Tap the power of these 2022 top picks

Article Excerpt

We have singled out two stocks and one ETF as your #1 buys for 2022. Each offers investors long-term growth prospects at a reasonable price. Meanwhile, all three have successfully weathered the pandemic over the last couple of years and are poised for solid gains as economic growth rebounds. BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA, $93.10, is a #1 Buy for 2022. The lender (Toronto symbol BNS; Shares outstanding: 1.2 billion; Market cap: $112.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.3%; www.scotiabank.com) is Canada’s third largest bank. Bank of Nova Scotia continues to reverse last year’s big increase in loan-loss provisions as the pandemic eases and the economy re-opens. In the quarter ended October 31, 2021, it set aside $168 million to cover future loan losses. That’s down 85.1% from $1.13 billion a year earlier. Due to those lower provisions, the bank’s per-share earnings in the quarter jumped 44.8%, to $2.10 from $1.45. Despite that big profit jump, the bank’s exposure to Mexico, Chile, Peru and…