Category: Issue Comments

Cenovus Energy Inc. has announced:

it will exercise its right to redeem its 2.577% Series 1 Preferred Shares (the “Series 1 Preferred Shares”) and its 3.948% Series 2 Preferred Shares (the “Series 2 Preferred Shares”, collectively, the “Series 1 & 2 Preferred Shares”) on March 31, 2026 (the “Redemption”). All of the Series 1 & 2 Preferred Shares outstanding will be redeemed at the price of $25.00 per share, for an aggregate amount payable to holders of $300 million, less required withholdings, if any, funded primarily from cash on hand.

As previously announced, the Company’s Board of Directors has declared quarterly dividends of $0.16106 per Series 1 Preferred Share and $0.24337 per Series 2 Preferred Share, each payable on March 31, 2026, to shareholders of record as of March 13, 2026. These will be the final dividends paid on the Series 1 & 2 Preferred Shares.

Inquiries from registered holders of Series 1 & 2 Preferred Shares should be directed to Cenovus’s Registrar and Transfer Agent, Computershare Investor Services Inc. at 1-866-332-8898 or (514) 982-8717 outside North America. Beneficial holders, who are not directly registered holders of Series 1 & 2 Preferred Shares, should contact the financial institution, broker or other intermediary through which they hold these shares to confirm how they will receive their redemption proceeds.

CVE.PR.A was issued as HSE.PR.A, a FixedReset, 4.45%+173, on 2011-3-18 after being announced 2011-3-10. Notice of extension was published in February, 2016 and the issue reset to 2.404%. I recommended against conversion but there was a 13% conversion to the FloatingReset HSE.PR.B anyway. The ticker changed to CVE.PR.A following the Plan of Arrangement between HSE and CVE. CVE.PR.A reset to 2.577% in 2021 and there was a 3% net conversion to the FixedReset.

CVE.PR.B is a FloatingReset, Bills+173, that arose via a partial conversion from HSE.PR.A to HSE.PR.B in 2016. The ticker changed to CVE.PR.B following the Plan of Arrangement between HSE and CVE.

Thanks to Assiduous Readers Dan Good and FletcherLynd for bringing this to my attention!

First National Financial Corporation has announced (although not yet on their website):

that it intends to redeem for cash all of its outstanding Class A Preference Shares, Series 1 (the “Series 1 Preference Shares”) and outstanding Class A Preferences Shares, Series 2 (the “Series 2 Preference Shares” and together with the Series 1 Preference Shares, the “Preferred Shares”) on March 31, 2026 at a redemption price equal to $25.00 per share, together with all accrued and unpaid dividends up to but excluding the date of redemption (collectively, the “Aggregate Redemption Price”), less any tax required to be deducted and withheld by the Company. The Company also announced today that shareholders of record at the close of business on March 16, 2026 will be entitled to receive the final quarterly dividend payable on March 31, 2026 of $0.180938 per Series 1 Preference Share and $0.264329 per Series 2 Preference Share.

Formal notice will be delivered to the registered holders of the Preferred Shares in accordance with the terms of the Preferred Shares contained in the Company’s articles. Non-registered holders of Preferred Shares should contact their broker or other intermediary for information regarding the redemption process for the Preferred Shares in which they hold a beneficial interest.

After the Preferred Shares are redeemed, holders of Preferred Shares will cease to be entitled to dividends and will not be entitled to exercise any rights as holders other than to receive the Aggregate Redemption Price.

Following the redemption on March 31, 2026, the Preferred Shares will be delisted from and no longer trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange (“TSX”).

The market was surprised by the news, with FN.PR.A up 7.3% today and FN.PR.B up 6.0%.

FN.PR.A is a FixedReset, 4.65%+207, that commenced trading 2011-1-25 after being announced 2011-1-17. Notice of extension was given in February, 2016 and the issue reset to 2.79%. I recommended against conversion, but there was 28% conversion to the FloatingReset, FN.PR.B. Notice of the second extension was given in February, 2021. The issue reset at 2.895% in 2021 and there was a 2% net conversion to the FixedReset.

