Second Article

On the Right Foot

By Elliott H. Gue
Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Over the past year, the average return for all the PTP offerings to date is roughly flat. That may not seem terribly impressive until you consider that this is far better than either the Alerian MLP Index or the S&P 500 has fared. In fact, on average, the recent PTP IPO crop has outperformed the Alerian MLP Index by 5 percent and the S&P 500 by 12 percent. Two of the PTP IPOs on our list are actually higher since listing and only one has underperformed the broader market.

more

PTP Pointers

Tax Simplification

By Benjamin Shepherd
Wednesday, April 02, 2008

A publicly traded partnership (PTP) can be one of the best investments you can make from a tax standpoint, but putting your return together can be difficult because of the K-1 form, with which many investors are unfamiliar. more

Passing Through

Don't Ignore Coal

By Elliott H. Gue
Friday, June 27, 2008

Coal is by far the fastest growing fossil fuel in the world today. Global coal consumption jumped 4.5 percent in 2007 to just below 3.2 billion metric tons of oil equivalent. In contrast, oil consumption grew just 1.1 percent last year, and natural gas consumption grew by 3.1 percent.
more

Feature Article

The PTP Solution

By Neil J. George
Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Investors in common stocks would happily banish the recently concluded quarter from their minds. 

The usual suspects in the US market, as measured by the Dow Jones Industrial Average, declined 7 percent. And the broader S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite each gave back between 12 percent and 14 percent during the first half of 2008.

Problems aren’t limited to the US. Most major markets around the world are down, at levels similar or even exceeding those of the major US indexes. A look at London’s FTSE Index, Frankfurt’s DAX Index or other European Union stock market measures reveals serious pain, with losses approaching 20 percent. And losses in Asia are as much as 50 percent.

There is, however, good news for investors who still want to pick stocks for growth as well as healthy dividends. We don’t have to look at common stocks at all. The solution: our expanding universe of publicly traded partnerships (PTP).

Although the major indexes have been battered and may continue to suffer throughout 2008, the primary PTP gauge, the Alerian MLP Index, tells a different story.

PTP returns for the recently concluded quarter, although not off the charts, were in the 3 percent range. That modestly positive performance beat the Dow, which generated losses. On an annualized basis, we’re looking at a 13 percent rise for the PTPs against losses for the broader market approaching 25 percent.

And when you consider the dividend flows from PTPs, the choice between investment groups--PTPs versus the usual suspects, i.e., the Dow and the S&P 500--is a no-brainer.

more