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  • Open Thread: What Have You Been Buying/Selling/Pondering
    Thanks for the heads-up, bee. GLFOX is really interesting. I didn't realize the range of approaches infrastructure funds use. There was an article from WSJ in Feb (which quotes David, by the way) with a survey of i-funds. (It came up in full for me on a google search, so try that if the link doesn't penetrate the pay wall.)
    The article mentions the TRP i-fund that's being merged away. With a mix of utilities and industrials like GLFOX and others, it was pretty much a failure, apparently in the execution rather than the strategy.
  • Open Thread: What Have You Been Buying/Selling/Pondering
    What a great call back at the beginning of the year to buy FIATY. I didn't make it, but I have followed it...up over 100 % over the last 12 months and 44% YTD. Nice call here at the "Scott Market".
    For me MINDX, PRLAX, TRAMX has performed well enough to reallocate small profits of 10% since taking these positions.
    VDE seems to be having a hard time maintaining the "golden cross" (50 dma crossing 200 dma with upward trend), but is up sharply over the last month. Ted referenced this dynamic here:
    mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/discussion/13089/a-not-so-golden-cross#latest
    A fund that I have become impressed with and seems to be cut from the same cloth as GASFX and TOLSX (High Sharpe Ratio, High Alpha, and Low Beta) is GLFOX which holds small to medium size global (mostly foreign) infrastructure companies (with a concentration in Industrial and utilities).
    If you are unfamiliar with GLFOX, GASFX or TOLSX make it a point to research them. I add to them with short term profits from other funds and hold them through thick or thicker.
  • CBRE Clarion Global Infrastructure
    Here are a couple of other choices to look at in this area:
    Lazard Global Listed Infrastructure GLFOX - 5 Star Fund with strong results so far and only 15% US stocks. A bit cheaper than TOLLX and a better yield.
    Northern Multi-Mgr Global Listed Infrastructure NMFIX - Management is split between Brookfield and Lazard as sub-advisors along with a couple of managers from Northern. Expense is .99%
  • Utility Funds
    Probably the smoothest ride I have experienced with any of funds over the long term 5 - 10 years are two utility fund GASFX and TOLSX. I beleive GLFOX is somewhat new "utility/industrials -centric sml cap world fund" worth considering. Utilities seem to be in a sweet spot lately.
    What are your favorites?
  • Invest With An Edge Weekly ... World Boundaries Change
    Look at GASFX (US - centric) and TOLSX (TOLLX) (50% US / 50% foreign) if you would like exposure to Utilities. Also, GLFOX (Small Cap & 80% non-US) for smaller global industrial and utility sector companies.
  • New Infrastructure Fund
    Plenty of Infrastructure Opps and Roadblocks!
    All items from today @ Seeking Alpha
    Keystone foes now gunning for Dominion's Cove Point LNG export project
    Green groups call on Pres. Obama to reject pending applications to build liquefied natural gas export terminals, and "as a good-faith test case," Obama should force the FERC to conduct a broad environmental impact assessment of Dominion Resources’ (D) proposed Cove Point LNG export facility in Maryland.
    The energy required to liquefy and ship gas at Cove Point would raise the fuel’s greenhouse gas emissions to the level of coal, activists say, threatening the climate like pipelines tied to developing oil sands in Alberta, such as Keystone XL.
    The Energy Department already has conditionally approved Dominion to export up to 770M cf/day of natural gas to countries that don’t have free-trade agreements with the U.S., but the FERC still must review the company's plans to revamp its decades-old natural gas receiving terminal so it can instead liquefy the gas and load it onto tankers bound for Japan and India.
    FERC so far is on track to require only a smaller environmental assessment of the planned $3.8B export project.
    Enterprise Products to start Seaway pipeline expansion as early as May
    Enterprise Products Partners (EPD) says it plans to start its Seaway pipeline expansion as early as May, more than doubling the system’s capacity to move oil from the delivery point for West Texas crude in Cushing, Okla., to Gulf coast refineries.
    EPD, which operates Seaway and co-owns it with Enbridge (ENB), had said it would start late in Q2.
    EPD is looping the existing line with a parallel pipeline that will increase capacity to the Houston area to 850K bbl/day; EPD and ENB reversed the pipeline in May 2012 and expanded it to the current capacity of 400K bbl/day in Jan. 2013.
