Our unit holders have been with us for a long time because of the reliable source of income they have come to depend on. A majority of them–around 50-60% of them are RSP unit holders. RSPs are a great way to invest in REITs and these types of investments especially when it comes time where your RSPs turn into a RIF. A lot of our clients have come to realize that during the earlier part of the investment, they would earn drip units (reinvestment units). Instead of earning cash, these reinvestment units would go back into the company. And over time, they have accumulated units which they can now convert into cash. Instead of earning units, they earn cash distributions that were p aid to them every quarter.

Now, the investment has become a reliable source of income that most of our clients are looking forward to. This gives us comfort and when we look to buy an asset, we ask ourselves if we can continue to do this sustainably. There is a risk every time. Despite the risk that the distributions are not guaranteed, we’ve been able to still pay out over 6% over the last 7 years every year. What made this possible for us is industrial real estate. We’re also looking for an asset that has a tenant–that asset being the tenant, which allows us to pay consistent distribution over time. Being a popular asset, industrial real estate is in demand, it has an added value in terms of building values and appreciation, factors that contribute to sustainable returns.