2. Trust Financial Data – The Fundamentals
Ratio Review - distribution ratios, debt to equity, market capitalization to book value
Assets – type and age of assets that are key to the trust, capital expenditure reserves
Liabilities – amount, terms, interest rates, maturity schedules
Revenues – growth from same store, organic & acquisitions
Profitability - profit margins, expense control
Comparability – to sector peers, previous reporting periods
Valuation ladder – liquidation - going concern – goodwill premiums
Income tax – tax -deferred vs current income

3. The Legal & Organization Structure – Rights and Powers
Capital structure – share classes, debt instruments,
Corporate structure – subsidiaries, affiliated/connected corporations and trusts
Legal obligations – customer contracts, management internalization, unit subordination terms, management agreements, prospectus review

4. Quality of Reporting & Filing – Playing by the Rules
Clarity and timeliness of company reports Observing the legal filing requirements Adherence to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles “GAAP”

5. Management, Governance, Unions –Integrity Questions
- review of the quality of mgt decisions
-observation of good corporate governance practices – ie no conflicts of interest
-unions – expiration of contracts, general relations

6. “Industry & Economic Issues” – The Bigger Picture
-competitors, product cycles, brand strengths, supply/demand for products
-broader economic factors - interest rates, economic indicators, global trends
-current taxation and regulatory trends and issues

7. Sources of Information
-websites for - “trust and related entities”, SEDAR/Edgar, independent research sources,
brokerage firm research, webcasts, general news media, ratings services.

Produced by H.C. Levant, CGA – Reproduction of this material in part or it’s entirety is subject to copyright licensing agreements and is forbidden except only with the express written consent of the author.