Market pullbacks can feel uncomfortable, but they often give Foolish investors a cleaner entry point into high-quality businesses. In order to spot such value opportunities, investors may want to prepare a watch list before prices fall, so emotion does not take over when volatility returns.
Two TSX stocks I’d keep near the top on my watchlist right now are very different businesses. One handles essential waste services across North America, while the other manages global alternative assets and pays a healthy dividend. Here’s why both could be worth buying aggressively the next time markets pull back.
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A defensive operator with pricing power
The first stock I’d keep on my radar is Waste Connections (TSX: WCN), a business that tends to hold up well in almost any market condition. It’s an integrated solid waste services firm serving roughly nine million residential, commercial, and industrial customers across 46 U.S. states and 6 Canadian provinces.
With a market cap of $55.2 billion, WCN stock recently closed at $217.19 per share. Despite its strong fundamentals, the shares are still down 14.9% over the last year.
Its latest numbers also show why this business deserves attention on a pullback. In the first quarter of 2026, Waste Connections generated US$2.4 billion in revenue, up 6.4% from a year earlier. Its adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) rose 8% year-over-year (YoY) to US$769.5 million, while its adjusted EBITDA margin improved by 50 basis points to 32.5%.
While Waste volumes may fluctuate, customers still need collection and disposal services in good markets and weak ones. If a broad selloff drags WCN stock lower, its recurring demand, pricing power, and steady cash generation could make it a much more attractive buy.
A global asset manager with income
The next stock I’d look at is Brookfield Asset Management (TSX: BAM), which offers exposure to global assets and long-term growth trends. The New York-headquartered alternative asset manager invests across infrastructure, energy, private equity, real estate, credit, and other long-term strategies.
At the time of writing, BAM stock traded at $66.82 per share, giving it a market capitalization of roughly $109.7 billion. Its shares have risen 13% over the last three months, and the stock offers a dividend yield of 4.1%.
In the first quarter of 2026, BAM reported US$586 million in net profit as its fee-related earnings rose 11% YoY to US$772 million, while distributable earnings climbed 7% from a year ago to US$702 million.
At the same time, BAM also continues to attract a lot of capital. It raised US$21 billion in the first quarter. That scale is important because BAM earns fees on the capital it manages. The larger its fee-bearing capital base gets, the more room it has to grow earnings over time.
For investors waiting on a pullback, BAM does not need to look dirt cheap to be interesting. It simply needs to fall to a price where its asset-management scale, growing fee base, dividend, and long-term capital deployment opportunities offer a better margin of safety.
