SMM Salient Midstream and MLP Fund

HOUSTON, July 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Salient Midstream & MLP Fund (the "Fund") (NYSE: SMM) provided today a summary of unaudited statement of assets and liabilities and announced Net Asset Value (NAV) as of June 30, 2022.

On June 30, 2022, the Fund's total assets were $199.7 million and the NAV per share was $7.94. On June 30, 2022 the closing share price of the Fund was $7.57, which was trading at a 4.7% discount to the NAV.¹ The Fund's NAV and market price total returns for the month of June were -18.3% and -10.9%, respectively, compared to -13.2% for the Alerian Midstream Energy Select Total Return Index (AMEIX).² The Fund's NAV and market price total returns year-to-date (YTD) were 8.5% and 14.8%, respectively, compared to 10.0% for the AMEIX.² 

On June 28, 2022, after consideration of a variety of factors and alternatives, the Board of Trustees determined that it would be in the best interest of shareholders to reorganize SMM into Salient MLP & Energy Infrastructure Fund ("SMLPX") (the reorganization of SMM into SMLPX is the "Reorganization").  The proposal to reorganize SMM into SMLPX will require the approval of SMM shareholders. This press release is not intended to, and does not constitute an offer to purchase or sell shares of SMM or SMLPX (together, the "Funds") nor is this press release intended to solicit a proxy from any shareholder of the Funds. The solicitation of the purchase or sale of securities or of proxy to effect the Reorganization will only be made by a definitive Proxy Statement/Prospectus. The Proxy Statement/Prospectus has yet to be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). After the Proxy Statement/Prospectus is filed with the SEC, it may be amended or withdrawn. The Proxy Statement/Prospectus will not be distributed to shareholders of SMM unless and until a Registration Statement comprising of the Proxy Statement/Prospectus becomes effective with the SEC.

Over the last 12 months, SMM has increased its distribution by 46% and management plans to review the distribution rate every six months with expectations to continue passing through distribution increases as the Fund's portfolio has distribution increases.

Since the Fund's inception, the portfolio management team has focused on generating top-tier total returns rather than focusing on the distribution rate and the Fund's performance over multiple time period's versus its peers is provided in the table below along with a ranking of SMM vs. peers. 

Since inception in 2012 SMM is the second best performing closed-end fund on market price and the third best on NAV in the peer group of eleven funds.

SMM's inception to date (ITD) annualized total return (based on market price) of -2.3% has outperformed the RIC Average of -5.9% and the with the C-Corp average of -4.9%. Likewise, on a NAV basis, SMM's ITD return of -1.9% compares favorably to the -4.0% return for the peer group of RIC Funds and -3.3% for C-Corp Funds.

June Market Commentary
June was a difficult month for energy infrastructure equities which were down 13.2% as measured by the Alerian Midstream Energy Select Index (AMEIX).² We believe the proximate cause for the June correction was a market fear that a recession had started or will begin soon. In the past two recessions, oil demand has declined and we think investors have priced in some of those expectations today. Looking at past recessions, demand doesn't always decline – in both the 2001 and 1991 recessions global oil demand actually continued to grow.³ We will look to additional data points in coming months to determine whether demand is being impacted. Based on data in hand it still appears that demand continues to outstrip supply and that global inventories are continuing to decline at this time.³ For the remainder of 2022, we remain positive on the industry as 1) free cash flow after dividends is growing at a healthy pace, 2) hydrocarbon volumes are growing as drilling activity improves and 3) capital allocation remains mostly focused on returning excess cash to investors through buybacks and potential dividend increases.⁴

Crude oil as measured by the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) benchmark was down 7.8% for the month of June but is now up 40.6% for the year.⁵ Crude oil prices have moved sharply higher due to the war in Ukraine. Russia produces ~10 million barrels per day (mmbbls/d) of crude oil, or about 10% of global supply and is the second largest crude oil exporter after Saudi Arabia.⁶ Markets are worried that crude oil supplies may be disrupted which could lead to a spike in prices well above current levels. Europe's move towards sanctioning Russia's energy exports could lead to a further spike in global crude oil and natural gas prices. Longer term, we view crude oil prices in the $70-$80 per barrel range as being positive for investment in the American energy industry. While the Ukrainian war will have an as yet unknown effect on crude oil supply, fundamentals remain robust as energy consumption continues to rise post COVID.⁷ Commodity analysts continue to see a tight supply environment for both crude oil and natural gas in 2022 and potentially into 2023. We believe that current prices are sufficient to lead to U.S. volume growth in 2022. The promise of these incremental volumes should be supportive of midstream companies.

