Michael Roomberg, CFA, is a Portfolio Manager at Miller/Howard Investments Inc. In this exclusive interview with the Wall Street Transcript, Mr. Roomberg details his top picks in his clean water technology portfolio: “…as living standards improve, lifestyles require much more water. So today, the average American’s lifestyle requires four times more water than the average person living in China, not just because we take longer showers but because the consumer products that we use and the high-protein diet that we eat require massive volumes of water to produce. Not many people realize that it takes 37 gallons of water to make a cup of coffee, about 20 gallons of water to manufacture a ballpoint pen and about 600 gallons of water to produce a Quarter Pounder with Cheese at McDonald’s.(NYSE:MCD)”
Supplying this amount of fresh water in America is at serious risk:
“In their most recent survey, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave U.S. water and wastewater infrastructure a D grade, and it’s estimated that about $700 billion is required to modernize existing U.S. water and wastewater infrastructure.”
Investors will benefit from following the many top picks that Mr. Roomberg identifies in his detailed interview: “Aqua America (NYSE:WTR) owns 12,500 miles of water mains and approximately 200 water treatment plants across the country. The reality of the water business, especially on the utility side, is that it is a countercyclical, defensive-type investment, because in good times and bad, people generally pay their water bill…The company has been paying a quarterly dividend for 72 consecutive years and has increased that dividend for the last 25 years in a row.”
Another stock that will benefit from the shortage of fresh water is Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE): “Franklin Electric is among the largest manufacturers of water well pumps in the world. Water well pumps are mainly used by residential, industrial and agricultural consumers to provide reliable water supply from underground aquifers…Franklin Electric is really a true American success story.”
Read the entire interview in the Wall Street Transcript to see all the other top picks from Michael Roomberg.
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