Revealed: America's 21 Best-Performing Income Stocks
(with dividends of 6.0% to 12.5%)
 

     We actually discovered them by accident...

     Not long ago a member of our research team was doing a routine search for an article our staff was writing. The assignment was simple. We wanted to find the best-performing income stock of the past decade and tell our readers about it.

     What we discovered was so important that I urge you to spend a few minutes to hear me out. It's a simple yet profound concept that could change the way you invest forever.

     I don't have to tell you how tough the past 10 years have been for investors... a stretch of time some people call the "Lost Decade." Few people made money, right?

     This got us thinking. You see, most of our subscribers at StreetAuthority are income investors... and with all the success stories we hear from them, we had doubts that it was such a bad time for dividend investors.

     But it wasn't until that member of our research team took a look at every stock paying 6% or more right now... and then looked up their total returns over the past 10 years... that we stumbled upon a finding that could have an unmatched impact on your investing.

     Take a look at our findings for yourself:

The 21 Best Income Stocks of the Past Decade
 

     Notice anything odd about this list?

     All sorts of stocks in all sorts of industries pay dividends. But it turns out a surprising number of the top gainers were involved in the same business -- energy. In total, 12 of the top 21 were in the energy sector. That's WAY more than you would find by chance alone.

     After all, only about 15% of American stocks yielding 6% or more are in the energy sector. But more than half of the top gainers in our list are energy stocks.

     That includes stocks like Energy Transfer Partners (NYSE: ETP), which has returned 591% and pays more than 8% each year. And Genesis Energy (NYSE: MSB), which thanks to its dividend has returned 976% in the past 10 years.

     What's going on here?

     Why did so many energy stocks make the list of the decade's best-performing income stocks?

     Is it because they pay higher dividends than the rest?

     Or is it just that all energy stocks have been on a roll?

     So next we looked at every energy stock over the past decade... including those that didn't pay a cent in dividends.

     The first thing we noticed is that yes, energy stocks have been on fire. Over the past 10 years North American oil and gas stocks are up 290%.

     That's impressive... but if you had invested in only the dividend payers -- those paying any dividend at all, no matter how small -- your average return was 589%. In other words, energy stocks that pay dividends doubled the performance of what was already one of the market's strongest sectors.

     If it looks to you like energy and income are a magic combination, I'd agree. But wait until you see what else we found...

     Standard & Poor's has an unusual index they call the "High-Yield Dividend Aristocrats." A company has to increase its dividends for at least 25 years in a row before it's even considered for this index. As you'd imagine, this is a pretty exclusive list, numbering about 60 stocks. 

     The High-Yield Dividend Aristocrats have absolutely creamed the rest of the stock market. They're up 136% since the index was started at the end of 1999. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 is actually down 4.5%.

     I figure the main reason these "Aristocrats" have done so well is because they are top-notch companies. It's hard to increase dividends 10 years in a row, let alone 25. You need a steady, growing business and an extremely reliable stream of cash flow to accomplish a feat like that.

     As you might expect, there are a few reliable consumer staples like Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL) among the 60 stocks. We also counted two utilities, two banks, and two real estate investment trusts.

     But ELEVEN energy-related companies make the Dividend Aristocrats list -- by far the highest concentration in any sector.

     Now, these aren't just a bunch of theoretical numbers we've "cherry-picked" to make a point. Real investors like you and me are piling up honest-to-goodness fortunes by focusing on dividend-paying energy stocks.

     For example, we recently asked some of our readers to tell us about their most successful long-term investments... and what we found matched up exactly with the data we've shown you.

     But my favorite story is from Edwin C. of San Diego. I'll let him tell you himself...


     Now, I will be the first to tell you that these stories from investors are extraordinary, even though they are 100% true. I don't necessarily expect you to become a millionaire by putting a few thousand dollars in a dividend-paying energy stock.

     But I'm convinced that investing in energy stocks -- especially those that also pay dividends -- is one of the best ways to generate a substantial sum of money from even a modest investment.

     Meanwhile, as I'll show you throughout today's presentation, a large chunk of the market's highest-yielding stocks are involved in energy. I'll tell you about MLPs paying 13.2%... royalty trusts paying 18.5%... and oil tanker stocks paying 20.4%. In short, if you want high yields, there's no better place to look than energy stocks.    

     I'll cover a few high-yield energy plays in a moment -- including names and ticker symbols -- but first, let me tell you a little more about why I think the energy sector could continue to produce many of the top gains over the next 10 years, even after a decade-long bull market...

The Most Powerful 1-2 Punch in Investing

     The more I look into it, the more dividend-paying energy stocks look like the "Holy Grail" of investing.

     We've spent weeks digging into every angle of this phenomenon and found so much evidence that we have started to call it the "Energy+Income Effect."

     I know nothing is a sure thing, but when you combine energy with yield, good things seem to happen again and again.

     It makes perfect sense in today's world, because energy is in one of the biggest bull markets we've ever seen. But unlike some other historic bull markets, such as the high-flying "New Economy" of the late '90s, fundamentals are driving prices this time -- not delusions.

But before I get too far along, let me introduce myself. My name is Nathan Slaughter.      I'm not a Wall Street big shot. I'm an analyst working for StreetAuthority, an independent investment publisher.      I've been an advisor at one of the world's largest financial planning firms, Morgan Keegan, and I've managed millions in portfolio assets.      For the past seven years, I've been with StreetAuthority, one of the nation's largest financial research outfits. We've been in business for over a decade, and our analysis has appeared on Nasdaq, Forbes, Yahoo, AOL and many other well-known financial media outlets.      Over the years, our business has grown like a weed. We now have two principal offices -- one in Gaithersburg, Maryland and another in Austin, Texas.      We employ dozens of people, and we have analysts and researchers all over the U.S. and Canada. Myself, I'm in Shreveport, Louisiana.