The Fund's Top 10 holdings as of June 30, 2022 are shown below:⁸

The Fund's unaudited balance sheet as of June 30, 2022 is shown below:

Salient Midstream & MLP Fund is a Delaware statutory trust registered as a non-diversified, closed-end management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. The Fund's investment objective is to provide a high level of total return with an emphasis on making quarterly cash distributions to its common shareholders. The Fund seeks to achieve that objective by investing at least 80% of its total assets in securities of MLPs and midstream companies. There can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective.

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined under the U.S. federal securities laws. Generally, the words "believe," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "project," "will," and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, which generally are not historical in nature. Forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual future results to differ significantly from the Fund's present expectations or projections indicated in any forward-looking statements. These risks include, but are not limited to, changes in economic and political conditions; regulatory and legal changes; leverage risk; valuation risk; interest rate risk; tax risk; the volume of sales and purchase of shares; the continuation of investment advisory, administration and other service arrangements; and other risks discussed in the Fund's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. The Fund undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements made herein. There is no assurance that the Fund's investment objective will be attained.

About Salient
Salient Partners, L.P. ("Salient") is a real asset and alternative investment firm that offers a suite of strategies focused on energy and infrastructure, real estate and tactical alternative investments. Institutions and investment advisors turn to Salient to build smarter, more efficient portfolios. Strategies are offered in the form of open- and closed-end funds and separately managed accounts. Salient was founded in 2002 and has offices in Houston and San Francisco. Learn more about Salient at www.salientpartners.com. 

SMLPX seeks to maximize total return (capital appreciation and income). SMLPX seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing at least 80% of its net assets in securities of MLPs and energy infrastructure companies. Investing involves risk including the potential loss of principal. SMLPX may engage in other investment practices that may involve additional risks and you should review the prospectus for a complete description.

You should consider the investment objective, risks, charges and expenses of SMLPX carefully before investing. The prospectus and summary prospectus contain this and other information about SMLPX and are available, along with information for SMM, by calling 866-667-9228. They should be read carefully before investing.

Advisory services offered by Salient Capital Advisors, LLC (the "advisor"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Salient Partners, L.P. Salient is the trade name for Salient Partners, L.P., which together with its subsidiaries provides asset management and advisory services. Salient MLP & Energy Infrastructure Fund is distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC.

¹ Past performance is not indicative of future results. Current performance may be higher or lower than the data shown. The data shown are unaudited. Returns do not reflect the deduction of taxes that shareholders may have to pay on Fund distributions or upon the sale of Fund shares.
² Source: Salient Capital Advisors, LLC and Alerian, June 30, 2022. "Alerian Midstream Energy Select Index," "Alerian Midstream Energy Select Total Return Index," "AMEI" and "AMEIX" are trademarks of Alerian and their use is granted under a license from Alerian. Past performance is not indicative of how the index will perform in the future. The index reflects the reinvestment of dividends and income and does not reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes. The index is unmanaged and is not available for direct investment. Alerian Midstream Energy Select Total Return Index (AMEIX) is a total return composite of North American midstream energy infrastructure companies that are engaged in activities involving energy commodities. The capped, float-adjusted, capitalization-weighted index is disseminated in real time on a price-return basis. Inception date of the AMEIX is April 1, 2013.
³ Source: International Energy Agency (IEA), July 2002.
⁴ Free cash flow after distributions represents the cash a company generates after accounting for cash outflows to support operations and maintain its capital assets Hydrocarbon a compound of hydrogen and carbon, such as any of those which are the chief components of petroleum and natural gas. Share buybacks are when a company buys its own outstanding shares to reduce the number of shares available on the open market.
⁵ Source: Bloomberg, June 30, 2022.
⁶ Source: Energy Information Administration (EIA), June 30, 2022.
⁷ Source: Goldman Sachs, June 30, 2022.
⁸ Fund shares do not represent a deposit or obligation of, and are not guaranteed or endorsed by, any bank or other insured depository institution, and are not federally insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board or any other government agency. Data are based on total market value of Fund investments unless otherwise indicated. The data provided are for informational purposes only and are not intended for trading purposes.

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SOURCE Salient Partners, L.P.