FN.PR.B is a FloatingReset, Bills+207, that arose via a partial conversion from the FixedReset, FN.PR.A, in 2016.

Thanks to Assiduous Reader Hrseymour for bringing this to my attention!

Brompton Funds has announced (on 2026-01-15):

Sustainable Power & Infrastructure Split Corp. (the “Fund”) today announced that it is proposing to change its name to “Power & Infrastructure Split Corp.” (the “Name Change”).

The Name Change is scheduled to take effect on January 19, 2026, subject to regulatory approval. The Fund invests in a globally diversified and actively managed portfolio (the “Portfolio”) consisting primarily of dividendpaying securities of power and infrastructure companies whose assets, products and services Brompton Funds Limited (“Brompton”), the Fund’s manager, believes are facilitating the multi-decade transition toward decarbonization and environmental sustainability.

The Fund’s class A shares (“Class A Shares”) offer a current distribution rate of 9.5% per annum.(1) Since inception, the Class A Shares have delivered a 13.8% per annum total return, outperforming the S&P Global Infrastructure Total Return Index by 3.7% per annum.(2)

The Fund’s preferred shares (“Preferred Shares”) offer a current distribution rate of 4.9% per annum.(1) The Preferred Shares have delivered a 5.1% per annum total return since inception. (2) Based on the most recently calculated net asset value per unit of the Fund on January 14, 2026, the Preferred Shares have downside protection from a decline in the value of the Fund’s portfolio of approximately 53.2%. The Preferred Shares have a Morningstar DBRS rating of Pfd-3.

The affected issue is PWI.PR.A.

Brompton Funds has announced:

Brompton Split Banc Corp. (the “Fund”) is pleased to announce its intention to complete a stock split of its class A shares (the “Share Split”) due to the Fund’s strong performance. Class A shareholders of record at the close of business on February 24, 2026 will receive 20 additional class A shares for every 100 class A shares held, pursuant to the Share Split. The Share Split is subject to the approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange (the “TSX”).

Class A shareholders will continue to receive regular monthly cash distributions targeted to be $0.10 per class A share following the Share Split. As a result, the total dollar amount of distributions to be paid to class A shareholders is expected to increase by approximately 20%. The Fund provides a distribution reinvestment plan, on a commission-free basis for class A shareholders that wish to reinvest distributions and realize the benefits of compound growth.

Over the last 10 years, the class A shares have delivered a 20.3% per annum total return based on net asset value, outperforming the S&P/TSX Equal Weight Diversified Banks Total Return Index by 5.6% per annum and the S&P/TSX Composite Total Return Index by 7.4% per annum.(1) Since inception, class A shareholders have received cash distributions of $23.85 per share.

Following the completion of the Share Split, the preferred shares of the Fund are expected to have downside protection from a decline in the value of the Fund’s portfolio of approximately 54%.(2)

The class A shares are expected to commence trading on an ex-split basis at the opening of trading on February 24, 2026. No fractional class A shares will be issued and the number of class A shares each holder shall receive will be rounded down to the nearest whole number. The Share Split is a non-taxable event.

The Fund invests on an approximately equally weighted basis in a portfolio (the “Portfolio”) of common shares of the six largest Canadian banks: Royal Bank of Canada, The Bank of Nova Scotia, National Bank of Canada, The Toronto-Dominion Bank, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Bank of Montreal. In addition, the Fund may hold up to 10% of the total assets of the Portfolio in investments in global financial companies for the purpose of enhanced diversification and return potential.

This follows the 117-new-for-100-old Capital Unit split announced last October.

Thanks to Assiduous Reader newbiepref for bringing this to my attention.