     I happen to live in DeSoto Parish in the northwest part of the state. Back in March, my neighborhood became the nation's top-producing natural gas field. So I've had a grounds-eye view of a sleepy rural area turning into a bustling hive of drilling activity. Leasing bonuses and royalty payments are flooding in.

     Meanwhile, I've been recommending energy stocks to my readers for years...

     In March 2009, I urged readers of one of my advisories to buy shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP). Back then, the stock traded for just $35 per share after the fallout from the "Great Recession." Today, the stock trades at $70... meaning investors doubled their money.

     Then there were my calls to buy Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) at the same time. Two years later, readers were up 134%.

     Because of all the takeovers, a sudden windfall profit is a constant possibility in this booming industry. I bought Brigham Exploration (Nasdaq: BEXP) in April 2011 to gain exposure to the booming Bakken Shale region.

     On October 17th (just six months later), it popped 21% following a $4.4 billion cash buyout offer from Statoil (NYSE: STO), Norway's state-owned energy giant. That gave shareholders a 36% premium above BEXP's average price over the previous 30 days and nearly 70% above where it bottomed on October 4th.

     And earlier this year we doubled our money in six months with a natural gas play right in my backyard. Mark W., a retired engineer from Mount Vernon, Texas explains what happened.

     Mark is talking about Petrohawk. We bought this stock on January 27th of this year. The company operates in my neighborhood, and I drive by its wells every day. On July 14th, BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP) announced it would buy Petrohawk out for $38.75 a share in cash -- 103% higher than the price we paid less than six months earlier.

     And while not every pick will be another Chesapeake or Petrohawk, I do think gains like these, which have helped put energy stocks at the top of the "total return" list, are likely to continue in select energy stock.

     Just keep reading to see exactly why...

It's Still the Early Innings of the Energy Bull Market

     Energy stocks have obviously been good to investors... but how about going forward?

     Just look around you. The question answers itself.

     The world is clamoring for energy, and there simply isn't enough to go around.

     A quarter of a million babies are born every day, and they are all going to want the conveniences of modern life. That requires a lot of energy... and billions of people are already competing for it.

     What's more, these billions are starting to make enough money to pay for it. Countries that used to be too poor to consume as much as we do in the West are catching up fast.

     Some incomes in the developing world are actually rising faster than oil prices. This rising wealth is creating a new global middle class that the World Bank estimates will be more than 1 billion strong by 2030.

     Meanwhile, the supply side of the equation doesn't look so healthy.

     On June 9, 2011, The Economist put it this way: "Global oil production has struggled to keep up with increased demand recently, particularly from Asia. In 2010 consumption exceeded production by over 5 million barrels per day for the first year ever, as world oil stocks were run down."

     And on August 7, 2011, Forbes reported that "...incremental demand will outpace supply by 1.1 million barrels per day on a year-over-year basis during the third quarter of 2011."

     According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), emerging markets are almost entirely behind this increased demand. As recently as the 1980s, the developed world used 70% of the world's oil. That figure is down to 50% today.

     In this year's International Energy Outlook 2011, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that it expects global energy consumption to rise by 53% from 2008 through 2035. They also said that by 2035, China and India will consume 31% of the world's energy.

     I think The Economist put it best...

     Let's just look at one glaring example of increasing energy use -- the rise of the automobile in places like China. China's auto market overtook the United States as the world's largest in 2008.

     China's new car sales volume in 2010 leapt 32% to 18 million new cars. That's nearly 50,000 new vehicles hitting the road every day.

     But these sales are just a drop in the bucket compared to what we'll see in the future.

     Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is projecting China's auto sales will reach 32 million by 2020 -- 28% of the entire global market.

     This is entirely possible because on a per-person basis, car ownership in China is astonishingly low.

     In fact, there are fewer cars per person in China than in Brazil, Panama, and even Kazakhstan. Only about 12% of Chinese citizens own a car.

     Before cars become even half as common in China as in the United States, another 300 million cars will be sold. That's a lot of gasoline.

     And it's not just China. Car sales in emerging nations are projected to overtake sales in developed economies by 2013. You can easily see the progression in this chart.

     The fact is, emerging economies are hungry for the same type of lifestyle that American consumers have enjoyed for decades. And that lifestyle takes enormous amounts of oil... gas... and other forms of energy.

     Add to that the fact that throughout Latin America, Eastern Europe and even Africa, economic growth is accelerating at a remarkable clip, far faster than anything happening in America... and it's clear that future oil consumption around the world is on a collision course with our own.

     China is already the #2 oil consumer in the world, and it only uses one-tenth as much per person as the U.S. If the Chinese start using even half as much as we do on a per-capita basis, they will muscle weaker players out of the import market and drive up prices on all forms of energy.

     Meanwhile, as violence in the Middle East threatens the world's largest oil supplies, our own oil production and refining capacity is in a shocking state of decline. (Believe it or not, no new refineries have been built in the U.S. since 1976!)

     You can debate peak oil all you want. But you can't argue that the world is growing more oil-hungry every year.

     In just 150 years we have burned through oil reserves that took millions of years to form.

     According to the International Energy Association (IEA), the world is going to need 126 million barrels of oil a day by the end of the next two decades. That's up from the 90 million barrels a day the global economy uses now.

     And half that additional 36 million barrel a day increase hasn't even been found yet, according to oil-services giant Schlumberger.

     In other words, in 20 years, the world will need the equivalent of four new Saudi Arabias to meet demand.

     Where will this extra oil come from? That's the problem. It might not come.

     Oil prices have risen more than 150% since 2004, but oil production last year was about the same as it was in 2004.

