< The 2014 All-America Research TeamRichard Gross II & teamBarclaysFirst-place appearances: 1
Total appearances: 6
Team debut: 2009Richard Gross II and his seven-member Barclays squad capture second place on this lineup, which now reflects a team-based approach to sell-side coverage of Master Limited Partnerships. The crew chief won the same position on this list from 2011 through 2013. “He’s the walking encyclopedia of the midstream business,” observes one portfolio manager, “as he knows everything there is to know about MLPs, pipelines and natural-gas liquids.” Indeed, Gross earns second-place honors in Natural Gas this year. Stationed in Granby, Colorado (where Gross lives), New York and San Francisco, this crew is convinced that the fundamental backdrop for U.S. MLPs remains robust, citing the benefits of shale development and M&A deal flow. “This strong spending environment sets the stage for aggregate distribution growth in the 7 to 8 percent range for the foreseeable future,” Gross notes. “Importantly, capital markets have been highly accommodative.” Investors, however, are experiencing “valuation angst,” he cautions, ahead of anticipated interest rates hikes in the next 12 months. Against this backdrop, large-cap names that win the analysts’ favor include Dallas’s Energy Transfer Equity; Houston-based Enterprise Products Partners and Plains All American Pipeline; and ONEOK Partners of Tulsa, Oklahoma. On the smaller-cap side they prefer Oklahoma City–based Enable Midstream Partners; Regency Energy Partners of Dallas; Overland Park, Kansas’s Tallgrass Energy Partners; and Woodlands, Texas–headquartered Western Gas Partners.