Customer Reviews

Master Limited Partnerships: High Yield, Ever Growing Oil "Stocks" Income Investing for a Secure, Worry Free and Comfortable Retirement

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Well... I had high hopes for this book. I had done some research of MLP's in articles, annual reports and other data easily collected from the internet. When I ordered the book, I was hoping that it would take me deeper into the subject. Like how to value a particular MLP, what things to look out for on their balance sheet, p&l or cash flow statement particular to the industry they were involved in. Like where to look for trouble spots. There is virtually nothing in regards to the Oil and Gas industries that underly these MLP's. This is essentially a book of lists. The book is a large format paperback, with large type, very generous spacing on the pages, and some repetitive information. The book is 191 pages. The first 1/3 explains the VERY BASICS that are available on the web and the balance of the book is lists of the different MLP indexes, and the listed MLP's available, their address, ticker symbol, phone number, website etc. Hello Yahoo Finance. And each MLP listing takes up a whole 8"x10" page - seriously? Nothing that warrants $25. If this is all it takes to research and write a book to sell, I am focusing on the wrong things. If this book were normal type size and spacing, it would be lucky to be 60 pages! It was a waste of $25. Just use google. I gave it two stars instead of one, for Richard Stooker's return on time invested in writing it.

In a time when individual investors are struggling to identify income-generating investments that do not carry intolerable levels of risk, this book provides a rational alternative to bonds, CDs and money market funds. The author writes in a clear and precise style to explain Master Limited Partnerships, how they work and why they can be an important part of an investor's portfolio. There is a discussion of what to look for when evaluating an MLP and an explanation of the tax reporting. The book is accessible to the amateur investor and can serve as a useful reference to financial advisors and wealth managers.

The author is not affiliated with any investment firm or the industry so the content is free of marketing bias.

This review is written under a pseudonym as the reviewer has an affiliation in the wealth management industry.

In today's economy every little bit counts but high yields count far more! As the author (Richard Stooker) so clearly explains here, yields are a combination of many factors that investors often ignore, such as dividends (especially dividends!). And oil stocks are of course hot now, but even when oil was low, they were obviously great investments because oil is a commodity that much continually be taken from the ground, is labor intensive, and when it's low it won't stay low. But with capital expenditures more fixed than other business models, energy companies can pay much more consistent dividends and this is one of several MLP strategies covered in detail here. I want to stress that if you're not a professional investor that you CAN understand this book. It's not one of those tiny "pamphlets" disguised as a self-published Book, this weighs in more than 200 pages long and jam-packed with information ANYone looking for returns can find useful right now.

I found this book a collection of information on Master Limited Partnerships, as described. It goes into great depth on how to complete your tax returns for Master Limited Partnerships, as that paperwork is the one serious defect they have. Me, I want the greater yields they return, so I'm willing to pay a tax professional a little extra. I don't want to do that myself, but this book contains all the information you need to do it yourself. That is not available anywhere else, except perhaps in accounting textbooks.

There is a lot of information on why Master Limited Partnerships are a great income investment and why they almost certainly will remain so. I appreciate having it together in one volume. Plus, until now, I didn't understand that some MLPs were different, but that "mid-stream" companies are the best and safest.

All in all, highly recommended for anyone who wants more investing!

Master Limited Partnerships by Rich Stooker

Gold Egg Investing

Reviewed by Dr. Joseph S. Maresca

Master Limited Partnerships are a good place to park an

investment according to the author. Yields are upwards

of 7%. There is a return of capital. Annualized

growth can be as high as 9% on average. The MLPs have

1/3 of the volatility of the S & P 500. The MLPs were down

but not catastrophically like the S & P in the market crash

of '08. The reason may be that energy has an inelastic

demand. Our energy needs are slated to grow by 1% per year

for the next several decades. MLPs like the pipeline

business are guaranteed profits. (virtually)

MLPs are also recession proof substantially. In addition,

the MLPs will be adaptive to the green power movement.

As limited partners, investors are responsible up to their

investment of capital only (UCC).