     Normally, a large rise in prices would mean much more oil produced. That hasn't happened.

     Cambridge Energy Research Associates studied the largest 811 oilfields in 2008 and found the average rate of field decline to be 4.5% per year. According to the IEA, it's even worse. After the organization analyzed 800 oilfields it stated that oil production was declining 6.7% a year.

     In fact, according to stats compiled by the IEA, oil production has peaked in more than 50 countries.

     U.S. oil production has been dropping since 1970. That year we produced 9.6 million barrels per day. In 2010 we produced just 5.5 million.

     Texas topped out 30 years ago. These days Texas produces the same amount of oil as it did in the 1930s.

     Alaska reached its peak in 1988... and has since declined 65%.

     They are certainly aware of this in oil country. The Fairbanks Daily News on March 13, 2011 reported, "Since 1988, the amount of oil extracted from Alaska has been on a steady decline. And with that decline, the state's main revenue source is gradually dwindling away. Since peaking at about 2 million barrels of oil per day, Alaska's oil production has declined by an average of 5% per year. During the next 20 years, the decline is expected to continue."

     It's much the same story around the world...

     North Sea oil production peaked between 1999 and 2001.

     Oil production in the former Soviet Union has been dropping since 1988.

     Iran's oil fields peaked in the 1970s. Most of them now produce 15% to 30% of peak rates.

     I don't have a crystal ball, but with so many forces converging, I don't think it's crazy to think energy prices could go much higher... or at the very least, sustain current levels.

     After all... it's not just surging demand in the developing world... or a growing scarcity of easy-to-access supplies. It's not just the rise in automobiles. Rather, it's all these things.

     Demand for nearly every critical energy resource in the world is growing faster than supplies. Emerging nations are already using more than half the world's resources. And their per capita consumption is still a fraction of what we use in the West. Imagine how hard prices will be squeezed as their use approaches ours.

     Companies that can deliver the energy the world so desperately needs are likely to enjoy constantly rising revenues -- and their stock prices should go along for the ride.

     Of course, it won't be a one-way trip straight up for energy investors. You saw what happened in 2008 when the world's economy stalled and oil prices plunged. Energy stocks got hit hard... but the high dividend payers that I'm talking about today have rebounded so strongly that many of them are once again at record highs.

     So we'll hit periodic bumps in the road, but I still think the biggest energy profits are to be made now, while emerging economies are still in early growth stages.

     But if you simply focus on the bullish case for energy, I think you're missing the other half the equation. Remember, the energy stocks that paid dividends doubled the performance of those paying no dividends over the past decade.

     So let's take a look at why the income part of the Energy+Income equation is so critical...

The Surest Way to Wealth in the Stock Market

     A bit of advice: If dividend-paying stocks make you yawn, it's time to wake up. Although little respected and often ignored, more than 137 years of data prove that owning humdrum dividend-paying stocks beats all other investment approaches hands down.

     Over the decades, dividends have contributed about 40% of the total return delivered by the stock market. This makes a massive difference over the long haul. A $1,000 investment in the S&P 500 at the start of 1936 would be worth $1,487,063 today with dividends reinvested. But it would be worth just $89,378 without the dividends.

     I want to be clear that I'm not the only one saying how important dividends are.

     Mountains of academic research backs me up, too.

     After poring through decades of data on the S&P 500 Index, Wharton Business School professor Jeremy Siegel discovered that the greatest long-term returns don't come from companies whose earnings grow fastest. They come from hum-drum companies that crank out dividends year after year.

     "Dividends matter a lot," Siegel says. "Reinvesting dividends is the critical factor giving the edge to most winning stocks in the long run."

     Of course, what Siegel found is exactly what we're finding in Energy+Income investing. Since dividends are such a critical tool in becoming wealthy, it stands to reason that energy stocks, with an abundance of high yielders, are a fertile hunting ground for investors.

     Take Dominion Resources (NYSE: D), for example.

     Dominion Resources is an energy powerhouse. It generates 27,000 megawatts of power, has 6,000 miles of electric lines, 14,000 miles of natural gas pipelines, and 1.2 trillion cubic feet equivalent of natural gas and oil reserves.

     Dominion also operates the nation's largest natural gas storage facility. And its liquid natural gas import terminal on the Chesapeake Bay is one of the largest and busiest anywhere.

     Since the start of 1984, the company's share price has increased 588%. But add in reinvested dividends, and your total return jumps to 3,400%.

     When people talk about the massive gains common stocks have racked up over long holding periods, that's what they're really talking about: the phenomenal juggernaut effect of dividends.

     Look at the history of Exxon Mobil. In the middle of 1980 you could have bought 100 shares for $6,963.

     That was a good time to buy Exxon because it yielded over 10% in the early 1980s. By now you would have pocketed $42,426 in dividends, six times what you put down to begin with.

     But if you didn't pocket those dividends, and reinvested them instead, your stake would now be worth a stunning $433,872… more than 10 times as much.

     The Exxon story is even more dramatic for anyone who got started 10 years earlier. At the start of 1970 you could have bought 100 shares for $6,263. After splits, you'd now have 3,200 shares worth $246,912... and a whole lot of dividends along the way.

     But if you had reinvested Exxon’s non-stop dividends into more shares, you’d have 22,993 shares worth $1,786,984… and your annual payout would be $43,226.

     Of course, Exxon is an unusual case, but it does illustrate an important point.

     Bottom line: Dividends matter big time. And increasing them matters even more. When dividends grow unusually fast, you can make staggering profits even if the share price never budges.

     And nowhere do you find as many stocks that can make you rich off their yields alone as you do in the energy patch. It's a funny thing. When you start looking at the energy sector, you almost can't avoid finding high yields.

