Billionaire Prem Watsa’s Top 15 Long-Term Stock Picks

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8. The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: N/A 

Fairfax Financial Holdings’ Stake: $15.8 million  

The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS)  is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The following highlights demonstrate why the company is a compelling investment opportunity. Firstly, as per the report of the third quarter of 2024, revenue of $29.6 billion was reported, showing an increase of 1.3% from FY 2023. This growth indicates that the company has increased its sales and generated revenue. Secondly, Scotiabank agreed to invest approximately $2.8 billion for a stake in KeyCorp. This may hold investment potential as this move targets one of its key markets, with the investment in KeyCorp significantly boosting its capital deployment in the US. Moreover, the bank has expanded its partnership with Google Cloud, naming it the enterprise cloud platform of choice for the next phase of the Bank’s cloud acceleration journey. The bank will leverage Google Cloud technology to enhance client and employee experience, strengthen security, and adopt new technologies, like generative AI, more quickly. This announcement builds on Scotiabank’s strategic partnership with Google Cloud, extending its cloud-first commitment and accelerating its global data and analytics strategy.

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