Here are two tips to help you analyze companies before investing:

1. Know the chief

James Meltzer, senior vice president with Macquarie Private Wealth, suggests you get to know the top executives and their business philosophies.

2. Listen to verbal cues

Tom Burke, senior investment advisor at Canaccord Wealth Management in Montreal, says he is wary of executives who talk about their company as if it’s their handiwork.
His hackles rise when a CEO consistently uses the first person to describe an accomplishment—“I, as opposed to we. That’s one of my pet peeves. It seems like the guy’s been reading too many of his own press clippings,” he says. “I like to see a CEO who’s leading an efficient team.”