     For example, Cheniere Energy Partners (AMEX: CQP), a key player in liquid natural gas, yields 11.8%.

     Legacy Reserves (Nasdaq: LGCY), an oil and gas limited partnership, yields 7.8%.

     Natural Resource Partners (NYSE: NRP), whose coal properties contain 2.1 billion tons of coal, yields 7.6%.

     Why are yields so high here? For one thing, business is good. But a more important reason is that as you'll see, so many of the businesses in the energy sector receive special benefits from our government, allowing them (and sometimes forcing them) to pay soaring yields.

     And when investors find this intersection between Energy+Income, I think the profit opportunity is nearly unmatched...

The Best-Performing Asset Class of the Past 10 Years... And Yields of 13.2%

     One of the most successful high-yield energy investments is a type of security that few investors even know exist, let alone own.

     They aren't stocks, and they aren't bonds, but they are the #1 performing asset class over the past 10 years -- up 288%. Stocks are up just 31% over that stretch and bonds, which have been in a major bull market, are up 71%.

     They're called master limited partnerships -- or MLPs for short. These securities have two overriding characteristics. They are overwhelmingly in the energy business... and they usually pay enormous dividends.

     In other words, they are the quintessential Energy+Income investment. They give you the exact same double whammy that has propelled so many of the big winners to the top of the chart you saw at the beginning of this presentation.

     MLPs were authorized by Congress in the mid-1980s to encourage investment in critical "midstream" energy infrastructure: the pipelines, storage tanks, terminals and ships that move energy from producer to user.

     These partnerships operate thousands of miles of pipelines... and countless storage depots. They are the arteries through which our economic lifeblood flows.

     The beauty of MLPs is that they let you profit no matter which way energy prices move. You see, it's about demand, not price. It doesn't matter if oil is at $50 a barrel or $150, the stuff keeps flowing through thousands of miles of pipelines... and earning money for these partnerships.

     And unlike so many top-heavy corporations that pay their executives millions while the stock price goes nowhere, these securities pay their profits directly to you. They have to, by law.

     That's why I like to think of MLPs as a pure play on the nearly unstoppable demand for energy -- no matter what prices do. As long as the gas and oil keep flowing through their pipelines, these outfits get paid...

     As an added bonus, your personal taxes are so low that you'll think the IRS has made a mistake. But it's true. You can look it up yourself in section 705(a)(1) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Thanks to the IRS' own depreciation rules, 80% to 90% of the distribution you get from a typical partnership is tax-free until you sell.

     Most MLP investors are attracted by their generous yields... ranging up to 13.2% for profitable firms.

     But plenty of MLPs have also grown impressively, too... creating huge capital gains for investors.

     Let's say you put $10,000 in Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD) when it was launched in 1998. You'd now be getting $5,322 a year in distributions. That is a 53% annual yield on your initial investment. And that's on top of massive capital gains. Your total gain, assuming you reinvested distributions: $84,094.

     Enterprise is by no means an isolated example. Plenty of other partnerships have grown their income streams even faster than Enterprise. In fact, I've found 14 of these MLPs that have boosted their dividends at a greater than 10% annualized rate over the past five years.

     Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (NYSE: KMP) was worth barely $130 million at its birth 19 years ago, but it now has a market cap of more than $20 billion. When you consider this pipeline operator has returned 90% of its earnings to unit holders along the way, that's incredible growth.

     Since its inception, Kinder Morgan has increased its annual cash distribution 43 times in a row -- from $0.60 a unit to $4.60 now. And its unit price has risen from $5.75 to $75, for a 1,205% capital gain on top of the distribution.

     One StreetAuthority subscriber -- Fred S. of Baltimore, Maryland -- has had a very happy experience with Kinder Morgan. He tells us he bought 1,000 shares of Enron Liquids Pipeline in August 1992. It was acquired by Kinder Morgan in 1997, split twice, and he now owns 4,000 shares. That stash is now worth some $300,000.

     When you see a return like that you might think you've missed out... and that it's too late to profit. But you'd be ignoring some compelling reasons MLPs could go higher:

     So how do you get started?

     There are about 130 MLPs to choose from out there, but don't just buy blindly, because there's a wide mix of quality in that group. Some financial weaklings have converted themselves into partnerships to take advantage of the MLP structure.

     I've only found a half dozen or so that give you the right combination of income and financial strength.

     To make it easy for you, my staff and I just put many of them in a new report, MLPs: The Best Income Stocks to Hold Forever. I'll tell you how to get it in a second.

     In putting our report together, we didn't just look for big dividends. We also looked for MLPs that could see strong growth going forward.

     For example, this report shows you an easy way to own a piece of the world's longest petroleum pipeline. This single conduit carries 11% of the oil imported by the United States.

     The company that owns this pipeline has relentlessly increased its dividend since it started operations 19 years ago. Shareholders are up a total of 1,158% since then and are still pocketing a yield of 7.4%.

     Buy in now and your stake has the potential to get even bigger... as we just saw with Kinder Morgan. (Remember: Kinder Morgan started out as a $130 million company in 1992 and is now worth more than $20 billion.)

     But MLPs are just one of the Energy+Income investments I think you should look into right now.

     This next one might turn out to be even better...

The "Oil Well" 18.5% Income Stream

      Today, some investors just like you are using this type of security to earn 4-digit returns... and get all the benefits of owning oil-rich land, without drilling a well or owning a single acre.

     Just take a look at some of the returns these securities are already kicking back, and I think you'll begin to understand their potential...

     One stock in this sector -- BP Prudhoe Bay Trust (NYSE: BPT) -- has returned 2,440% over the past 10 years. It distributed payments of almost $10 per share in 2010. And it's on track to pay out a similar amount in 2011. That's nearly $10,000 in income each year for every 1,000 shares you own.

