Richard GrossBarclays |
Richard Gross secures the No. 2 spot for a second straight year; the Barclays researcher is also a runner-up in Natural Gas. One appreciative fund manager dubs him “the professor” because “his knowledge of the sector is unparalleled and encyclopedic.” The outlook for the industry is fundamentally strong, Gross says. Cash flow growth at master limited partnerships is driven by capital spending — and he forecasts that organic spending will be up 59 percent year-over-year in 2012, to $23 billion, and mergers-and-acquisitions spending will increase 53 percent, to $32 billion. His recommendations emphasize stocks with higher growth potential, even though they tend to have higher valuations. Top picks include Enterprise Products Partners of Houston; Tulsa, Oklahoma–based Oneok Partners; and Denver’s DCP Midstream Partners. Gross cautions, however, that a decline in oil prices and any capital market dislocation tied to the European debt crisis could hurt MLPs’ prospects. |
Energy – Master Limited Partnerships: Second