TopGun^® Press

Brendan Wood International Investor Conviction Intel – Financials March 3rd 2025

March 3rd, 2025 by TopGun Press

Below are the most “talked about” Financial Stocks on the BWI Shareholder Confidence Index based on our daily consultations with global investors.

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Commitment to Own the Name in the Year Ahead Changes in Investor Confidence Scores – FIG Sector

(YE 1Q 2025 as of February 28th vs. YE 4Q 2024)

Legend:

Increase: Higher Quality Metric Score Compared to Result from 4Q 2024

Static: Unchanged Quality Metric Score Compared to Result from 4Q 2024

Decrease: Lower Quality Metric Score Compared to Result from 4Q 2024

Fiserv, Inc

Increase: CEO, Board of Directors, Transparency/Disclosure, Long Term Growth, CFO, Balance Sheet, Senior Management, Price Appreciation Potential, Short Term Growth, Momentum of Investor Confidence

Static: Strategy

Decrease: Commitment to Own

“Fiserv’s new CEO, Michael Lyons, looks pretty good since he’s started.”

“Fiserv has built a deep bench of expertise in payments, drawing talent from various areas. They’ve done a solid job recruiting top-tier talent across their lines of business, positioning themselves well in the
industry.”

“Fiserv has done really well and it’s now down to execution.”

The Toronto-Dominion Bank

Increase: Commitment to Own the Name in the Year Ahead, Strategy, CEO, Balance Sheet, Transparency/Disclosure, Momentum of Investor Confidence

Static: Board of Directors, Transparency/Disclosure, Senior Management

Decrease: Long Term Growth, CFO, Short Term Growth, Momentum of Investor Confidence, Price Appreciation Potential

“With TD Bank selling Charles Schwab, I don’t think it was necessarily a core holding for them in the long term, so moving on makes sense. You could argue whether Schwab could be 30-50% higher two years later, but
let’s not forget it was in a tough spot during the regional banking crisis. At the end of the day, if TD identified Schwab as non-core and sold it, they’re able to buy back stock at half the multiple of what they sold the asset for, and that’s a pretty good deal. It frees up capital that can be used for organic growth or strategic acquisitions in areas that are more central to their core business.”

“The overall confidence levels about TD Bank’s management team is low. However, there has been quite a bit of positive news recently, which is evident in the stock’s performance. Now I’m left wondering, what’s next?”

Willis Towers Watson plc

Increase: Commitment to Own the Name in the Year Ahead, Balance Sheet, Momentum of Investor Confidence, Price Appreciation Potential* (Sector Leader), CEO, CFO

Static: Strategy, Board Of Directors, Long Term Growth, Transparency/Disclosure, Short Term Growth

Decrease: Senior Management

“It’s hard to get negative on Willis Towers Watson because they’re delivering on organic growth and delivering on the margins. That’s why the stock has been so strong.”

“Willis Towers have a lot of excess capital, and they are going to start putting it towards buybacks.”

“Willis Towers Watson is improving in terms of quality.”

About Brendan Wood International:

Brendan Wood International (BWI), formed in 1970, is a private advisory group which originates performance investigation programs in the capital markets. Relying on its real time intelligence, BWI advises public companies, institutional and activist investors, investment banks and broker dealers on strategy, performance and recruitment of TopGun talent. Big cap companies looking for comprehensive investor confidence data on their organizations are likely to discover that Brendan Wood partners consult with their investors non stop year round. There are 2000+ live consultations with investment professionals overseeing +/- $60 trillion invested in the +/- 1400 big cap companies on the BWI Index. Investors depend on BWI to quantify the demand side of the investment industry, including the name by name research sales and trading professionals who influence investor demand. The firm’s partners have formally presented at 1000+ C level strategy meetings and corporate off-sites in fifty cities. Brendan Wood founded the exclusive TopGun Club, a performance based institution.

Disclaimer:

We wish to emphasize that all reports, evaluations and assessments contained herein, represent Brendan Wood International’s subjective judgment and opinions, based on our years of experience and on information obtained by us in the course of our research. Much of the factual information contained in the reports has been obtained by us from third parties on whose responses we have relied in good faith, independent verification by Brendan Wood International being, under the circumstances, impossible. While we believe that you will find our reports to be an invaluable tool in formulating your own strategies and judgments, the foregoing should be borne in mind. This report is not meant as investment advice and should not be interpreted as advising on the value of a company’s securities, the advisability of investing in, purchasing or selling any company’s securities or any other conclusion relating to investment/divestiture of a company’s securities. Finally, this report is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any company’s securities.