HOW TO PLAY IT

Own a piece of the midstream via a fund that contains shares of companies transporting fuel, mostly underground. Of course, in 50 years nothing will be left of this fossilized business, but in the meantime there are nice dividends. Tortoise North American Pipeline (annual expense 0.4%) yields 4.5%. Hold it in a taxable account, where you can get some mileage out of the fact that more than half the distribution is not immediately taxable. This fund is a better choice than the more popular Alerian MLP (0.9%), which suffers from a stiffer management fee and a potential corporate tax liability.