WHY COHEN & STEERS

Experienced global investment team

Experienced and dedicated global investment team with over 50 years of midstream energy & MLP investing experience

Unique and rigorous investment process

Utilizes proprietary resources and focuses on top-down energy cycle dynamics as well as comprehensive bottom-up security analysis and research

Strong market position

Our strong market position allows us to be nimble and to quickly identify alpha-generating opportunities in a broad universe

WHY MIDSTREAM ENERGY & MLPS

Inflation mitigation

In high inflation environments, businesses with pricing power, high margins and fixed rate debt should outperform. Midstream energy companies typically offer all three

Attractive current income

Midstream energy and MLPs provide the potential for attractive current income, with possible tax advantages

Lower volatility energy exposure

Historically superior risk adjusted returns for investors looking for energy exposure with less volatility

The Cohen & Steers Midstream Energy & MLP Strategy invests in a diversified portfolio of master limited partnerships (MLPs) and midstream energy corporations with the potential to deliver total return consisting of both capital appreciation and tax-advantaged income.

We believe that the superior income and growth opportunity within the midstream energy universe is currently underappreciated by investors and—combined with attractive fundamentals—makes midstream a compelling investment opportunity. In addition, we believe optimal total return can be achieved through fundamental analysis focused on identifying midstream companies with the highest potential for distribution growth.

We believe midstream energy businesses are generally tied to tangible assets with cash flows that originate from volume-based usage fees and revenue that is often indexed for inflation. In our view, MLPs offer the potential for tax-advantaged income greater than that of other income-oriented securities such as utilities and bonds.

FEATURED INSIGHT

Essential assets: The case for listed infrastructure

Investors’ search for diversification and inflation protection has put a spotlight on infrastructure, made brighter by massive public investment programs and the accelerating transition to a digitized, decarbonized economy.

November 2021 | 1 min

WHY INVEST WITH US

Delivering value to our clients

Cohen & Steers has invested in midstream energy companies and MLPs since 2004. Our dedicated Midstream Energy investment team leverages Cohen & Steers’ entire Global Real Assets platform of investment professionals, including daily collaboration with the firm’s global listed infrastructure, “best of energy” specialists and real asset investment teams. With deep experience in midstream energy investing, our team brings over 40 years of combined experience and provides meaningful insights into local companies through on-the-ground research, consisting of traveling to visit assets and companies, attending relevant conferences and maintaining a direct line of communication with management teams.

PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT

An experienced team

Benjamin Morton

Head of Global Infrastructure

25 years of experience

Tyler Rosenlicht

Portfolio Manager, Global Infrastructure

12 years of experience

+3 analysts and associates

We believe an active, disciplined relative value approach to managing midstream energy and MLP assets, grounded in rigorous bottom-up fundamental research and incorporating top-down energy cycle dynamics, has the potential to generate alpha while providing portfolio diversification.

We believe the midstream energy and MLP markets are inherently inefficient, creating opportunities to add value through active management.

Cohen & Steers has a dedicated real assets platform with experienced teams that touch all aspects of the energy value chain.

We leverage the firm’s energy-focused investment talent.

An internal cross-strategy working group includes members of the global listed infrastructure, midstream, commodities, macro, real assets and natural resource equities teams.

APPROACH

Our investment process

We adhere to a disciplined, fundamental, relative value-based approach to investing in midstream energy and MLPs. Our approach to investing employs a robust investment philosophy and a repeatable process.

Macro outlook
The team evaluates and analyzes global energy supply and demand trends, reviews short- and long-term price targets and identifies pertinent catalysts and risks to our thesis. We identify key themes or drivers specific to North American midstream businesses to establish subsector views and positioning.

Fundamental research
Our analysts are focused on bottom-up financial and security-level analyses. We maintain ongoing dialogue with senior management, perform regular asset tours with operational employees and focus on corporate governance and the alignment of interests for all companies in our universe.

Valuation models
We use proprietary financial models that project key financial criteria to evaluate every company on two core valuation methodologies: three-stage discounted distribution model (DDM) and net asset value (NAV).

Real Assets

Risk management
A dedicated risk management team provides stress testing and other proprietary risk tools that are integrated into the investment process.

Market developments at Credit Suisse 

Market developments at Credit Suisse 

March 2023 | 6 mins

The government-backed deal for UBS to acquire Credit Suisse will trigger a complete write-down of the nominal value of all Credit Suisse additional tier 1 bonds. We believe Credit Suisse is most likely to be an isolated incident, while we have been reducing our portfolios’ exposure to Credit Suisse significantly over the past several months.

Client brief: Addressing developments at regional banks

Addressing developments at regional banks

March 2023 | 8 mins

The U.S. government's actions to minimize risk across the banking industry following the events of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank have strong potential to prevent further bank runs and subsequent bank failures. But scrutiny of some regional banks will persist. 

Citywire Selector: Fed insider-turned-bond boss backs central banks to beat inflation

March 2023 | 1 min

Head of Fixed Income and Preferred Securities Bill Scapell spoke with Citywire Selector about Cohen & Steers’ preferred securities strategy and his fixed income outlook as central banks battle inflation.

The preferred securities asset allocation advantage

The preferred securities asset allocation advantage

February 2023 | 12 mins

Preferreds offer long-term return potential superior to investment-grade and comparable to high-yield bonds, with diversification and quality advantages.

Institutional Investor: Competition Is Fierce for Private Infrastructure Deals. Here’s An Alternative

February 2023 | 1 min

Portfolio Manager Tyler Rosenlicht spoke with Institutional Investor for a feature story on our recent infrastructure thought leadership and why listed infrastructure can be an attractive alternative or complement to private infrastructure in a portfolio.

Five reasons to consider preferred securities if you own municipal bonds

Five reasons to consider preferred securities if you own municipal bonds

February 2023 | 11 mins

With many investors feeling the sting of taxes, municipal bonds aren’t the only option for tax-advantaged income. Preferred securities currently offer among the highest after-tax yields in fixed income, regardless of tax bracket.

Need to contact us?

We’d be happy to answer questions about our investment solutions or any corporate-related inquiries.