🎯 Part 1 — If I were investing CAD $5,000: SPSK vs SPRE
🔹 Key characteristics & trade-offs
| ETF | What works in favor | What to worry about / risk |
|---|---|---|
| SPSK (Sukuk-based) | Fixed-income–like behavior → lower volatility; income yield; relatively stable under different equity/real-estate cycles; halal-compliant structure. | Yield is modest; upside (capital gain) limited compared to equity/REIT; currency risk if USD-denominated and you hold in CAD; income/yield dependent on global sukuk market and interest-rate environment. |
| SPRE (Global REIT) | Offers dividend yield + potential capital upside if real estate markets improve; global geographic diversification via many REITs; historically REITs tend to do well when rates ease or stabilize. | Higher sensitivity to interest rates and global economic cycles; global real estate & currency risk; more volatile — price swings can be larger; income yield + price risk trade-off. |
🔮 My choice & reasoning
If I were you and investing $5,000 CAD right now, I would choose SPRE — but with the expectation that it’s more speculative than SPSK, and only commit a portion (maybe 70-80%) of the $5,000 to SPRE — leaving remainder (or other cash) aside or used elsewhere.
Why SPRE
- The potential return (dividend yield + upside) is greater than SPSK’s conservative income — so for a tranche of capital I’m willing to be somewhat bolder with, the risk/reward balance favors SPRE.
- Market environment: if yields remain stable or drop, global REITs often benefit (cap-rate compression, higher property valuations, good for REIT dividends).
- More diversified “real-asset + income + growth” exposure compared with a pure sukuk-income strategy.
With caveats / risk mitigation
- I’d treat SPRE as a medium-term hold (3–5 years) to ride out rate cycles and global real-estate cycles.
- I’d accept potential volatility and possibly dividend cuts if real-estate markets underperform.
- I’d avoid overconcentration — keep SPRE as part of a broader diversified portfolio rather than “all-in.”
Alternatively, if my priority were capital preservation and steady income, and I were less tolerant of volatility, then SPSK would be the safer, more conservative pick.
