I'm tapping out, CWM.UN

First trading note in a while around here, as I finally pulled the trigger on a move I've been mulling for a while now.

So long, CanWest MediaWorks Income Fund (CWM.UN on the TSX) -- don't let the door hit you in that @$$ on the way out.

Essentially, I have zero faith in the fund's sustainability -- much less its potential to eke out capital gains. The newspaper industry is notoriously bad in Canada, and while I'm confident it will survive in some form over the long term (I'm looking at a few other stocks to keep an exposure, actually) I just don't think CanWest is the stock to ride the wave on.

The payout ratio has never been below 90% since the fund's inception in late 2005, and it's even gone above 100% occasionally.

In short, my gut tells a suspension of distributions is coming. So I'm out, and grabbing whatever I can on the way.

Now let's see. Initial investment? 200 units at the IPO price of $10 = $2000 book value. 14 months' worth of distributions = $231.30. Gains from selling out at $7.57 per unit = $1485. Bringing my total loss to $284 (14%) in a little over a year.

Damn.

Lesson learned, I hope.

Stay tuned to see what I plan on replacing that position with.