     Another one we found has seen capital gains of 183% since August 2001. That turns every $10,000 invested into $28,300. That's great... but when you include its dividends, your $10,000 is actually worth $65,900 today.

     Incredible, right?

     Well, I think investors could see more of these kinds of returns from a handful of companies in this sector.

     That's because this is still a major trend in the making...

     For instance, in 2007 Greg Losh -- a property manager in Selma, Indiana -- discovered that he had oil right in his own backyard. Motivated by sky-high oil prices, he installed an oil rig in his yard, and he started drilling.

     Within weeks Losh's oil well was producing a steady 3 barrels of crude a day. That doesn't sound like much, but at the time a barrel of oil was worth $133. That means in a year Losh's personal oil well would produce over $140,000 worth of oil.

     Ironically, Losh was pulling oil from the Trenton oil and gas field near Indianapolis -- a "spent" field that peaked way back in 1905.

     Believe it or not, Losh's story is far from unique. Just like the Trenton field, abandoned oil and gas fields are being pressed back into service all over the country.

     MSNBC reports: "The story is the same across the nation. Independent producers and major conglomerates alike are reinvesting millions in these mature wells, using expensive new technology and drilling techniques to eke every last drop out of fields long past their prime -- and often in the middle of suburbia.";

     Greg Losh lives in a town of just 880 people -- but even dense residential neighborhoods are getting in on this new oil and gas boom.

     The Los Angeles Times reports: "New technology and rising demand for petroleum are fueling a comeback of drills in [Southern California], where they once numbered 33,000."

     These wells are popping up in backyards, restaurant parking lots, even next to a Starbucks. And get this, there are 19 wells on the grounds of Beverly Hills High... earning the school between $300,000 and $700,000 in royalties a year.

     But people in Indiana and Los Angeles aren't the only ones getting rich off of the new boom. The same thing is happening to people in Texas and Pennsylvania, and plenty of other places, too.

     The great thing is anyone can tap into the same type of income stream as Greg Losh, Beverly Hills High, and all these other people.

     Don't get me wrong. I'm not suggesting that you plunk down $100,000 like Greg Losh did and go drilling for oil and gas in your own backyard. Or that you go to rural Texas in search of oil-soaked farmland to purchase. You don't have to drill a well. Or even own land.

     I'm suggesting that you make just one simple investment... avoid all the complications, risks and expenses of the energy business... and simply collect royalty checks for years to come.

     You see, there's a little-known class of just 22 companies that allow anyone to participate in some of the most prolific oil & gas fields on the planet. And most of them are listed on U.S. exchanges.

     So you can invest in them as easily as any other stock... and start collecting royalties as if you owned the land.

     Over the past couple months, I've heard from dozens of investors who are already profiting from this class of investments.

     These kinds of numbers are almost unbelievable, I know. And while they are out of the ordinary, they are what investors have told us.

     The point is hundreds of everyday investors are using these off-the-radar royalty streams to earn more-modest -- but still significant -- amounts of cash. They're not luckier than you or better investors; they just know what to look for.

     You see, what these people all have in common is they all own the right to collect royalties on the oil and gas interests under extremely valuable pieces of land.

     That's what makes the investments I'm going to tell you about some of the easiest and safest ways I know of to turn even a modest investment into an incredible income stream over just a few years.

     First, you need to know exactly what these investments are.    

     Simply put, energy royalty trusts exist solely to finance oil-producing wells... collect royalties from their production... and distribute those royalties to shareholders -- without having to pay sky-high corporate taxes to the IRS.

     Just like the master limited partnerships I discussed above, as long as each trust pays shareholders at least 90% of its earnings, it's exempt from paying corporate taxes. That's one reason why almost all of the earnings "pass-through" these companies directly to shareholders in the form of royalties.

     I'm not saying these investments are flawless. And they aren't risk-free.

     The typical energy royalty trust holds production rights to a group of oil and gas fields that have matured and will gradually be depleted over a number of years. So these investments do have predicted end dates.

     But until the fields are fully exploited they continue to produce solid cash flows that back up the trust's large royalty distributions (I've found some as high as 18.5% a year), sometimes for decades.

     And it's not out of the question to see quadruple-digit returns from royalty trusts...

     Permian Basin Royalty Trust (NYSE: PBT) has returned 2,211% since 1995. And one more, Mesabi Trust (NYSE: MSB) (which is in our earlier list of top performers) has returned 3,399% since 1995.

     The main reason behind these high returns is because they pay big royalty checks. 15 of the 22 companies in this class pay 6% to 17% per year in royalties.

     I even found one, Whiting USA Trust I (NYSE: WHX), that yielded 18.5% as recently as August.

     But how can these companies continue to pay such high yields year after year? After all, a bloated yield is often a red flag signaling underlying weakness in a business.

     That's not the case with royalty trusts because these trusts exist solely to finance oil producing wells... collect royalties... and distribute the royalties to shareholders.

     They don't own equipment, conduct exploration programs, or drill for oil and gas. They don't have high-rise office rent, or costly refinery equipment to maintain. And they don't have operating costs, capital outlays, or even corporate taxes to bite into the profits they share with you.

     Heck, some of them don't even have employees.

     They're just legal entities administered by bankers who collect royalties from the oil and gas drillers... and pass the royalties along to you.

     So every time the company sells a barrel of oil or a cubic foot of natural gas from the wells you own an interest in, you collect a generous helping of royalties.

     It's that simple.

     Of course, I can't guarantee that royalty trusts are the right investment for you. They can be volatile investments, because their returns tend to rise and fall along with oil and gas prices. Not all of them do as well as the returns I just told you about.