DBRS has announced that it:

downgraded its credit rating on the Preferred Shares (the Preferred Shares) issued by Canadian Large Cap Leaders Split Corp (the Company) to Pfd-3 from Pfd-3 (high). The rating downgrade reflects the completion of a stock split of the Class A Shares (Share Split), the upcoming increase in the monthly distribution rate on the Class A Shares to $0.18 per share from $0.125 per share, effective March 13, 2026, the decline in the dividend coverage ratio to 0.8 times (x), and a projected grind of 9.8% per year over the next five years. The maturity date of the Company is February 28, 2029. The term of the Company may be extended beyond the maturity date for additional terms of five years each as determined by the Company’s board of directors, provided that shareholders are given an optional special retraction right at the end of each successive term. Ninepoint Partners LP. (Manager) is acting as the manager for the Company.
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In February 2026, the Company completed the Share Split. Class A shareholders of record at the close of business on February 6, 2026, received 20 additional Class A Shares for every 100 Class A Shares held. The Company also announced an increase in the monthly distribution rate on its Class A Shares to $0.18 per share from $0.125 per share, which will take effect with the distribution payable on March 13, 2026. Following the Share Split, the net asset value (NAV) per unit (one notional Unit: consists of one Preferred Share and one Class A Share) has decreased to $24.38 as of February 6, 2026 from $26.69 as of January 30, 2026.

The Preferred Shares are entitled to fixed cumulative preferential quarterly cash distributions of $0.1875 (or $0.75 annually) per share, representing a 7.5% per annum return on the issue price of $10.00. Beginning March 13, 2026, holders of the Class A Shares are expected to receive regular monthly noncumulative distributions targeted to be $0.18 per Class A Share. No monthly distributions to the Class A Shares will be made if (1) distributions to the Preferred Shares are in arrears or (2) in respect of a cash distribution, the Company’s NAV falls below 1.5 times (x) the principal amount of the outstanding Preferred Shares.

As of February 6, 2026, the downside protection available to holders of the Preferred Shares increased to 59.0% per Unit, up from 56.9% as of January 31, 2025. However, the dividend coverage ratio has continued to decline over the past three years to approximately 0.8x. The dividend coverage below 1.0x indicates that the current dividend income earned by the Company is not enough to fully cover the Company’s distributions on the Preferred Shares. Furthermore, the increase in the monthly distribution rate on the Class A Shares, is increasing the reliance on the Manager to generate a high yield to meet distributions without having to liquidate portfolio securities. To supplement the Portfolio income, the Company may engage in covered call option writing on all or a portion of the shares held in the Portfolio. Without giving consideration to capital appreciation potential or any source of income other than the dividends earned by the Portfolio, the Preferred Share distributions together with the targeted distributions on the Class A Shares will create a projected grind on the NAV of the Portfolio of approximately 9.8% per year over the next 5 years, up from the approximately 7.4% per year estimated a year ago.

Considering the level of downside protection, dividend coverage ratio below 1.0x, projected grind on the portfolio from expected distributions to the Class A Shares and the potential term extension, Morningstar DBRS downgraded the credit rating on the Preferred Shares issued by the Company to Pfd-3 from Pfd-3 (high).

NPS.PR.A is not tracked by HIMIPref™ as it is too small – less than 1.7-million shares outstanding according to the TMX. It’s website is HERE.

On 2025-11-10, Artis Real Estate Investment Trust announced:

that it has filed its management information circular and related meeting materials (the “Meeting Materials”) for the special meeting of Artis common unitholders, holders of preferred units, Series E (the “Series E Units”) and holders of preferred units, Series I (the “Series I Units”) to be held on Thursday, December 11, 2025 (the “Meeting”). The Meeting Materials are available under Artis’ profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and on the REIT’s website at www.artisreit.com.
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In addition, at the Meeting holders of Series E Units and Series I Units will be asked to consider and vote, as separate classes, to approve the Arrangement whereby RFA will also acquire all of the issued and outstanding Artis preferred units in exchange for Resulting Issuer Series E preferred shares and Series I preferred shares. The Arrangement is not conditional on preferred unitholder approval and, if approval of either Series E preferred unitholders or Series I preferred unitholders is not obtained, then both series of preferred units will remain outstanding as preferred units of Artis (provided that Artis and RFA may, on mutual agreement, allow only a series of preferred units that approves the Arrangement to be exchanged for Resulting Issuer preferred shares), which will be a subsidiary entity of the Resulting Issuer and will
remain listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (“TSX”).

