Toll Collectors of Daily Life
manasi ✨@manasi
+7.3%
since Sep 30
The idea
I believe a slowdown is coming, so I want exposure to the tolls people and businesses pay no matter what: power, water, trash pickup, wireless towers, pipelines, and the fees charged every time a trade clears. This basket sticks to regulated utilities and long-contract infrastructure, deliberately skipping freight rails since their volumes move with the economy. No single name gets a huge weight, and I hold 10% in cash to add if prices drop. I plan to hold for years and would rethink it if these businesses stopped acting like steady monopolies.
What it owns
- Electric bills get paid in any economy, and regulators guarantee these companies a stable return on their assets. · NextEra EnergyIt is the largest regulated electric utility in the country, collecting bills that rank first in household payment priority during downturns., Southern CompanyIt runs the regulated electric monopoly across much of the Southeast, collecting rates whether the economy grows or shrinks., Duke EnergyIt operates the regulated power monopoly across the Carolinas and beyond, where nobody turns off the lights in a downturn., American Electric PowerIt owns more high-voltage transmission lines than anyone, providing the regulated infrastructure that moves electricity through any economy.24%
- Trash pickup runs on long contracts with built-in price increases that hold through economic slowdowns. · Waste ManagementIt owns landfills where every bag of trash pays a toll on the way in, generating steady revenue that barely moves with the economy., Republic ServicesIt operates long-contract trash routes where fees arrive whether the economy is up or down, with predictable renewal patterns., Waste ConnectionsIt deliberately operates in markets where it is the only trash option, creating local monopolies with strong pricing power through slowdowns.18%
- Phone carriers pay tower rent under long-term leases, and wireless service does not get canceled in a recession. · American TowerIt rents space on cell towers to carriers worldwide under long leases, collecting rent on a service nobody cancels in a slowdown., SBA CommunicationsIt is the purest tower-lease business, with almost all revenue from long carrier contracts that persist through economic cycles., Crown CastleIt collects tower rent from major carriers on multiyear leases, where wireless connections remain a must-pay bill through any downturn.14%
- These charge fixed fees on gas volumes shipped under long contracts, earning like toll roads rather than fluctuating with commodity prices. · EnbridgeIt collects tolls on energy moving through its pipelines under multiyear contracts, locking in cash flow ahead of any slowdown., Williams CompaniesIt moves a huge share of US natural gas through its pipelines and gets paid a fee per unit moved, independent of gas price fluctuations., Kinder MorganIts revenue is mostly fixed fees on gas moving through its network, a toll that does not fluctuate with commodity prices or the business cycle.14%
- Water is the most non-negotiable household bill, with rates set by regulators rather than market forces. · American Water WorksIt is the biggest water utility in the US, collecting bills for the most non-cyclical essential service households require., Essential UtilitiesIt collects regulated water and natural gas rates, two bills households pay in any economic environment.11%
- Exchanges collect a fee on every trade, and trading volumes often rise when markets become volatile. · CME GroupIt charges a fee every time a futures contract trades, and trading volumes often rise when the economy gets shaky and hedging increases., Intercontinental ExchangeIt collects exchange fees on every trade plus recurring data subscriptions, charging tolls on the infrastructure of markets themselves.9%
- Cash10%