Seeking to minimize cyclicality. Navigate volatility. Inspire trust.
There is no guarantee that cyclicality can be adequately controlled or that superior results may be achieved.
Some people know a little about a lot. We know a great deal about one specific corner of the market: energy. Our decades of experience allow us to exploit this niche where the return characteristics are superior to other sectors – primarily more stable earnings and higher dividend payout ratios. Over its 20 year history, EIP has been sought out by investors, policy makers, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and industry for its knowledge, experience and unique insights.
| Name | EIP Growth and Income Fund | |
|---|---|---|
| Ticker | EIPIX | EIPFX |
| Share Class | Institutional | Investor |
| CUSIP | 268529203 | 268529203 |
| Inception Date | 8/22/2006 | 10/18/2016 |
| Year-end | October | |
| Total Fund Assets (9/30/24) | $86mm | |
Investment Philosophy
“EIP’s conservative approach to investing in quality companies is informed by its unmatched energy investing experience. EIP’s portfolio construction takes a wide stance so it can better absorb punches from an uncertain market while exploiting opportunity.”
Our framework is consistent across all our investments. The idea is simple:
Earnings stability is the primary attribute we look for because we believe it leads to superior growth and higher dividend pay-out ratios.
We are engaged with all key stakeholders in the energy space, including management teams, regulators, and policy makers.
We focus most on the quality and track record of the management teams.
Our strategy is consistent over time. Only the opportunities in the market change.
Investment Overview
The Fund’s primary investment objective is to seek a high level of total shareholder return that is balanced between current income and growth. As a secondary objective, the Fund will seek low volatility.
Investment Strategy
The Fund’s Manager, Energy Income Partners LLC (EIP), primarily invests in a diversified portfolio of equity securities of issuers in the energy industry that seek to pay out as dividends or distributions a portion of income or distributable cash flow in excess of the average for listed equities as a whole. EIP focuses the Fund’s portfolio on businesses in energy infrastructure such as pipelines, storage facilities, and terminals, regulated utilities and renewable energy production. EIP believes the formula for success for an energy infrastructure company can be succinctly rendered as the low-cost way of shipping and delivering the lowest cost energy. A distinction in EIP’s approach to stock selection and portfolio construction is its relative indifference to the formal bucketing of companies according to criteria such as industry sector or asset class. EIP is agnostic as to whether a company’s asset base entails “poles and wires” or “pipes and tanks,” whether it is organized as an MLP or a taxable C-Corporation or whether it belongs to an index. The Fund may achieve a portion of its exposure to Energy Companies using leverage in the form of swap contracts. The Fund typically uses leverage for any purpose consistent with its investment objective including providing additional flexibility in portfolio construction, cash management and in attempt to enhance returns.
“While demand for fossil fuels may go down over time, it is the high-cost producer whose production declines first. This means low-cost producers with capital discipline can still be good investments. Successful investing in mature capital-intensive industries is about after-tax earnings per share, not top-line revenue growth.”
EIP Growth and Income Fund rated four stars overall by Morningstar out of 94 Energy Limited Partnership funds as of 9/30/24.
Based on a weighted average of the Fund’s 3-, 5- and 10-year returns.
© 2024 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved. The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its content providers; (2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete, or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
The Morningstar RatingTM for funds, or “star rating”, is calculated for managed products (including mutual funds, variable annuity and variable life subaccounts, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, and separate accounts) with at least a three-year history. Exchange-traded funds and open-ended mutual funds are considered a single population for comparative purposes. It is calculated based on a Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return measure that accounts for variation in a managed product’s monthly excess performance, placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The Morningstar Rating does not include any adjustment for sales loads. The top 10% of products in each product category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars, and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. The Overall Morningstar Rating for a managed product is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its three-, five-, and 10-year (if applicable) Morningstar Rating metrics. The weights are: 100% three-year rating for 36-59 months of total returns, 60% five-year rating/40% three-year rating for 60-119 months of total returns, and 50% 10-year rating/30% five-year rating/20% three-year rating for 120 or more months of total returns. While the 10-year overall star rating formula seems to give the most weight to the 10-year period, the most recent three-year period actually has the greatest impact because it is included in all three rating periods. Morningstar Rating is for the I-share class only; other classes may have different performance characteristics.
With respect to the Energy Limited Partnerships funds, EIP Growth and Income Fund received a Morningstar Rating of 2 star for the three-year and 5 star for five- and ten- year periods, out of 94, 92 and 60 Energy Limited Partnership funds respectively, as of 9/30/2024. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.