On 2025-12-11, they announced:

• 98.77% of the votes cast by common unitholders, excluding the Interested Trustee and his related parties as described in the Circular, present in person or represented by proxy at the Artis Meeting, exceeding the required two-thirds (66⅔%) majority;
• 81.19% of the votes cast by Series E preferred unitholders present in person or represented by proxy at the Artis Meeting, exceeding the required two-thirds (66⅔%) majority;
• 94.84% of the votes cast by Series I preferred unitholders present in person or represented by proxy at the Artis Meeting, exceeding the required two-thirds (66⅔%) majority;

They have now announced:

the successful completion of their combination by way of a statutory plan of arrangement under the Business Corporations Act (Ontario) and The Trustee Act (Manitoba) (the “Arrangement”), pursuant to which RFA acquired all of the outstanding common units, Series E preferred units and Series I preferred units of Artis.
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Pursuant to the Arrangement, RFA Capital Holdings Inc. changed its name to “RFA Financial” and its common shares, Series E preferred shares and Series I preferred shares are expected to begin trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange (“TSX”) under the ticker symbols “RFA”, “RFA.PR.E” and “RFA.PR.I”, respectively, at market open on or about February 4, 2026. On completion of the Arrangement, RFA became a reporting issuer in each of the provinces and territories of Canada.

Upon closing of the Arrangement, Artis became a wholly-owned subsidiary of RFA. The Artis common units, Series E preferred units and Series I preferred units are expected to be delisted from the TSX at the close of market on February 3, 2026, and Artis is applying to cease to be a reporting issuer under applicable Canadian securities laws.

Affected issues are AX.PR.E and AX.PR.I.

DBRS has announced:

DBRS Limited (Morningstar DBRS) withdrew its credit rating on the Cumulative Redeemable Series 2 Preferred Units (the Series 2 Preferred Units) issued by Canoe EIT Income Fund (the Fund).

In April 2018, the Fund issued 3,200,000 Series 2 Preferred Units at a price of $25.00 per unit for gross proceeds of approximately $80.5 million. Under the terms of the issuance, the Series 2 Preferred Units are retractable for cash at $25.00 per unit at the option of the holder on or after March 15, 2025. Morningstar DBRS withdrew its credit rating on the Series 2 Preferred Units as the credit rating assigned reflects the credit risk up to the beginning date of the retraction option of March 15, 2025. On and after March 15, 2025, investors have been able to submit for retraction their Series 2 Preferred Units and have received their principal back and related accrued and unpaid distributions in accordance with the terms of issuance. There are still approximately 2.9 million Series 2 Preferred Units outstanding, as not all investors have exercised their retraction option.

The Fund is a closed-end, actively managed investment trust focused on a broad range of income-producing investments in various industries, currencies, and geographic regions. The Fund’s portfolio (the Portfolio) is broadly diversified, with investments in the financial sector, representing 29.1% of the total Portfolio as of December 31, 2025, energy (19.9%), industrials (17.7%), and information technology (8.9%). Investments in the materials, consumer discretionary, healthcare, consumer staples and communication services sectors represented the remaining 24.4%. The Fund is exposed to foreign exchange risk as some of the securities held in the Portfolio are denominated in currencies other than the Canadian dollar. The U.S. dollar exposure is partially hedged with borrowings in the same currency. The Fund may enter into foreign exchange contracts to further mitigate currency exchange risk.

The Series 2 Preferred Unit holders receive quarterly cumulative preferential cash distributions of $0.30 representing a 4.80% annual return on the issue price of $25.00. The distributions are mainly funded through income received from the income-generating securities in the Portfolio. Holders of the Fund Units (the Units) currently receive targeted monthly cash distributions of $0.10, amounting to $1.20 per year. The Fund is required to distribute any net income and realized capital gains prior to the end of its taxation year. No distributions can be declared or paid on any equity securities ranking by their term junior to the Preferred Units, nor can they be purchased for cancellation or redeemed pursuant to their terms, unless all distributions are current on all the series of the Preferred Units.

As of January 16, 2026, the downside protection available to the Series 2 Preferred Units was 92.3% with an asset coverage ratio of 12.9 times (x) and a dividend coverage higher than one time. To supplement the Portfolio income, the Fund can engage in covered call option and put option writing on all or a portion of the shares held in the portfolio.

Morningstar DBRS’ credit rating on the applicable classes addresses the credit risk associated with the identified financial obligations in accordance with the relevant transaction documents. Where applicable, a description of these financial obligations can be found in the transactions’ respective press releases at issuance.

Similar action was taken with respect to EIT.PR.A a year ago.

TC Energy Corporation has announced:

that 109,800 of its 12,070,593 fixed rate Cumulative Redeemable First Preferred Shares, Series 5 (Series 5 Shares) have been elected for conversion on Jan. 30, 2026 (the Conversion Date), on a one-for-one basis, into floating rate Cumulative Redeemable First Preferred Shares, Series 6 (Series 6 Shares); and 1,089,726 of its 1,929,407 Series 6 Shares have been elected for conversion, on a one-for-one basis, into Series 5 Shares.

The Company has provided notice to the holders of its Series 5 Shares and Series 6 Shares (collectively, the Holders), that after taking into account all shares tendered for conversion by Holders by the Jan. 16, 2026 deadline for conversion notices, the Company has determined that there would be less than one million Series 6 Shares outstanding on the Conversion Date. In accordance with the conditions set out in the Company’s prospectus supplement dated June 17, 2010 (the Prospectus), the Company therefore advised the Holders that no Series 5 Shares will be converted into Series 6 Shares, and all remaining Series 6 Shares will automatically be converted into Series 5 Shares on a one-for-one basis on the Conversion Date.

As a result of the conversion, TC Energy will have 14,000,000 Series 5 Shares issued and outstanding. The Series 5 Shares will continue to be listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) under the symbol TRP.PR.C. The Series 6 Shares will no longer be listed on the TSX after the Conversion Date.

The Series 5 Shares will pay on a quarterly basis for the five-year period beginning on Jan. 30, 2026, as and when declared by the Board of Directors of TC Energy, a fixed dividend at an annualized rate of 4.501 per cent.

Holders of Series 5 Shares will have the opportunity to convert their shares again on Jan. 30, 2031 and on Jan. 30 in every fifth year thereafter as long as the shares remain outstanding. For more information on the terms of, and risks associated with an investment in the Series 5 Shares and the Series 6 Shares, please see the Prospectus which is available on sedarplus.ca or on our website.

That was pretty close! 1,929,407 TRP.PR.I outstanding – 1,089,726 exchanges out + 109,800 exchanges in = 949,481 shares, not far below the 1,000,000 minimum.

TRP.PR.C was issued as a FixedReset, 4.40%+154, that commenced trading 2010-06-29 after being announced 2010-6-17. Notice of extension was published in 2015 and the issue reset to 2.263%. There was 9% conversion to the FloatingReset TRP.PR.I. The issue reset to 1.949% in 2021. It will reset to 4.501% effective 2026-01-30.

TRP.PR.I is a FloatingReset, Bills+154, that arose from a partial conversion from the FixedReset TRP.PR.C.

ECN Capital Corp. has announced:

