Stockchase Opinions

John O'Connell, CFABrookfield Infrastructure PartnersBIP.UN.TOBUYMay 26, 2020

BAM vs. BIP For income, buy BIP; for capital appreciation, BAM. Both are well-run. BAM is the parent company and is one of the biggest asset managers in the world. BAM is solid and will be hunting for properties in this pullback; they are skilled investors. It's trading at a discount to NAV which means some downside protection It's a little difficult to understand all of BAM's moving parts and its reliance on various financing vehicles. (BPY is struggling, but will be a drag on BAM.) BIP and BAM will be fine long-term.

$54.75

Stock price when the opinion was issued

$54.10

As of Jun 05, 2026. Market Open.

Energy Infrastructure, Industrials & Utilities
It's the ideal tool to help you make quicker, more informed decisions for managing and tracking your investments.

You might be interested:

TOP PICK

Likes push higher on the chart in a new uptrend -- looks poised to challenge and break out to new all-time highs (and that's very bullish). Will play a big part in the very bullish Build Out Canada thesis, big tailwind. Chart looks awesome. Yield is 4.72%.

(Analysts’ price target is $60.06)
TOP PICK

Are excellent at recycling capital. Are a utility, but they have one of the most diversified suite of assets, geographically, with business in airports and data centres. Pays a solid 5% dividend.

(Analysts’ price target is $60.08)
DON'T BUY

There will be an infrastructure spend, and in fact there's an infrastructure deficit (just drive around the streets of Toronto). Likes the category. Yield is almost 5%.

Why not just pick the parent? It's much more diversified, and you'd get the benefit of all its subsidiaries.

PAST TOP PICK
(A Top Pick Mar 03/26, Down 8%)

He's selling it. The stock is breaking down. In March, it showed signs of low, retracing a support level, but the chart shows lower lows and lower highs.

HOLD

Huge run over last 2 years in infrastructure stocks due to pretty flat interest rates. Brookfield is an exceptional global manager. Great high-quality, long-term business. Yield is ~4%.

Right now, he sees more upside in energy infrastructure.

DON'T BUY
What happens to the withholding tax?

If you have any withholding tax in a cash (taxable) account, because the structure is set up not in Canada, you should be able to claim it back on your tax return. So it's better to have in a taxable account than in a TFSA or RRSP, where you can't claim it back.

He owns BN instead.

PAST TOP PICK
(A Top Pick May 06/25, Up 24%)

Seems to trade off on private equity concerns, though there's no direct exposure. Continues to put $$ in at these levels. Oil and nat gas egress stories are still intact.

BUY

Growth has sold off and the market is running to income names. In Canada, income names he likes are Rogers and Brookfield Infrastructure.

PAST TOP PICK
(A Top Pick Jun 19/25, Up 17%)

For income. Is undervalued at 10x cash earnings, and a dividend around 4.5% and paying out only half their funds from operation. There's ample growth ahead and trading at discount valuation. Likes it a lot.

DON'T BUY

Not a fan of this. They pay a dividend and reinvest capital into new projects, but this makes them dependent on generating capital gains and flipping projects. There's no real free cash flow as you see in a typical utility. Also, they are very interest rate-sensitive; they need to constantly borrow money to develop new projects.

BUY

An infrastructure play, and her preference in the utilities space.

PAST TOP PICK
(A Top Pick Mar 28/25, Up 23%)

Always undervalued. Trades at 11x price to AFFO, growing 11%. Generous distribution, which they boost by 5% every year. He'd buy at these levels.

COMMENT

Owns no Brookfield names, not enthralled by the pieces. If he were to own any of the names, it would be this one -- better potential growth long-term, and is more of a traditional operating company.

PAST TOP PICK
(A Top Pick Aug 25/25, Up 25%)

(Note the short timeframe.)  Its assets are the backbone that keep the global economy moving forward. Predictable income and strong downside prediction amidst current market uncertainty. Should continue to do well. Expanded data centre platform. Record asset sales for capital recycling.

Dividend increased ~6% for 17th consecutive year. Sees ~15% price upside from here.

BUY

He likes this and the parent company, BN-T, which is one of the best equity shops on the planet. Infrastucture investing is a good way to get yield into your portfolio. He slightly prefers BIP because of private equity risks in private equity, like KKR and Apollo.