Examples of top oil shale investments are New Shale

NF Basins, Barnett Shale Tx.,Marcellus Shale Pa. and

Rockies CO. , Wy. and Utah. MLPs are 90 % owned by

individuals. In effect, the MLP refunds your investment

in 5 years or so and the remainder consists of dividends for life.

The MLP Index consists of Alerian MLP, Cushing 30,

Tortoise and others. The author explains the reporting

requirements for MLPs on the K-1 form and a small portion

of Schedule E ( about 5% form utilization). Investors

cannot net MLP profits to losses in other MLP investments.

Instead, individual MLP losses may be carried forward.

Form 4797 is utilized for selling the units which

would not be advised if the objective is a life-long income.

The author advises us to record the MLP cost basis and

retain the worksheet. The best MLPs are Kinder Morgan (KMR)

and Elbridge Energy Partners (EEQ)according to the book.

Closed end MLPs utilize leverage to increase returns.

The book also recommends that investors receive and shelter

the cash flow from the MLP in a taxable account.

Examples of Tooth Booth MLPs are APL, BWP, BPL, ETP,

OKs (Natural Gas partners),WES, BGH, DPM, DEP, EROC and EEP.

If the purchase is made via the brokerage account, no K-1 form

filing may be required. Samples of exploration and

production MLPs are BBEP and DMLP (Bakken). POPE is a timber

MLP on the Nasdaq. I'm inclined toward investment in the timber

MLP coming out of a recession and into home building and buying.

Overall, the acquisition would be perfect for your personal

investment library.

Pipeline MLPs :

Here is a list of some major pipeline MLPs with stock ticker :

Amerigas APU

Atlas Pipeline Partners APL

Crosstex Energy XTEX

Dorchester Minerals DMLP

Enery Transfer Partners ETP

Enterprise Products Partners EPD

Ferrellgas Partners FGP

Genesis Energy GEL

Gulfterra Energy Partners GTM

Holly Energy Partners HEP

Inergy NRGY

K-Sea Transportation KSP

Kaneb Pipe Line KPP

Kinder Morgan Energy Part. KMP

Magellan Midstream MMP

MarkWest Energy MWE

Martin Midstream MMLP

Northern Borders NBP

Pacific Energy PPX

Plains All Pipeline PAA

Star Gas SGU

Suburban Propane SPH

Sunoco Logistics SXL

TC Pipelines TCLP

TEPPCO Partners TPP

Valero VLI

Natural Resource MLPs :

Alliance Resource Partners ARLP (coal)

Crown Pacific CRPP.OB (timber)

Natural Resource Partners NRP (coal)

Penn Virginia Resource Partnership PVR (coal, timber)

Pope Resources POPEZ (timber)

Terra Nitrogen TNH (fertilizer)

Real Estate MLPs :

America First RE Investments AFREZ

American Real Estate Partners ACP

Heartland Partners HTL

Interstate General IGC

New England Realty NEN

Most MLPs pay a hefty dividend of 4-8% (distribution).

These are good income stocks. The pipeline companies

have more stable businesses generally unaffected by

the underlying price of the gas or oil.

According to Master Limited Partnerships by Richard Stooker

(Gold Egg Investing),the best MLPs are Kinder Morgan (KMR)

and Elbridge Energy Partners (EEQ).

Kinder Morgan (KMP) has had a terrific run-up from its $8 or

so opening in 1997 to nearly $67 today. That's over 8 times

your original investment plus a mound of dividends.

Let's assume you bought KMP at the end of July 2005 for

$52.50. In the 5 or so years since, there was a payout of

over $18.40 per share of stock, averaging 92 cents per

quarter for the past 20 quarters. Roughly 35% of the cost

of KMP will have been returned in addition to a

$14. per share increase in price from $52.50 to the current

$67. over the past 5 years.

The computed returns are 6% in 2006, 6.4% in 2007 and over

7% thereafter. The pre-2008 crash dividend was 99 cents

per quarter and the post crash dividend actually increased

to $1.07 per quarter by April of this year. This MLP has

climbed steadily at about a 40 degree angle from $8 to the

current $67 per share. Draw a straight line through the peaks

and you will see that the trajectory is upward substantially

with the peak price getting higher and higher.

