"The operations of many energy partnerships have nothing to do with the price of crude and natural gas; they only need to have demand to move and process crude oil and natural gas rather than to pump it out of the ground," explains Neil George.

In his specialized advisory services, The Partnership, he looks at Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (NYSE: KMP) and Kinder Morgan Management (NYSE: KMR).

"Midstream partnerships--those that operate pipelines or storage and processing facilities segments as well as those that invest in these segments--are among the most stable distribution payers.

"And, more importantly right now, they're among the most stable investments in what's become a treacherous stock market.

These middlemen, in between the producers and the consumers, are perhaps the best hedge for your portfolio as they continue to generate hefty cash flows for investors.

"Whether the broad energy market is up or down, these partnerships continue to be all-around successes. Kinder Morgan Energy Partners and Kinder Morgan Management, are Foundation holdings in our portfolio.

Continue reading 'Kinder' income: Partnerships for steady dividends

'Kinder' income: Partnerships for steady dividends originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 12 Aug 2008 11:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"One of the sectors I want to buy when it's on sale is the coal business," says Bryan Perry, editor of The 25% Cash Machine. Here, he looks at Fording Canadian Coal Trust (NYSE: FDG).

"Fording Canadian Coal Trust is an open-ended mutual fund trust and one of the largest royalty trusts in Canada. The trust makes quarterly distributions to unitholders using royalties received from its 60% interest in the metallurgical coal operations of the Elk Valley Coal Partnership.

"It is a beneficiary of the booming global steel industry where FDG's business is concentrated. Despite interruptions in coal production and delivery that may cause wild price swings, the underpinnings to the supply and demand equation for metallurgical coal are solidly bullish.

Continue reading Fording (FDG): Coal trust fires up growth & income

Fording (FDG): Coal trust fires up growth & income originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"The market is pricing publicly-traded partnerships as if they're headed for bankruptcy," says Neil George who sees high yield and value in select issues. Here's two ideas from The Partnership Letter -- a global infrastructure play and a real estate investment trust.

"There are some darn good partnerships out there that are indeed worth the near-term risk, even amid the probability of lower stock prices.

"Partnerships are characterized by high cash generation and the maximization of depreciation and other tax deductions. They then pay out as much cash as possible to unitholders. And with prices so low, we get to buy into assets that in many cases are worth a lot more in terms of liquidation value.

Continue reading Partnerships for yield and value investors

Partnerships for yield and value investors originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 15 May 2008 15:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Last December, over 100 stocks were featured in our Top Picks for 2007 report. Now, at mid-year, we turn to the 20 advisors whose picks showed the strongest gains to get an update on their previous picks, as well as a new favorite stock for the second half of the year.

Gordon Pape, editor of The Internet Wealth Builder, chose Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE: BAM) as his favorite stock for 2007, which rose 31% as of 6/1/07. Here is his original recommendation and his current opinion on Brookfield.

For his new favorite, the advisor looks to Precision Drilling (NYSE: PDS). He explains, "If you like to buy good companies at beaten-down prices, take a good look at this income trust.

"Precision Drilling, which provides services to the Canadian oil patch, has been battered and bruised by a decline in oil exploration activity, distribution cuts, and, of course, the proposed new tax on income trusts which is now working its way through the Parliament of Canada.

"Investors were hit with a second distribution cut in six months when the trust announced on May 18 that it is chopping another 32% off its monthly payment, slicing it to 13 cents. That reduces the annual payment to $1.56 a share, less than half last year's level of $3.24.

"There's no doubt this oilfields service provider is going through a tough period and management hasn't tried to sugar-coat the situation. Despite the gloomy outlook, RBC Capital Markets said in a research report that the firm's dividend cut probably represents the last one for the year.

"The trust's payout ratio should now be marginally below that of other oil service providers and it is generally expected that drilling activity will pick up later this year.

Continue reading Top 20 advisors: Gordon Pape picks Precision

Top 20 advisors: Gordon Pape picks Precision originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 21 Jun 2007 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.