A: Definity Financial Corp., $30.10, symbol DFY on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 115.9 million; Market cap: $3.5 billion; www.definityfinancial.com), is the new name for the holding company of Economical Insurance, Family Insurance Solutions, Petline Insurance, and Sonnet Insurance.

Definity was created as part of Economical Insurance’s demutualization plan to convert from a mutual insurance company, owned by its policyholders, to a company owned by shareholders.

On November 17, 2021, the holding company went public, selling shares of its stock at $22 each.

At the same time as its IPO, Definity closed private share placements with HOOPP (Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan) and Swiss Re Investments Holding Company....

A: My view is that you should only buy insurance to protect yourself against catastrophic, unforeseeable losses. That’s why it’s essential to have fire and liability insurance on your house, plus liability and possibly collision on your car. To stretch a point, you might want to add kidnapping/ransom insurance, depending on your travel plans.

For life insurance, I only recommend straight term insurance....

As many of our readers know, I had the good fortune to get introduced to the stock market early in life, at age 16, when I got an after-school job with an investment writer. I learned a lot about the stock market in that job. More important, I gradually acquired a hypothetical pair of stock-market-sensitive goggles....

B. RILEY FINANCIAL INC., $63.42, symbol RILY on New York, is a diversified provider of financial services, including investment banking, wealth management, venture capital, and many others. Its focus is on small- and mid-cap companies. Founded in 1997, it went public in 2014.

On January 18, 2022, B....

AMAZON.COM INC., $2,910.49, symbol AMZN on Nasdaq, is a buy. The company is one of the world’s largest online retailers. It’s also the third-largest digital ad provider in the U.S. Its Amazon Web Services (AWS) is one of the world’s largest cloud infrastructure service providers.

Amazon shares jumped this week after the company announced that it’s splitting its shares on a 20-for-1 basis, as well as buying back up to $10 billion of its stock.

The stock split is subject to shareholder approval at its annual shareholder meeting, which is scheduled for May 25....

ABBVIE INC., $149.06, New York symbol ABBV, is a top pick for 2022.

The company makes biopharmaceuticals, with leading positions in immunology, oncology, aesthetics, neuroscience and eye care.

AbbVie took its current form on January 3, 2013, when Abbott Laboratories (New York symbol ABT) split into two publicly traded firms.

The company has raised its dividend each year since 2013....

ALPHABET INC., Nasdaq symbols GOOG $2,609.51 [class C: non-voting] and GOOGL $2,597.41 [class A: one vote per share], is your #1 Aggressive Buy for 2022.

Alphabet is the parent of Google, the world’s leading Internet search engine. It gets most of its revenue from online advertising.

In addition to search, Google also offers a variety of other services and products....

CANADIAN TIRE CORP., $177.73, Toronto symbol CTC.A, is a buy.

Investors tap the company’s 504 Canadian Tire stores. They sell automotive parts and services, and household and sporting goods; franchisees run most of the locations. Still, the company’s other operations also enrich its outlook....

Investors looking for ETF gains—but with the least amount of risk—should ask these three key questions:
Is the ETF well diversified?


ETF portfolios that are well-diversified typically are less volatile and have a lower risk of capital loss.


There are three common ways that equity ETFs can diversify their risks....

The U.S. housing market—and homebuilders—recovered strongly from early 2020 when fears of a major COVID-19-induced catastrophe hung over the U.S. economy.


Multi-decade low mortgage rates, limited housing supply, and a recovering job market helped the recovery along....