     But part of the reason I'm so excited about the next pick I'm going tell you about is that it's just getting started. It went public just a few months ago.

Get Paid for the Next 19 Years... For Doing Nothing

     One of my favorite plays in this sector just debuted on the New York Stock Exchange in April.

     It's so new you can barely find information on it. The only way to learn its inner workings is to practically go blind reading the latest quarterly report cover to cover. I've already done so three times.

     The trust is a spin-off from an established energy producer. Owning its shares gets you royalty payments on 1.3 billion barrels of oil under 43,000 acres in Oklahoma's rich Mississippian formation.

     Shareholders are entitled to 90% of oil and natural gas sales generated by 37 active wells. It made its first royalty distribution to investors in August. The August distribution comes out to $1,070 in royalties for every 1,000 units you own. Not a bad start.

     Next year's projected payout is estimated at a hefty 10% yield.

     This company doesn't waste profits on drilling or other operating expenses. It only exists to pay royalties.

     And the best thing is... it's scheduled to keep on paying royalties clear through December 2030. If you own a royalty interest in this company, you're lining yourself up to receive quarterly royalty checks over the next 19 years... for doing next to nothing.

     And if reserves hold up, you could collect royalty checks for many years past the projected end date.

     There's a lot more I'd like to tell you about this great opportunity. Rather than go on and on right now, I've put everything you need to know in a second free report I just finished. It's called The "Oil Well" Income Stream – Two Royalty Trusts with 8%-Plus Yields.

     This report details everything you need to know to take advantage of what I think are two of the best Energy+Income investments out there. You'll get the full story on both of them, including the one I just talked about.

     I'll tell you how you can claim your free copy of my new report in just a moment. But first I want to tell you briefly about a few more remarkable Energy+Income opportunities...

"Hidden" High-Yield Energy Investments
Paying Up to 20.4%

     I've already told you about master limited partnerships that yield up to 13.2% and royalty trusts that pay as much as 18.5%.

     But the truth is, that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to energy-focused investments that pay strong dividends. While I don't have the time in today's presentation to go into each and every one, I do want to briefly mention a few more off-the-beaten path energy plays that can pay you mouth-watering yields...

15 Years of Experience...

     It's not hard to make the case for investing in energy. Energy is the fundamental force on the planet. People these days can't imagine living without cars, televisions, internet and cell phones.

     But the family SUV won't move an inch without gasoline. The TV stays dark without electricity. And without that tiny lithium battery, an iPhone is little more than a pricy paperweight.

     Cut off the juice for even a minute, and everything grinds to a halt.

     The cost of our insatiable power appetite? According to the U.S. Department of Energy, Americans spend $57 million per hour. And that's just in the United States.

     Meanwhile, I think you're starting to see that the energy patch also represents one of the best places in history to hunt for dividends.

     I'm not a beginner asking you to trust me with a new idea -- I've been researching energy stocks for the past 15 years.

     The last time I was this bullish about energy was in March 2009 -- right after oil prices bottomed out at about $30 per barrel.

     Back then, I urged my readers to buy ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), explaining, "This dip in energy prices has left one of the world's premier energy companies trading at just 6 times earnings. With the shares tumbling from above $80 to below $40, an investment in COP can now get you two shares for the price of one and twice the yield. I think the stock represents a compelling opportunity."

     That stock went on to deliver a gain of 126% in just two years.

     Of course, most energy stocks did well in this period, so I'm not claiming to be a genius. But when you consider the average energy stock returned barely half of that 126%, I think I’m adding some value.

     ConocoPhillips wasn't the only energy play I urged investors to buy back then.

     That same month, I highlighted five other energy stocks for my subscribers that I thought were strong buys. Two years later they were up an average of 102%.

     Just ask anyone who racked up these gains with me...

134% on natural gas explorer Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK)
42% on drilling rig owner Transocean (NYSE: RIG)
51% on petroleum refiner Valero (NYSE: VLO)
158% on PowerShares Dynamic Energy Fund (NYSE: PXI)
123% on Tortoise Energy Infrastructure Fund (NYSE: TYG)

     Of course, that was a bullish period for the entire stock market. But during that time these ideas outperformed the S&P 500 by 29 percentage points on average.

     And today, what started out as a simple search for the best-performing income stock over the past decade has ballooned into a major research project.

     I've discovered a lot more ways to profit from the Energy+Income connection than I ever imagined. A few aren't traditional energy stocks at all... but rather are ancillary ways to profit from the world's most critical industry.

     Any investor disgusted by 2% CD yields will want to know more about these high-yielding securities being driven by locked-in demographic forces.

     If you've given up the hope of ever living off your investments, these mostly-overlooked stocks could make it possible again. You can pocket as much as $1,850 a year for every $10k you put into some of these cash cows. And you can stagger your payments to come in monthly -- so it's convenient to pay your bills.

     Another thing I think you'll like: You can ignore many of the day-to-day moves in the stock market with many of the Energy+Income investments we're talking about today (though nothing is guaranteed). Barring a global economic catastrophe, you'll keep getting those fat checks every quarter...

     This is especially true of the MLPs we've found. They not only offer more predictable earnings than the broader market but they also give you a built-in inflation hedge because most of their revenues are indexed to inflation.

     Finally, these Energy+Income plays can last a long, long time.

     Winners that keep paying out for decades like Tom's aren't unusual in the energy sector. Because in an unpredictable business world, energy consumption is just about the only thing you can count on.

     Just look at what investors have had to deal with over the past few years: an unprecedented housing crash, a devastating recession, and a subprime mortgage plague that wiped out trillions in assets and brought the global financial system to its knees.

