Rotated 25% out of UTES.TO into RS.TO, income play or mistake?

Macro still isn’t great for REITs. Rates are high, inflation is sticky and geopolitics (Iran, oil) keep pressure on. So this is not a macro bet, it’s a tactical play on sentiment turning.

Among REIT income funds paying 1.5%+ monthly, RS.TO (Real Estate Split Corp.) stands out to me on NAV Δ.

RS.TO 3M NAV Δ (momentum):
2026-04-10: -5.50%
2026-04-15: -2.48%
2026-04-17: -1.38%
2026-04-22: -0.89%

Clear upward trend, getting close to positive.

RS.TO TTM NAV Δ:
2026-04-10: 8.75%
2026-04-13: 15.73%
2026-04-17: 12.57%
2026-04-22: 12.75%

Still holding solid total return over 12 months.

I didn’t have cash availabl, so I trimmed UTES.TO (Evolve Canadian Utilities Enhanced Yield Index ETF) where I had a strong unrealized gain. Sold ~25% and rotated into RS.TO.

Reason: UTES momentum is fading.

UTES.TO 3M NAV Δ:
2026-04-06: 7.07%
2026-04-15: 2.66%
2026-04-17: 1.48%
2026-04-22: 0.22%

UTES.TO TTM NAV Δ:
2026-04-10: 8.70%
2026-04-17: 2.27%
2026-04-20: -0.05%
2026-04-22: -0.44%

So strong performer before butt now clearly losing momentum short term and rolling over on TTM.

Macrowise these two behave very differently. Higher oil means higher inflation so higher rates. That trend support utilities like UTES but hurts REITs like RS.TO due to financing costs.

So this was not a macro call. It’s mainly diversification. I had reduced REIT exposure recently and wanted some back in case inflation cools and rate cuts come back later this year. If that happens, REITs could rebound fast.