A master limited partnership, which is sometimes referred to as a publicly traded partnership, is a limited partnership that is publicly traded on an exchange. It seeks to combine the tax benefits of a limited partnership with the liquidity of a publicly traded security. As a partnership, MLPs do not pay entity-level income taxes and instead pass all income, gains, deductions, losses, and credits through to its investors. Because they are publicly traded on an exchange, MLPs are available to any investor with a brokerage account and can be bought and sold throughout the trading day.
