A boy collects water from a broken pipe in Mumbai, India. There is a need for water infrastructure in many places around the world.Rafiq Maqbool/The Associated Press
One asset class that features conservative fundamentals while still tapping into global growth trends is infrastructure. While funds are one way to invest in infrastructure, here are selected stock picks by Michael Underhill, founder and chief investment officer at Capital Innovations LLC, an investment manager to institutional clients and mutual funds, and Genevieve Roch-Decter, a portfolio manager at LDIC Inc., a Toronto-based portfolio and fund manager.
Michael Underhill's picks
SBA Communications Corp. (SBAC- NASDAQ)
Florida-based SBA Communications owns and operates wireless communications towers in the Americas. The company owns more than 17,000 towers – the majority have significant capacity available for additional antennas at low incremental cost. "SBA is well-positioned to capitalize on increased wireless traffic demand and network infrastructure improvements that will translate into more towers and more antennas at existing towers."
Markwest Energy Partners LP (MWE- NYSE)
Colorado-based Markwest has the first-mover advantage in developing natural gas gathering, processing, and fractionation facilities in the Marcellus shale region in the eastern United States, and is extending its footprint to the Utica shale. "We view MWE as one of the best operators in the gas processing subsector, given its size, growth prospects, and de-risking business model."
Waste Management Inc. (WM- NYSE)
Texas-based Waste Management is the largest environmental solutions provider in North America, serving more than 20 million customers in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Waste Management is also a renewable energy provider, by recovering the naturally occurring gas inside landfills to generate electricity. Poor waste management is a global reality, with only 25 per cent of the 11 billion tons collected annually recycled or recovered – and 3.5 billion people lacking access to basic waste management services.
Genevieve Roch-Decter's picks
Badger Daylighting Inc. (BAD-TSX)
Calgary-based Badger Daylighting works for contractors, engineers, and facility owners in the oil and gas, power, municipal, transportation, industrial, and commercial construction industries. Its key technology is the Badger Hydrovac System, a truck-mounted unit that is used primarily for digging safely in areas with buried pipes and cables. Its share price has more than doubled in the past year.
Canadian Energy Services & Technology Corp. (CEU-TSX)
Calgary-based CES provides technically advanced consumable chemical solutions throughout the life-cycle of the oilfield. CES has been able to capitalize on the growing market demand for drilling fluids and production specialty chemicals in North America. Ms. Roch-Decter notes the company's ability to create products for specific regions, as well as compounds to help pipelines work more effectively.
Trinity Industries Inc. (TRN-N)
Texas-based Trinity is one of North America's largest manufacturers of transportation, construction and industrial products. These include rail cars, barges, highway guardrails and crash cushions, oil tanks and windmills. LDIC is especially positive about the company's rail-car manufacturing and leasing units, as safety concerns accelerate the replacement cycle for these vehicles.