The February, 2016, edition of PrefLetter has been released and is now available for purchase as the “Previous edition”. Those who subscribe for a full year receive the “Previous edition” as a bonus.
The regular appendices reporting on DeemedRetractibles and FixedResets are included.
PrefLetter may now be purchased by all Canadian residents.
Until further notice, the “Previous Edition” will refer to the February, 2016, issue, while the “Next Edition” will be the March, 2016, issue, scheduled to be prepared as of the close March 11 and eMailed to subscribers prior to market-opening on March 14.
PrefLetter is intended for long term investors seeking issues to buy-and-hold. At least one recommendation from each of the major preferred share sectors is included and discussed.
Note: My verbosity has grown by such leaps and bounds that it is no longer possible to deliver PrefLetter as an eMail attachment – it’s just too big for my software! Instead, I have sent passwords – click on the link in your eMail and your copy will download.
Note: The PrefLetter website has a Subscriber Download Feature. If you have not received your copy, try it!
Note: PrefLetter eMails sometimes runs afoul of spam filters. If you have not received your copy within fifteen minutes of a release notice such as this one, please double check your (company’s) spam filtering policy and your spam repository – there are some hints in the post Sympatico Spam Filters out of Control. If it’s not there, contact me and I’ll get you your copy … somehow!
Note: There have been scattered complaints regarding inability to open PrefLetter in Acrobat Reader, despite my practice of including myself on the subscription list and immediately checking the copy received. I have had the occasional difficulty reading US Government documents, which I was able to resolve by downloading and installing the latest version of Adobe Reader. Also, note that so far, all complaints have been from users of Yahoo Mail. Try saving it to disk first, before attempting to open it.
Note: There have been other scattered complaints that double-clicking on the links in the “PrefLetter Download” email results in a message that the password has already been used. I have been able to reproduce this problem in my own eMail software … the problem is double-clicking. What happens is the first click opens the link and the second click finds that the password has already been used and refuses to work properly. So the moral of the story is: Don’t be a dick! Single Click!
Note: Assiduous Reader DG informs me:
In case you have any other Apple users: you need to install a free App from the apple store called “FileApp”. It comes with it’s own tutorial and allows you to download and save a PDF file.
However, Assiduous Reader Adrian informs me in the comments to the January 2015 release:
Some nitpicking for DG:
FileApp costs $1.19 in the Apple Store.
But Adrian2 now advises:
Well, as of now, FileApp is free (again?).
So cross your fingers!
Again, please excuse my language, but what is the difference between BAM.PR.E and BAM.PR.G?
I meant ignorance, not language.
BAM.PR.G is a FixedFloater; it pays a dividend that is fixed by the company every five years, with the only restriction being that this rate cannot be less than 80% of the five-year Canada yield … which is pretty skinny nowadays!
BAM.PR.E is a RatchetRate; it pays a dividend based on a percentage, X, of prime, reset quarterly. “X” is between 50% and 100%, inclusive, and can vary quarterly based on the trading price of the issue relative to par. The rate has been 100% of prime for a LONG time.
The issues are interconvertible every Exchange Date; the next Exchange Date is 2016-11-1. This fact keeps the company honest in terms of setting the BAM.PR.G rate; generally this rate will be set such that the company can hedge its payments with interest-rate swaps. But that’s not guaranteed!
For more discussion see my publication Preferred Pairs.
Thanks yet again, James.
“The issues are interconvertible every Exchange Date; the next Exchange Date is 2016-11-1. This fact keeps the company honest in terms of setting the BAM.PR.G rate”
Does that mean BAM.PR.G should reset at an equivalent of 100% prime in November?
Is the March PrefLetter released yet?