MLPA

It has not been a good decade for MLP investors. Even with double-digit yields, total returns on the sector are at -4% annualized going back to 2010.Alerian’s Stacey Morris believes that’s all about to change as 2021 will see meaningful growth in MLP free cash flow and dividends for the first time in years.ALPS' Paul Baiocchi also joins the conversation and goes under the hood of his firm’s 2 Alerian MLP ETFs, AMLP and ENFR.The central question in all of this: After years of underperformance, are MLP ETFs finally poised for some positive mean reversion?

I received $1,553 in September, which was better than the $1,269 in September 2019.For the quarter I received $3,093 which was up 6.5% from Q3 in 2019.I closed out several positions to focus on my prime dividend growth holdings and index the rest.

In contrast to the prior midstream business model that emphasized a grow-at-all-costs mentality reflected in both dividends and capital spending, midstream has been shifting to a more sustainable growth model that is not dependent on raising equity for funding.The upshot of pressured equity performance blended with resilient EBITDA estimates is significantly discounted EV/EBITDA valuations for midstream companies relative to history, creating the opportunity for capital appreciation as multiples expand.Rather than enjoying yield alone, midstream investors can benefit from total return as a result of the more balanced approach taken by midstream companies, the potential for capital appreciation, and possible shareholder-friendly returns as free cash flow generation takes hold.

The closed-end funds that focus on oil and gas pipeline companies generally trade at discounts to their net asset values of 20% or more - the widest in the U.S.

While energy companies across the sector are pounding the table on free cash flow, midstream has a distinct advantage over its counterparts when it comes to the predictability of free cash flow and the generous income on offer.In contrast with other energy sectors, midstream’s more predictable cash flows allow for a greater degree of confidence in free cash flow generation regardless of the commodity price environment.Midstream’s fee-based cash flows tend to support more predictable income for investors, whereas oil and gas producers are increasingly discussing variable or special dividends.

"Japanification" is the process of other countries' economies becoming like that of Japan: flatlined, with little to no growth or inflation and interest rates stuck at zero indefinitely. Because of the Monetary Death Spiral process that I've described elsewhere, many countries around the world are undergoing the process of Japanification. With interest rates now stuck at zero for the long haul and the Fed focused on employment above all else, the US has now completed the process. I go through nine economic metrics to show how the United States is walking down the path of Japan.

Ample economic research has shown that excessive debt, above a certain threshold of GDP, begins to drag down economic growth. US national debt is now well above that threshold. But ballooning debt, in itself, is not the fundamental issue. It is the result of the core problem. In the coming decades, the US economy will be asked to do the impossible: grow faster even while the government extracts more of its resources. There are no easy solutions. There are only painful trade-offs.

Recently, the Federal Reserve confirmed a widely expected shift in monetary policy that will result in near-zero interest rates for the foreseeable future. From their perspective, this stance is justified based on evidence that the U.S. economic recovery will be long, slow, and halting. A full recovery won't come until government safety measures are lifted, and those will likely remain (in some areas, at least) until a vaccine is discovered and distributed. Small business destruction and job losses will not be quickly and easily remedied, and an output gap is projected to persist throughout the decade. Real assets with strong cash flows are extremely attractive in this environment.