RE:RE:RE:UpdateObscure...
Thanks for your response. Hope it works out for you.
I guess all I am cautioning is the fact that the shares are trading at a significant premium to NAV or in other words you are paying more than they are worth. This fact adds an additional component of risk to your investment. What I look at is the risk adjusted total return when I invest. Frankly, I am not comvinced that the extra yield in this case is worth the additional risk. In fact, as you point out, the extra yield is in fact a return of capital.
I agree that ENB is a solid company and will continue to pay dividends and raise them each year, albeit at a lower pace than it has in recent years. I have bought ENB straight preferreds recently which based on my cost base pay a 9% dividend per year. As the interest rate on the 10 year US Treasury Bils has declined since then from 5% to 4.25%, since I bought them less than a month ago, these preferreds have risen 5% in value. Interest rates are expected to decline further next year as The Fed has signalled that it will likely reduce rates at least twice. This will result in even more capital gains in addition to the dividends next year.
More importantly, if there is a recession next year, The Fed will lower interest rates more agressively and the preferreds will increase in value significantly since their value is inversely related to interest rates plus returning the 9% on the dividend. This contrasts with ENB/ENS which will decline in value in a recession.
So when you put all this together, the preferreds provide a higher risk adjusted return than owning ENS and also provide the opportunity to take profits at the height of a recession and buy ENB or ENS on sale.