that, at the special meeting of the Company’s shareholders held on January 20, 2026 (the “Meeting”), the Company’s previously announced plan of arrangement (the “Arrangement”) with a newly formed acquisition vehicle (the “Purchaser”) controlled by an investor group led by investment funds managed by Warburg Pincus LLC was approved by the holders (the “Common Shareholders”) of common shares of the Company (“Common Shares”), the holders (the “Series C Preferred Shareholders”) of cumulative 5-year minimum rate reset preferred shares, Series C of the Company (the “Series C Preferred Shares”) and the holders (the “Series E Preferred Shareholders” and, together with the Common Shareholders and Series C Preferred Shareholders, the “Shareholders”) of mandatory convertible preferred shares, Series E of the Company (the “Series E Preferred Shares”). Pursuant to the Arrangement, the Purchaser will acquire: (i) all of the issued and outstanding Common Shares for a price of C$3.10 in cash per Common Share; (ii) all of the issued and outstanding Series C Preferred Shares for a price of C$26.00 in cash per Series C Preferred Share (plus all accrued but unpaid dividends thereon); and (iii) all of the issued and outstanding Series E Preferred Shares for a price of C$3.10 in cash per Series E Preferred Share (plus all accrued but unpaid dividends thereon).
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At the Meeting, the Series C Preferred Shareholders also passed a special resolution approving the Arrangement (the “Series C Preferred Shareholder Resolution”). The Series C Preferred Shareholder Resolution required the affirmative vote of: (i) at least 66 2/3% of the votes cast by the Series C Preferred Shareholders present or represented by proxy at the Meeting (the “Series C Preferred Shareholder Resolution Vote”); and (ii) a simple majority of the votes cast by the Series C Preferred Shareholders present or represented by proxy at the Meeting (excluding the Series C Preferred Shareholders required to be excluded under MI 61-101) (the “Series C Preferred Shareholder Resolution MI 61-101 Vote”). To the knowledge of the directors and senior officers of the Corporation, after reasonable inquiry, pursuant to MI 61-101 no Series C Preferred Shareholders were required to be excluded from the vote on the Series C Preferred Shareholder Resolution.
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Completion of the Arrangement remains subject to other customary conditions including receipt of a final order from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Commercial List) (the “Final Order”) and certain key regulatory approvals. The anticipated hearing date for the Final Order is January 22, 2026. Subject to obtaining the Final Order and the satisfaction or waiver of the other conditions to implementing the Arrangement as set out in the arrangement agreement between the Company and Sinatra CA Acquisition Corp. dated November 13, 2025 (the “Arrangement Agreement”), including obtaining key regulatory approvals, the Arrangement is expected to close in the first half of 2026.

The potential for this action was announced in November, 2025.

ECN.PR.C was issued as a FixedReset, 6.25%+519M625, that commenced trading 2017-5-25 after being announced 2017-5-15. It reset to 7.937% in 2022. It is tracked by HIMIPref™ but relegated to the Scraps subindex on credit concerns.

Thanks to Assiduous Reader CanSiamCyp for bringing this to my attention!

Brompton Funds has announced:

Brompton Lifeco Split Corp. (the “Fund”) is pleased to announce its intention to complete a stock split of its class A shares (the “Share Split”) due to the Fund’s strong performance. Class A shareholders of record at the close of business on January 27, 2026 will receive 20 additional class A shares for every 100 class A shares held, pursuant to the Share Split. The Share Split is subject to the approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange (the “TSX”).

Class A shareholders will continue to receive regular monthly cash distributions targeted to be $0.075 per class A share following the Share Split. As a result, the total dollar amount of distributions to be paid to class A shareholders is expected to increase by approximately 20%. The Fund provides a distribution reinvestment plan, on a commission-free basis for class A shareholders that wish to reinvest distributions and realize the benefits of compound growth.

Over the last 10 years, the class A shares have delivered a 20.7% per annum total return based on net asset value, outperforming the S&P/TSX Capped Financials Total Return Index by 6.1% and the S&P/TSX Composite Total Return Index by 8% per annum.(1) Since inception, class A shareholders have received cash distributions of $10.08 per share.

Following the completion of the Share Split, the preferred shares of the Fund are expected to have downside protection from a decline in the value of the Fund’s portfolio of approximately 51%.(2)

The class A shares are expected to commence trading on an ex-split basis at the opening of trading on January 27, 2026. No fractional class A shares will be issued and the number of class A shares each holder shall receive will be rounded down to the nearest whole number. The Share Split is a non-taxable event.

The Fund invests in a portfolio of common shares of Canada’s four largest publicly-listed life insurance companies, on an approximately equal weight basis: Great-West Lifeco Inc., iA Financial Corporation Inc., Manulife Financial Corporation and Sun Life Financial Inc.

This harms the credit quality of the preferreds by increasing the cash drag (due to increased distributions to the Capital Units due to the split) and by decreasing the Asset Coverage ratio. However, with a Whole Unit NAVPU of 22.69 as of 2026-01-15, there is no immediate cause for alarm.

My guess is that they’re doing this to increase the leverage provided by owning the Capital Units, given my assumption that this is what these shareholders want.

Thanks to Assiduous Reader Newbiepref for bringing this to my attention!