The energy experts who advised me in “12 Stocks to Invest in Growing Energy Demand, From Oil and Gas to Nuclear and Solar” (cover story, May 17) failed to mention the significant tax-deferred yields and capital appreciation available in midstream infrastructure companies, including both master limited partnerships and C corporations. I have achieved high tax-deferred (thanks to infrastructure depreciation), distributions, dividends, and very good capital appreciation in the MLPs and C corporations that own and operate midstream infrastructure. And they are conservative, highly rated investments whose returns are contractually guaranteed by the upstream companies that require midstream facilities to operate.
Elliot Miller
Naples, Florida
Michael Milken’s Reward
To the Editor:
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Thanks Andy Serwer for a fun read (“I’ll never trade bonds in this city again,” Up & Down Wall Street, May 17). And even more so to Michael Milken for giving me the strength to make so many businesses successful. His reward was to be chained to a rock like Prometheus. I’m glad he didn’t give in.
R. Paul Drake
On Barrons.com
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Unreasonable assumptions
To the Editor:
Hats off to Charlie Bilello, chief market strategist at Creative Planning, for questioning the government’s absurd assumption that health insurance, calculated by the Consumer Price Index, is 4% lower than it was five years ago (“Think Inflation is Subsiding? Think Again,” The Economy, May 17). I don’t think my experience is a one-off. I’m married, 66, have a daughter who is now 19, and have an Anthem Blue Cross plan. Over the past four years, my monthly premiums have gone up from $2,111 to $2,621. No change in plan, $6,500 out-of-pocket costs per person. That’s a 24% increase. I think the government needs to go back to statistics class.
Bob Kalgenian
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Orange, California
Beyond the 4% rule
To the Editor:
I am 95 years old. I took a lump sum rather than an annuity, kept my funds in diversified accounts (mostly stocks), and ignored the 60/40 rule (“Breaking the 4% Retirement Rule: Here’s a Better Way to Do It,” Retirement, May 16). In the 33 years since I retired, I’ve spent only what I needed to live a decent life, and I’ve always exceeded the 4% rule. My current portfolio, a self-directed individual retirement account and a joint account, is worth more than it was in 1991, adjusted for inflation. I used common sense, stayed invested for the long term, and tried to spend a little less than the total return of my portfolio over the long term. I avoided financial advisor fees and funds with high fees.
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Ralph Strong
On Barrons.com
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