation, the dividend is equal to an interest yield of 4.375% or above.

STOCKS THAT PAY HIGHER DIVIDENDS

STOCK                         SYMBOL  PRICE  DIVIDEND  YIELD
                                          $         $      %


BC Gas                           BCG  31.60      1.12    3.5
Centrefund Rlty                  CFE  20.70      0.84    3.9
Dofasco                          DFS  25.75      1.00    4.1
Fortis                           FTS  46.50      1.80    3.9
Nova Scotia Power                NSI  19.40      0.82    4.2
TransAlta Utilities               TA  23.05      0.98    4.1
TransCanada Pipelines (TCPL)     TRP  32.65      1.24    3.8
Westcoast Energy                   W  33.40      1.24    3.7

Stocks with dividend reinvestment plans (DRIPs for short) will allow you to reinvest your dividends automatically into the company's shares. This will save you commission. Some companies will even offer a discount if you use DRIPs. The companies listed here have an additional feature--they will also let you buy additional shares in the company with no commission. This feature is called the Share Purchase Plan (SPP).

The stocks listed in the right panel have both DRIPs as well as SPPs.

STOCKS WITH DIVIDEND REINVESTMENT PLANS (DRIPs)

STOCK                         SYMBOL  RECENT PRICE $  DIVIDEND $  YIELD %


Alberta Energy                   AEC           33.80        0.40      1.2

Alcan (1)                         AL           45.60        0.60      1.9

BC Gas                           BCG           31.60        1.12      3.5

BC Telecom                       BCT           55.50        1.40      2.5

BCE Inc.                         BCE           64.85        1.36      2.1

Bank of Montreal                 BMO           77.25        1.76      2.3

Bank of Nova Scotia              BNS           38.35        0.80      2.1

Bruncor                          BRR           30.00        0.65      2.2

Cdn. Imperial Bank (CIBC)         CM           49.85        1.20      2.4

Canadian Pacific                  CP           43.20        0.48      1.1

Chrysler                           C           75.25        1.60      3.1

Dofasco                          DFS           25.75        1.00      3.9

Echo Bay Mines                   ECO            4.50        0.08      2.5

Fortis                           FTS           46.50        1.80      3.9

IPL Energy                       IPL           63.50        2.18      3.4

Imasco                           IMS           27.40        0.68      2.5

Imperial Oil                     IMO           26.55        0.73      2.8

Inco (1)                           N           22.60        0.10      0.6

Island Tel                        IT           52.00        1.44      2.8

MDS Health `A' (B)             MHG.A           29.85        0.10      0.3

MacMillan Bloedel                 MB           18.65        0.20      1.1

Maritime T&T                     MTT           39.50        1.32      3.3

Molson                         MOL.A           28.00        0.72      2.6

Moore (1)                        MCL           22.95        0.20      1.3

National Bank                     NA           29.40        0.68      2.3

NewTel Ent                       NEL           45.00        1.36      3.0

NorTel (1)                       NTL           93.40        0.30      0.5

Nova                             NVA           16.65        0.40      2.4

Nova Scotia Power                NSI           19.40        0.82      4.2

Suncor Energy Inc.                SU           52.75        0.68      1.3

Telus                              T           39.50        0.92      2.3

TransAlta Utilities               TA           23.05        0.98      4.1

TransCanada Pipelines (TCPL)     TRP           32.65        1.24      3.8

Westcoast Energy                   W           33.40        1.24      3.7

(1) Stocks whose dividends are paid in U.S. dollars.

MUTUAL FUNDS

Funds listed in this section are open-end mutual funds. They have been selected on the basis of their previous 12-month performance. Mutual funds should be judged on their long-term, and consistent performance. The listing here is mainly intended to point out the current trends. You may want to compare your fund's performance with the top-performing funds. But do not switch in a hurry.

Equity Funds include funds whose objectives are long-term capital appreciation or a combination of capital appreciation and income. Lists of both RRSP and non-RRSP-eligible funds are given here.

Real Estate Funds invest primarily in commercial real estate.

Bond and Mortgage Funds invest in bonds, mortgages, or both. Many of these funds are RRSP-eligible.

Balanced Funds emphasize long-term goals. Traditionally, they invest 50% of their assets in bonds and 50% in Canadian equities

Preferred Dividend Funds are designed to provide high after-tax income. They invest mostly in high-yielding shares of Canadian corporations