Despite the Toronto S&P/TSX Composite Index closing at a record high of 33,055 points last Friday, following a stunning 34% surge in 2025, underlying market volatility and uncertainty remain a lingering concern for investors. When the market is boiling over, it’s precisely the right time to assess the resilience of one’s portfolio and increase holdings in defensive assets. On the Toronto Stock Exchange, stocks like Fortis Inc. (TSX:FTS) and Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSX:TD), with their predictable earnings and steady dividends, can help investors safely weather any market downturn.
Fortis: A “Safe Haven” with 52 Consecutive Years of Dividend Growth
As one of North America’s leading utility companies, Fortis occupies a naturally defensive position. Its regulated revenue stream makes the company’s earnings and cash flows highly predictable, reliable, and stable. This characteristic directly supports its exceptional dividend track record: Fortis has increased its dividend for 52 consecutive years, setting a remarkable record.
Looking back over more than half a century, which included numerous stock market crashes, recessions, and all kinds of difficult times, Fortis shareholders have consistently received returns. This long-term stability is precisely the kind of “ballast” investors need to navigate market cycles.
In terms of stock price performance, Fortis similarly demonstrates long-term, steady growth. Since 1992, its share price has accumulated a gain of over 1,100%, and it has risen nearly 40% in the past five years. Looking ahead, the company is expected to continue benefiting from rate adjustments, customer growth, and grid modernization. Fortis will report its Q4 and full-year 2025 results on February 12, with the consensus EPS expectation at C$0.85.
TD Bank: A Banking Giant Combining Stability and Growth
Toronto-Dominion Bank is another stock that has weathered many stock market crashes and recessions. As a barometer of the Canadian economy, the country’s major banks not only thrive during prosperous economic times but also play a key role in helping the economy recover from downturns.
TD Bank is one of Canada’s top two banks and ranks among the top ten banking institutions in North America, holding the sixth position by both total assets and market capitalization. This scale and market position afford it advantages in diversification, extensive reach, and economies of scale.
TD Bank’s share price has risen 76% over the past five years, boasting a history of strong and stable performance. It has rebounded from the worst crises, emerging even stronger. All the while, it has consistently provided shareholders with steadily growing dividends. In Q4 of fiscal 2025, TD Bank delivered a 27% increase in adjusted earnings per share (EPS) to C$2.18, driven primarily by strong performance in its U.S. retail business, record wealth management earnings, and wholesale banking results.
Against the current backdrop of uncertain economic recovery prospects and trade tensions exacerbating market worries, the key investment logic lies in finding “certainty within uncertainty.” The regulated utility model represented by Fortis offers near-absolute certainty in earnings and dividends. Meanwhile, TD Bank, as a systemically important bank, provides cyclical resilience through its central role in the economy, stringent regulation, and diversified operations.
When the market hits new highs, it might be the ideal time to review one’s portfolio and increase holdings in such high-quality assets that offer “downside protection.” If a market correction occurs, it would present an opportunity to buy these time-tested companies at attractive prices. For long-term investors, holding and opportunistically adding to such stocks is a strategy that can provide peace of mind in any market environment.
