CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - With their tax advantages ripped away, investing in Canada's energy trusts looked set to become a mug's game. Units prices are down, costs are an issue and commodity prices have been volatile.
The sector has been a headache for investors since the surprise Halloween announcement from Ottawa that the tax advantages enjoyed by trusts would end in 2011. They had been able to avoid most corporate taxes if they distributed their cash to investors, an edge that gave them a premium value.
Since the October 31 tax decision, the sector has badly lagged. Despite oil prices that are now sticking around $60 a barrel and robust natural gas prices, the Toronto Stock Exchange's energy trust index has dropped nearly 18 percent.
"There's still a lot of anger in the market and an awful lot of uncertainty," said Leslie Lundquist, a portfolio manager at Bissett Investment Management.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment