Despite the S&P 500 being up an impressive 18% in 2020, the utilities sector did not take part in the rally finishing the year flat. Reaves' John Bartlett has spent nearly 30 years closely tracking Utilities names through every type of investing environment. Bartlett currently co-manages the firm's flagship Reaves Utility Income Fund (UTG), as closed-end fund with nearly $1.7B in AUM. He also co-manages Reaves' first exchange-traded fund, the Virtus Reaves Utilities ETF (UTES). With a blue wave sweeping the U.S., Bartlett believes utilities are well positioned to benefit from a likely rise in corporate tax rates and a broader societal move to clean energy.
Show Notes

2:00 - John's background: When did you become interested in utilities?

5:00 - An overview of the utilities sector: Gas, Electricity and Water

7:45 - UTG: A "wider" view of the utilities sector

10:00 - What's the outlook for utilities given the underperformance in 2020?

18:00 - Utilities for 2021 and beyond

23:00 - Utility stocks and energy prices

25:30 - Riding the Blue Wave: Expectations regarding the regulatory environment under Biden and a democratic controlled congress? What about at the state level?

29:00 - The history and future of clean energy adoption. What does it mean for utility companies?

37:15 - Is the growing embrace of ESG investing a headwind or a tailwind for the sector?

41:00 - On managing UTES: Why go with active management?

42:30 - Quantitative vs. qualitative analysis

45:45 - How much portfolio turnover is there?

46:30 - How does the fund look from a tax management standpoint?

48:00 - Differences between UTES and XLU (NEE) 

50:00 - Top pick for 2021: Atmos Energy Corp (ATO)


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