investment

Today’s tip: “Early experiences may lead you to prefer either value investing—trying to buy stocks at bargain prices—or growth investing—looking for rising stocks with further growth ahead. Here’s why you should combine the two. ” If you meet a large number of investors over a large number of years, it may seem they come in two basic categories—one inclined toward value investing, the other more interested in growth. This may be due in part to their early life experiences. Value investing—trying to buy assets at bargain prices—has natural appeal for those who grew up in strained economic circumstances. Growth investing—trying to identify and buy rising stocks when they have further growth ahead—seems to appeal more to those who grew up in prosperous households....

When you complete your income tax return, take a moment to consider the charitable donations you made in 2014. How carefully did you choose the charities you supported? How much time did you spend to investigate how they’ll spend your money? Many people find it uncomfortable to inquire into the goodwill or efficiency of any charity. However, there are limited funds available in the world for charitable purposes. The cause or people you want to help are in no position to demand an accounting or take their business elsewhere. The more that goes to waste, the less is available for those you want to help. But the quality of charities varies as widely as the quality of stocks you can buy for your portfolio. Unfortunately, all too many charitable donors pick charities the way beginning investors pick stocks. They get seduced by an appealing concept. They make snap judgments in response to a photo or sound bite, or the recommendation of a friend or acquaintance. A little digging can go a long way toward making your donations work harder toward bringing about the goal that attracted you....

Oaktree Capital Group LLC, $52.03, symbol OAK on New York (Shares outstanding: 43.8 million; Market cap: $8.1 billion; www.oaktreecapital.com), is an investment management firm that focuses on alternative markets, including the debt of distressed companies and high-yield debt, as well as convertible securities, real estate and stocks. The Los Angeles-based firm was founded in 1995. Its chairman and co-founder is prominent investor and billionaire Howard Marks. As of December 31, 2014, Oaktree had $90.9 billion of assets under management. It’s now looking at aggressively investing in depressed energy assets. Oaktree put $400 million into these assets in the fourth quarter of 2014 and still has roughly $10.3 billion of capital waiting to be invested....

iShares U.S. Small Cap Index ETF (CAD-Hedged), $27.33, symbol XSU on Toronto (Units outstanding: 6.1 million; Market cap: $166.7 million; www.blackrock.com), aims to track the Russell 2000 Index (hedged against the Canadian dollar). The fund’s MER is 0.36%. The Russell 2000 Index measures the performance of the 2,000 smallest companies in the Russell 3000 Index (which measures the performance of the 3,000 largest U.S. firms based on total market capitalization, or “market cap”; these 3,000 represent around 98% of the U.S. equity market). In all, the Russell 2000 represents around 10% of the Russell 3000’s total market cap. The Russell 2000’s average market cap is about $1.3 billion, while the median market cap is about $528 million. The largest company in the index has a market cap of roughly $5.0 billion....

HarbourEdge Mortgage Investment Corp. is a mortgage investment corporation (MIC). MICs invest in pools of mortgages, then distribute most of their profits to their shareholders. Some MICs yield 6%, 7% or more annually. They sound like conservative investments because they invest in mortgages rather than stocks. However, mortgages vary widely in their investment quality and risk, and MICs can earn high profits because they take on riskier mortgages. HarbourEdge currently yields 9%....

MANULIFE FINANCIAL $21.51 (Toronto symbol MFC; Shares outstanding: 2.0 billion; Market cap: $42.2 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 2.9%; www.manulife.ca) sells life and other forms of insurance, as well as mutual funds and investment management services.

In the three months ended December 31, 2014, Manulife’s earnings per share gained 2.9%, to $0.36 from $0.35 a year earlier. Revenue fell slightly, to $7.15 billion from $7.18 billion.

At the end of 2014, Manulife had $691.1 billion of assets under management, up 15.4% from $598.9 billion at the end of 2013. A large part of the increase came from its late 2014 acquisition of U.K.-based Standard Life’s Canadian insurance operations for $4 billion.

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While this split-share company dabbles in call options, investors would be better off buying the bank and oil stocks it holds separately.

CHESAPEAKE ENERGY $16.02 (New York symbol CHK; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (405-848-8000; www.chk.com; Shares outstanding: 665.0 million; Market cap: $10.1 billion; Dividend yield: 2.2%) has filed regulatory reports showing that its chairman, Archie W. Dunham, recently purchased one million of the company’s shares at prices ranging from $13.92 to $14.05, for a total of $14 million. Dunham now holds 2.6 million shares. As well, activist investor Carl Icahn recently increased his stake in the company to 10.98% from 9.98%. He bought his shares for $14.15 each and now holds 73 million shares, up from 66 million. Icahn has a long history of pushing companies to make changes that increase shareholder value. Investors can put too much weight on insider trading, since insiders can delude themselves about their employer just as easily as outsiders—and it pays to remember that insiders may sell for a variety of personal reasons that have nothing to do with the company. On the other hand, insiders only make substantial buys for one reason—they think the company has investment appeal....

RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL $38.99 (New York symbol QSR; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (212-333-3810; www.rbi.com; Shares outstanding: 467.0 million; Market cap: $18.2 billion; Dividend yield: 0.2%) is testing a new premium coffee blend, called Three Peaks Colombian, at five of its Tim Hortons outlets in Ontario, New Brunswick and Quebec. This coffee comes from Colombia’s Cauca mountain region, where volcanic ash in the soil gives it what Tim Hortons describes as “a hint of caramel and a smooth finish.” The chain will sell the new brew for 15% more than its current coffees. Right now, Tim Hortons makes its coffee from a blend of various beans from sources in different countries. This helps offset varying growing seasons, as well as local droughts and other supply disruptions....

EXTENDICARE INC. $9.30 (Toronto symbol EXE; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (905-470-5534; www.extendicare.com; Shares outstanding: 87.8 million; Market cap: $798.3 million; Dividend yield: 5.2%) has called a special shareholder meeting for March 8, 2016. The move is in response to a formal request from its largest investor, Toronto-based investment firm Oxford Park Group. In July 2015, Oxford Park acquired 5% of Extendicare, with the intention of pushing the company to enhance shareholder value. As part of that plan, Oxford Park wants to replace seven of Extendicare’s nine directors with its own nominees. It also believes the company’s move into retirement homes from its main business of chronic- and longterm care facilities has added unnecessary risk. Moreover, Oxford Park wants Extendicare to buy back up to $50 million worth of its shares, cut costs to boost its profit margins and tie more of its directors’ and executives’ pay to the company’s performance....