     We've seen record high unemployment, sagging consumer spending, and too many corporate bankruptcies to count. If that weren't enough, the market has also been rocked by violent political uprisings in the Middle East, crippling debt woes in Europe, and our own inability to corral deficit spending.

     But through it all, global demand for energy has been, and continues to be staunch. In fact, we've only seen one decline in annual energy consumption in the past 30 years. Just one. That was a trifling -1.1% dip in 2009 as the world economy struggled to regain its footing from the worst downturn since the Great Depression.

     If a -1% drop in demand is the worst-case scenario, I'll take it and sleep soundly.

Let Me Give You My Top Energy+Income Recommendations Now

     With all that in mind, I've put all my top ideas into the reports I mentioned earlier. You can get them right now... instantly in fact. All I ask is that you take a look at my new monthly service, Energy & Income.

     This new service focuses 100% on energy, a sector I believe is all but locked into the longest uptrend in investment history -- propelled by insatiable demand.

     Delivered by email and on a subscribers-only website, Energy & Income keeps you informed on everything happening in the world's most important industry.

     You'll get in-depth coverage of the best oil, gas, drilling, tanker, coal and renewable energy stocks... plus much more. I'll also cover trends that push and pull at energy investments -- including geopolitical issues from every corner of the globe, including Russia, Venezuela, China, Canada and the Middle East.

     Remember, oil is just the surface of the investment story. Dig a bit deeper and you'll find other powerful bull markets unfolding in less-followed energy niches. You'll find ways to invest in these "under the radar" opportunities in every issue of Energy & Income.

     Of course, you're not getting Energy & Income for pleasant bed-time reading. You're in it to make money, so I give you two "real-money" portfolios -- one for maximum yield and another for explosive growth (beyond the high-yielding energy stocks we've discussed today, there are dozens more I would love to own, even if they don't pay a dividend).

     And between these two portfolios, I'll be investing right alongside you with $100,000 of StreetAuthority's cash in an actual account at E*Trade. With $100,000 on the line, you can rest assured that my interests are aligned exactly with yours. And as always, I'll give you 48 hours advance notice before I buy or sell anything for my two model portfolios... giving you plenty of time to beat me to the punch.

     Now, there's no guarantee Energy & Income will be the right publication for you. So here's what I'd like to do.

     Try the advisory for the next 60 days under our money-back offer, and then decide then if my research is what you're looking for.

     Start your 60 days now, and you'll receive:

1) MLPs: The Best Energy Income Stocks to Hold Forever      MLPs also pay upwards of 90% of their profits to investors, making them some of the highest-yielding stocks on the planet. One of the partnerships in this report has relentlessly increased its dividend for the past decade, and it now yields 7.4%. Another has delivered gains of nearly 700% since 2001. Thanks to their solid dividend yields and steady demand, you can buy these MLPs and file them away for a very long time. Maybe forever.

2) The "Oil Well" Income Stream -- Two Royalty Trusts with 8%-Plus Yields      Royalty trusts exist for only one reason -- to pay investors royalties over and over for years... even decades. The two we feature in this report are already paying high yields and they are our best bets to deliver the same sort of blowout long-term returns as the trusts I showed you earlier in this presentation.

     And if you sign up for two years (with the same money-back offer) and you'll also get two more special reports...

3) The 11 Highest-Yielding Energy Stocks in America      We recently hunted down the 11 highest-yielding stocks in the entire energy sector. We dug through every oil, natural gas, coal, geothermal, solar and alternative energy stock we could find. All of the companies you'll find here pay dividends of 10% or more, and many of these double-digit yielders have raised their dividends consistently for years -- and in some cases, even decades.

4) Warren Buffett Just Bought $1.8 Billion of this High-Yield Energy Stock      Warren Buffett has delivered 1,000%-plus gains for investors many times over, and he's beaten the market for so long that it defies belief. So when Buffett loads up on a stock, you can feel confident that it's a rock-solid business you can depend on. That's exactly what we're thinking right now, as Buffett owns 29 million shares of this high-yield energy stock. This integrated oil giant controls more than 8.3 billion barrels of oil and has nearly tripled its net income since 2009. And as its profits have surged, so have its payouts to investors -- its dividend has more than doubled since 2005. That's a big reason it has been such a winner for its shareholders. Over the past decade this stock has beaten the overall market 10-to-1, and we think that outperformance will continue in the years ahead.

     All these reports are free. There is no handling fee or any other charge. All I ask is that you take a look at my monthly roundup of high yielding energy research, Energy & Income.

     What you've seen so far is just a taste of the sort of research you'll find in this new advisory. There are so many other pockets of high-income energy investing that I can't possibly include them all here today.

     I'll tell you how to get started and get all my research in a moment... but first I want to tell you about one last bit of research I've been working on...

My Favorite Energy Stock Right Now

     I've looked at hundreds... if not thousands... of energy investments over the years. In my experience, you find that the market is shaped like a barbell. On one end, you have your big, major players.

     These are the 800-lb. gorillas of the corporate world. They are perfect if you want to own a dominant company that pays a fat dividend... but you can't always expect strong capital gains because of their already enormous size.

     On the other end are the much smaller players. Their stocks offer enormous potential as the underlying companies grow, but they can also be risky. Because of their small size, one setback can send the shares plummeting.

     But in between those two extremes is a sweet spot where you can find "Goldilocks" investments... large enough to reduce the risks of still-unproven companies, but small enough to capture the strong upside that comes with massive growth.

     And it's one of these "Goldilocks" investments that's my top energy stock for 2012.

     These days, this company is the busiest oil and gas driller in the U.S. It has 46,000 wells and 115,000 more sites waiting to be tapped. That's enough to keep it busy for the next 50 years.

