The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday, Oct. 6, edition that portfolios that were carefully constructed to reduce market risk are taking a beating as interest rates rise. The Globe's regular guest columnist Gordon Pape writes that two companies with the longest history of consecutive annual dividend increases are Canadian Utilities at 53 years and Fortis at 52. Fortis is expected to up its payout in November, which will put it at 53 years as well. Mr. Pape says he is not a great believer in market timing, but this is an exception. Buying interest sensitive securities when rates are on the rise is not a great idea. Canadian Utilities shares were trading at $56.90 in late July. The shares closed Friday at $51.42, down 9.6 per cent since the July high. Fortis has fallen from $83.75 to $75.31, a drop of 10 per cent. Higher rates are a double whammy for utilities. These companies carry a lot of debt, which adds to their costs when rates rise. Meanwhile, higher yields on safe government bonds decreases the attraction of dividend yields. That puts downward pressure on share prices. Fortis was yielding 3.1 per cent in July; it's now yielding 3.4 per cent because of the lower share price.