Enervest

Want to invest in energy? Call up EnerVest. The investment group manages oil and gas properties on behalf of institutional investors, such as pension plans, university endowments, and family foundations. Investors pool their money into a fund for EnerVest to buy and operate oil and gas wells; the company acts as a general partner and distributes dividends from the proceeds. Its 12th fund closed in December 2010, raising $1.5 billion from about 115 investors. EnerVest owns 19,000 onshore wells spanning 4 million acres in a dozen states. It also owns 71% of EV Energy Partners, a publicly traded master limited partnership, through general partner is EV Energy GP.