     It brings 2.6 billion cubic feet of gas to the surface each day… and its output has risen for 21 consecutive years. With 15.6 trillion cubic feet of proven reserves, that streak isn't likely to end anytime soon.

     Aside from being the second biggest natural gas supplier in the U.S., it will soon be a top-five oil producer alongside giants like Shell (NYSE: RDS-A).

     What makes this one really stand out is that it is a key player in the massive new shale energy discoveries.

     These deep formations, underneath miles of solid rock, will only yield their bounty to unconventional drilling techniques, which this company pioneered.

     It has drilled more than 5,000 tricky horizontal wells and controls 13.2 million acres of prime real estate directly above some of the biggest oil and gas discoveries of the past 40 years -- mostly in top shale plays like the Marcellus, Bakken and Eagle Ford.

     It was one of the first to realize the immense potential locked up in tight shale formations so it invested aggressively during the land grab of 2006-2009. It now has the nation's largest base of natural gas assets… and as the country's busiest driller, it's actively turning those properties into cash.

     Over the past three years, management has pocketed nearly $17 billion by selling off properties. But it kept the best for itself. In fact, the price tags in these transactions imply its remaining acreage is worth $34 billion.

     Meanwhile, the company’s market cap is just $17 billion, so you can see why we think it's seriously undervalued. And there are plenty of other assets on the balance sheet.

     Assuming gas prices at $4 and oil at $83 per barrel, its reserves are worth $52 billion. Add in other assets and subtract debt, and you have stockholder value of $49.9 billion. That comes to $65 per share -- and you can buy the stock now for less than half that.

     If you plan to hold an energy stock for the long haul, I can't think of a company whose track record inspires more confidence. This firm has found not one, not two, but five of the nation's largest and most profitable shale plays -- including the renowned Haynesville Shale where I live in northwest Louisiana.

     I think the stock could easily hit $90, particularly if natural gas prices rebound.

     You'll find all the details on this stock in Revealed: Nathan Slaughter's Top Energy Stock for 2012. Here's how to get your hands on a copy of this free report...

Save Almost 50% While You Make Up Your Mind

     The masthead price for a year of Energy & Income, which entitles you to 12 months of my research, complete with buy and sell signals, plus as-needed updates -- emailed to you within minutes of my investing decision -- is $990.

     But today we're trying something different. Sign up through this offer and you can start your subscription for almost 50% off... just $497. However, we will only offer this price for a limited time... and then it may not be seen again.

     You'll have the next 60 (sixty) days to look at all of the research reports I've just described, plus the current (and next) issue of my Energy & Income advisory.

     If you decide for any reason my work is not right for you, just let us know and we'll send you a refund. And you'll keep everything you received from us -- all of our research reports and newsletters -- free of charge.

     When you consider that specialized advisory services like this usually sell for $2,000 or more a year, that $497 introductory fee is more than reasonable.

     But the fee is irrelevant at this point anyway, because you can get your subscription cost back, minus a 10% restocking fee.

     We hate to even charge the 10%, but the truth is, we feel like we have to. We've found that if we don't, too many people take advantage of our easy refund policy to simply sign up, get our best picks, and then cancel... sometimes within hours. With this small restocking fee, we are able to keep our price lower because we don't have to deal with people who are just trying to "game" our customer-friendly policy.

     Give Energy & Income a shot and take the next 60 days to think about it. If after a month you haven't made enough money to make you happy -- or if the service disappoints you in any way -- I want you to ask for your money back. That's what the guarantee is there for.

     To recap, here is what you'll be getting for $1.37 per day...

     Keep in mind this is a special pricing offer for Energy & Income. We will only offer this price through for a limited time.

     And remember, your risk is nearly zero with this offer. So you've got nothing to lose for giving it a fair try.

     You'll have the next 60 days to make up your mind. In other words, you are only agreeing to try my work to see if you like it.

     If you don't, no problem. Simply call our dedicated customer service team before 60 days is up and we'll send your refund, minus the 10% restocking fee. You can keep the reports and your first two newsletters free of charge.

     I urge you to think about applying what I've talked about today to your own portfolio. Because I'm convinced that Energy+Income is the #1 investment play for at least the next decade. What's more, I think any investor who misses out will deeply regret it.

     Why not take me up on that 60-day trial period and see for yourself?

     To get started, simply click on the link below, which will take you to a secure order form. Your order will be processed immediately, and you'll have access to all of my work in a matter of minutes.

     To get instant access, go here now.

     All the best,

Nathan Slaughter
Chief Strategist, Energy & Income

(C) Copyright 2011 StreetAuthority, LLC. LEGAL DISCLAIMER: Please note that we are not a registered investment firm or broker/dealer. Readers are advised that the material contained herein should be used solely for informational purposes.

DISCLOSURE: Nathan Slaughter owns shares of SLW. StreetAuthority holds shares of EPD, KMP, MMP, NOV, NRP, RDS, and SLW across its various model and "real-money" portfolios.

DISCLAIMER: StreetAuthority, LLC is a publisher of financial news and opinions and NOT a securities broker/dealer or an investment advisor. You are responsible for your own investment decisions. All information contained in our newsletters or on our web site(s) should be independently verified with the companies mentioned, and readers should always conduct their own research and due diligence and consider obtaining professional advice before making any investment decision. As a condition to accessing StreetAuthority materials and websites, you agree to our Terms and Conditions of Use, available here, including without limitation all disclaimers of warranties and limitations on liability contained therein. Owners, employees and writers may hold positions in the securities that are discussed in our newsletters or on our website.

Figures shown in the preceding webcast represent returns for individual stocks only. All investments can be volatile, and all returns will be reduced by fees and expenses. Below are the returns for StreetAuthority's premium newsletters.