    A further loosening of the crude storage bottleneck at Cushing as the Seaway expansion is brought online could push WTI prices closer to Brent prices.

    CBI
    CB&I +4.5% after gaining three new contracts totaling $6B-plus
    CB&I (CBI +4.5%) shoots higher after receiving a $6B engineering and construction contract on the planned Cameron LNG export facility in Louisiana, a $625M deal from Bechtel for work on Chevron’s (CVX) Wheatstone liquefied natural gas project in Western Australia, and a $100M pipe fabrication contract from Enterprise Products Partners (EPD) for a propane project in Texas.
    Cowen analysts view CBI as their top pick among E&C companies to benefit from the buildout in global petrochemicals and liquefied natural gas, initiating coverage on CBI with an Outperform rating and $98 price target due to its earnings growth and operating stability, exposure to diversified end markets, best in class margins and strong technical operating groups.
    Exxon Mobil reportedly plans $20B power project in Vietnam
    Exxon Mobil (XOM) is preparing to invest ~$20B in a gas-fired power complex with Vietnam's state oil and gas group Petrovietnam, according to local media.
    The project would involve construction of two power plants with a combined capacity of 6K-6.5K MW, in a deal which could make the U.S. one of the top four foreign investors in Vietnam along with Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, according to the report.
    Companies that actually engineer/build the infrastructure seldom are found in most infrastructure funds,For example;
    http://etfdb.com/stock/CBI/
    or
    http://etfdb.com/etf/FLM/#holdings
    InfrastructureMutual Funds
    GLFOX
    http://www.lazardnet.com/us/docs/sp2/461/LazardGlobalListedInfrastructurePortfolio_FactSheet_2013Q4.pdf
    MTIPX
    http://www.morganstanley.com/msamg/msimintl/docs/en_US/publications/factsheets/MSF/global_infrastructure.pdf
  • California Drought Spawns Investment Opportunity
    Waiting for Ted to Post..."I'm Dancing in the Rain".
    Global Infrastructure funds like GLFOX have exposure to California Water Service Group (CWT). Also PHO for a more concentrated focused on water.
  • Looking under the hood of Global Infrastructure Fund TOLSX
    The article (and bee) talk about "bridges, roads, and other physical structures required for the smooth functioning of society." But when one looks under the hood of TOLLX/TOLSX, it isn't bridges, roads, railroads, airports, etc. that one sees there.
    It seems to me there are two very broad and loosely defined areas covered by infrastructure. One is the bridges, roads, etc. - which might be covered by industrial/transportation companies. I tend to think of these as companies that help move people and goods. The other is energy (or more broadly natural resources) infrastructure. (Where would one put communications - cell towers, cables/fiber lines, etc.?)
    A good description of the latter comes from the PGBAX prospectus: Energy infrastructure companies are engaged in the transportation, storage, processing, refining, marketing, exploration, production, or mining of any mineral or natural resource. ... [The] mid-stream energy infrastructure market ... is ... mostly crude oil and refined products pipeline, storage, and terminal assets; natural gas gathering and transportation pipelines, processing, and storage facilities; propane distributors; energy commodity marine transportation (including liquefied natural gas transportation and processing) ..."
    Think Keystone - TransCanada Corp (TRP) - that's 5% of TOLLX. If this is the kind of infrastructure you have in mind, that's fine. But it's not building bridges (except indirectly, as all construction requires energy, natural resources). A fund that seems more intent on balancing both sides of the infrastructure equation is Lazard Global Listed Infrastructure (GLFOX).
    Its top holdings are: 8% Atlantia (ATL), a company involved in road infrastructure (operating, maintaining), 8% Fraport AG (FRA), owns/operates Frankfurt airport), 5% DUET (DUE), energy distribution systems, 5% Tokyo Gas, .... At #9 (4%) is Norfolk Southern (railroad). But these are mostly foreign companies, and this fund will keep at least 40% of its investments outside the US. So the fund may serve more as an example of one that holds bridge/road/RR companies than as one that might take advantage of a US infrastructure renewal (depending on whether foreign companies are involved in those projects).
    The subject of this thread says it all - look under the hood.