CBA News and Press, ClearBridge American Energy MLP Fund Inc. From 11/09/22

Summary Midstream dividend trends remained positive for 3Q22, with multiple examples of growth and no cuts. Comparing 3Q22 payouts with 3Q21, approximately 90% of the Alerian Midstream Energy Index (AMNA) and Alerian MLP Index (AMZ) by weighting have grown their payouts. Midst...

Summary US producers have demonstrated that they are capable of significant growth at a lower oil price level, so it can be baffling that production is not growing more at higher prices. Despite ample reserves, significant industry expertise in shale production, and financial ince...

Summary The market is greatly overestimating the effect of higher rates and inflation on durable goods, materials and financial companies, while underestimating the impact on speculative assets. Rather than driven by positive growth catalysts, the reversal in value leadership duri...

Summary Global growth stocks held up better than value, snapping a two-quarter losing streak, as global recession fears weighed more heavily on companies tied to the broader economy. The Strategy outperformed for the second quarter in a row, thanks in large part to positioning adj...

Summary Having suffered through a sharp decline in earnings multiples, SMID cap growth stocks held up well in a volatile quarter marked by a sharp upward ratcheting of interest rates. The Strategy underperformed its benchmark, primarily due to weakness among health care holdings t...

Summary Against a background of rising rates and recession risks, the Strategy outperformed its benchmark driven by our selections in the IT, industrials and health care sectors. We were active in repositioning the portfolio in the quarter as market crosswinds opened idiosyncratic...

Summary While U.S. utilities dominated top contributors in the quarter, utilities in Europe suffered from growing fear of sector intervention amid several economic and political uncertainties. The U.S. Inflation Reduction Act was announced in August and has become a major tailwind...

Summary The third quarter was dominated by central banks’ efforts to fight inflation through tightening monetary policy; as the Fed and other central banks continued to raise rates, bond yields rose across the globe. The U.S. Inflation Reduction Act was announced in August ...

Summary Several long-standing biopharmaceutical holdings drove performance. An unprecedented set of global challenges makes it more important than ever to own cash-generative businesses with strong balance sheets that can take advantage of dislocations in the market and the econom...

Summary Even with oil prices lower in the quarter, energy prices remain stubbornly high and will likely remain in a tight supply and demand balance even if economies slow down meaningfully. This backdrop will continue to support the pipelines over the medium term as energy produce...