What to get for the person who has everything? If that person is you and you don't know what you want for Christmas, see if one of these businesses tickles your fancy:
For Stability and Income:
Check out insurer Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG). With zero debt, a strong balance sheet, and reliably recurring income – insurance is a core expense for most people – Insurance Australia Group is an attractive prospect for the income-seeking investor. While its growth prospects are minimal, it has some small growth ventures in South-East Asia, as well as an attractive collection of investments that will become more valuable as interest rates rise.
For Stability and Growth
Consider retail conglomerate Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES), which owns a variety of department stores, hardware businesses, grocery chains, a coal mine, and other businesses besides. With a reasonable degree of diversification and a record of retail excellence, Wesfarmers' earnings from its hardware and grocery chains are reliable. Over the medium term it also has growth opportunities through its hardware expansion in the UK, as well as through other means such as divesting its coal division or fixing Target.
For Growth
Consider Retail Food Group Limited (ASX: RFG), the owner of a number of popular franchises including Donut King, Gloria Jean's, Brumby's, Crust Pizza, and more. Retail Food Group also pays an attractive dividend, but comes with fairly high levels of debt and has been growing rapidly by acquisition which makes it more risky than Wesfarmers and IAG. As I wrote here, Retail Food Group has a number of growth opportunities in the coming years, and at today's prices of around 17 times earnings investors aren't paying a large premium for it either.