There are some intermittant valleys but the trend is

upward virtually throughout the past 13 years.

KMP transports refined petroleum products through more

than 37, 000 miles of pipelines. They transport CO 2 through

their top divisions. KMP owns 180 bulk terminals as well as

railroad transloading facilities. Approximately 90 million

tons of coal,petroleum, coke and bulk products are transported

each year. A key attraction is that KMP is an owner of important

factors of production in its ongoing operations.

In addition, the company offers quick and efficient solutions

to move Marcellus NGLs (natural gas) to market.

Despite this seemingly stellar performance, there is not

unanimity among analysts at this time advising to buy KMP.

The global economy must shake off doldrums in the Euro,

Greek debt, uneasiness over derivatives in some quarters and

a real estate market in varying stages of a recovery in the USA.

In addition, increments in the employment outlook would

solidify some of the recent traction in industrial gains.

On the positive side, KMP generated enough cash to pay

investors $4.20 per unit and have $14 million excess coverage.

According to the company website, the 2009 headwinds were

due to lower refined product transportation volumes,

less steel handling at bulk terminals,lower crude oil prices

and a difficult business environment for Texas Intrastate

Pipelines.

The company claims to have transcended these challenges

due to exceeding expectations on other assets, lower costs

internally, lower interest rates, a strong balance sheet ,

good cash flow and excellent access to capital markets.

The report of the 10K for the year 2009 was received on

2-23-2010 according to the Edgar records of the Securities

and Exchange Commission. The KMP management cited routine

constraining factors in doing business. Some of the major

constraints cited were:

o rulemaking, oversight and rate challenges in the industry

o cost overruns, delays in project completions and tightened

capital markets

o risks of energy commodity transportation, unexpected

geological formations/pressures

o equipment failures, accidents, fires, shortages

o foreign supply and demand for oil and natural gas, OPEC

o market volatility and hedging arrangements

o downturns in credit markets can lead to increased

costs of borrowing

o pipelines in some areas may be subject to natural disasters

like hurricanes

o Federal Energy Regulatory Commission proceedings ,

carbon dioxide litigation and other litigation

I don't make investment recommendations. Nonetheless,

KMP would appear to be a better bargain in the mid to

upper $50s/ share thereby increasing the yield to

nearly 7.5%. At $67/share, the acquisition could be

pricey; however, I would keep KMP on

the investment radar screen and perform the

due diligence requisite to purchasing the stock

at the appropriate time.

This book is excellent. It is well worth the price paid.

The presentation is very easy to understand. The book

contains considerable in depth analyses on a plethora of

investment products. As such, a copy of the book should be

in every financial library.

Today's economic problems appear globally, nationally, and locally, and investors have to stay on top of things to stay afloat. As for me, I would rather have a return OF my money than a loss ON my money and I continually look for ways to hone my investing skills. I was thrilled when I found Master Limited Partnerships because information about MLPs has been, at best, hit-and-miss, and this volume gives the subject serious and comprehensive treatment while still being readable. I'm no high-tech computer guy, I am not a broker, I just know PERHAPS slightly more than the guy on the street about investing and I need some hand-holding when venturing into new ventures! Here is that info and I am now studying the detailed listings of the MLP indexes and closed-end funds to find one that suits my goals and expectations. All the ins and outs of REITs, MLPs, and more are compared and contrasted here in one place. Excellent!

I bought the kindle version of this book and found out that it is not formatted correctly for the Kindle. The book is littered with HTML tags and is very difficult to read. Amazon informed me that this is how the author uploaded it for distribution. It is obvious that is was in HTML form and was just copied pasted onto Amazon's servers. I requested a refund. Why didn't Amazon check it?? Unfortunately I never read it. I figure if you are going to sell a book on the Kindle you should check to make sure it is formatted correctly for the device.

The reason I bought the book was to get a one stop shop read on MLP's. But I can get most of it on the web in pieces. You can still plow through the content if you wanted to, its just a chopper read with all the tags in the way and no navigational table of contents.