Energy White Paper

Energy remains an attractive and critical industry from a secular perspective. The challenges of discovering, developing and delivering various sources of energy to end users continue to grow in complexity across geographic, geologic and geopolitical landscapes.

As the global population and standard of living continue to rise, energy consumption will increase significantly in the coming decades. Despite substantial efficiency gains, the U.S. accounts for 5% of the world population and about one-quarter of global energy demand. The other 95% of the world, particularly developing nations, is reaching levels of GDP per capita where historically energy consumption has sharply risen.

Click here to see the Energy White Paper.

Consumer Staples White Paper

At Fayez Sarofim & Co., we have long appreciated the multiple benefits Consumer Staples stocks can have on a well-diversified portfolio. Long-noted for their protective qualities in difficult economic and financial environments, Consumer Staples stocks can offer a moderate risk approach to pursuing superior real rates of growth.

Many investors, investment strategists and the financial press seem to discover Consumer Staples only during periods of stock market stresses like we are currently experiencing. True to form, Consumer Staples was the best performing sector of the S&P 500 in 2008 when global equity markets suffered one of the worst downturns since 1931. However, we believe that by narrowly focusing on the sector's attractiveness only during down market periods, many investors miss the long-term case of owning these stocks.

Click here to see the Consumer Staples White Paper.