It was nice to talk to you today, TT. For others wondering, my take is that EPD has obviously lagged badly of late but it remains a core holding given its scale and long-term track record; there is simply not a better set of assets out there. They haven’t delivered the same distribution growth as some of their rivals, and the market may be telling them right now to fix that. I think they will — there is certainly plenty of excess distribution coverage and less of a rush to make heavy new investments than there used to be.

I understand, but see little to be scared of here. U.S. shale producers are much more efficient than much of OPEC and lower cost to if you factor in the cost of maintaining the OPEC regimes in power. Shale is also a much more attractive energy investment in the current environment than deep offshore wells, and shale output is continuing to expand accordingly. But the real reason not to panic is that many midstream MLPs derive a good deal, and sometimes all, of their income from meeting domestic energy demand, both for natural gas and refined fuels. This demand has only grown in the last year. Meanwhile, shale drilling in the core of the key basins remains profitable and popular, so that the midstream producers will have plenty of business in the years ahead from drillers and consumers who simply can’t do without them. I think we’ve seen the worst. Does that help?

I am not a tax accountant, and you should speak with one, but, UBTI, UNRELATED BUSINESS TAXABLE INCOME. Something you should research and get professional tax advice on, as it can get complicated. Proceed with caution. Speak to a qualified tax accountant.

Yes, speaking with a knowledgeable tax professional is definitely recommended. In general, tax-deferred retirement accounts are subject to taxation on partnership income exceeding $1,000 a year, from all sources. Now, it’s true that most and in some cases all of an MLP distribution is termed return of capital, so that depending on the size and number of your accounts the UBTI will not necessarily trigger. But MLPs are best deployed in taxable accounts if you have any, simply because there the tax deferral and accelerated stepup basis at inheritance have the most value.