If I could hold just one Canadian stock forever, it would be Brookfield Asset Management (TSX: BAM).
Over the years, Brookfield Asset Management has quietly become one of the most durable, well-positioned money machines on the planet. And right now, it’s firing on all cylinders.
Let me explain why I remain bullish on the long-term prospects of the Canadian dividend stock.
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Brookfield Asset Management is a fee machine built to last
Valued at a market cap of $106 billion, BAM manages capital on behalf of institutional investors, insurance companies, and high-net-worth individuals. It earns management fees to deploy these investments, and these fees are contractual.
BAM explains that its fees are tied to long-term perpetual capital, allowing the company to generate steady cash flow across business cycles. Notably, 95% of BAM’s fee revenues come from long-term or perpetual capital, which provides it with a structural moat.
In the first quarter of 2026:
- BAM reported fee-related earnings of US$772 million, up 11% from the same period a year earlier.
- Distributable earnings came in at US$702 million, up 7% year over year.
- Over the trailing 12 months, fee-related earnings have grown to US$3.1 billion, up 18%.
The bull case for BAM stock
The global alternatives market is expected to grow from US$25 trillion in 2022 to US$60 trillion by 2032. BAM is already one of the largest players in that market, with US$614 billion in fee-bearing capital.
The company raised $21 billion in capital in the first quarter of 2026. Year-to-date fundraising already stands at $67 billion, more than half of the capital it raised last year. BAM’s chief executive officer, Connor Teskey, said on the earnings call that 2026 will be the company’s “largest fundraising year ever.”
Three drivers are accelerating that growth right now.
- First, real assets are back in favour. When investors get nervous about inflation, rates or economic uncertainty, they move toward high-quality, cash-generating assets. BAM owns cash-generating assets across verticals such as infrastructure, real estate, renewable power, and essential industrial.
- Second, artificial intelligence is a massive tailwind. AI needs data centres, power grids, transmission lines, and cooling systems. As Teskey put it on the earnings call, “AI requires enormous physical infrastructure,” and Brookfield is “already deeply invested across those areas.”
- Third, credit is a huge opportunity. BAM recently completed its acquisition of Oaktree Capital Management, one of the world’s most respected credit investors. Armen Panossian, who joined as co-CEO of Brookfield’s credit business, said the combined platform has “ample dry powder” to deploy as credit markets shift. When stress emerges in credit markets, disciplined investors with flexible capital tend to generate some of their best returns.
The case for never selling BAM stock
BAM returns more than 90% of its distributable earnings to shareholders through dividends. Armed with an asset-light, conservatively leveraged balance sheet, BAM also enjoys high operating margins.
The company repurchased US$375 million of shares in Q1 of 2026 and another US$200 million early in Q2, totaling roughly US$800 million in buybacks over the past seven months.
BAM is a compounding machine with one of the most durable business models in Canada, built for long-term investors who want earnings that grow across market cycles.
Analysts tracking the TSX stock forecast adjusted earnings to expand from US$1.65 per share in 2025 to US$3.45 per share. If the Canadian stock is priced at 20 times forward earnings, which is reasonable, it could surge over 40% within the next four years. If we adjust for dividends, cumulative returns could be closer to 60%.
