The global financial industry includes banking, insurance, asset management, and capital market sectors, and plays a significant role in supporting economic activity. According to McKinsey, the banking industry handles assets worth $400 trillion as of 2025, bringing in about $7 trillion and $1.1 trillion in annual revenue and profits, respectively. On the other hand, the broader financial services sector is on the high, increasing more than 16% in the last year (as of writing this article), beating the broader market’s 6% return for the same period. This robust growth is expected to continue throughout the remainder of 2025, with the momentum driven by dropping interest rates, cooling off inflation, and investors’ faith in the sector, creating upside potential across various segments.
Despite brief macroeconomic uncertainty, the U.S. economy improved more than expected in 2024, with GDP growth hitting about 2.7%. Although the progress is expected to slow down in 2025, with growth likely dropping to around 1.5%, the financial sector is holding strong, supported by expected Fed rate cuts, steadier regulations, and a comeback in market activity. Moreover, record consumer debt of $17.7 trillion and increasing corporate refinancing needs are expected to affect borrowing patterns.
Looking ahead, financial companies stand strong to gain from the revival in financial markets, as recent forecasts indicate M&A activity, buyouts, and private lending picking up steam in 2025. Furthermore, companies are making strategic deals and investing in AI technology, fueling rapid growth in private markets. Additionally, private credit assets under management could double soon, as more businesses and individuals seek financing outside traditional banks. This surge in deals and fundraising follows several quiet years and sets up major financial players for solid profits.
In contrast, the global insurance sector is dealing with economic turbulence, high inflation, and unpredictable interest rates. Personal property and casualty insurance grew 9.5% between 2022-2023, reaching $1.1 trillion, driven mostly by rate increases rather than new businesses. Thus, the sector is focused on innovation and geographic diversification, expanding into emerging Asian and Latin American markets. At the same time, in the U.S., affordability concerns are forcing insurers and other sectors to cut costs and improve their digital services.
As such, innovation and digital transformation drive the financial sector, as banks alone have poured over $600 billion into tech upgrades, outspending even tech companies on IT, as reported by McKinsey. Despite this massive investment, labor productivity has dropped 4% over the last 15 years. This troubling decline has created pressure to make these tech investments pay off. Looking ahead, as AI, automation, and cloud are getting adopted, companies are expected to transform their business models and enhance digital services to boost efficiency and customer reach.
Meanwhile, new tariff policies are shaking up global markets, further triggeringthe macroeconomic uncertainty. Billionaire Ken Fisher is still critical of these measures as he argues that it is unnecessary to worry about them. He posted the following statement on X.
“What Trump unveiled on Wednesday is stupid, wrong, arrogantly extreme, ignorant trade-wise and addressing a non-problem with misguided tools. It will fade and fail and the fear is bigger than the problem, which from here is bullish.”
He strongly believes financial stocks may bounce back once the initial shock passes by, drawing a historical parallel: “It may well be this goes something like the 1998 stock market correction leading to a 26% annual return.” As interest rates drop and economic pressures ease, investors are eyeing financial companies for potential recovery gains and strategic long-term positions.
To compile this list, we reviewed Ken Fisher’s SEC Q4 2024 13F filings. We picked 10 stocks that have the highest upside potential from their current levels as of April 22. Finally, we ranked the stocks in ascending order based on their highest analyst upside potential, while also laying out hedge fund sentiment for these stocks according to Insider Monkey’s Q4 2024 database.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
Synovus Financial Corp. (SNV): Among Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Finance Stock Picks with Huge Upside Potential
A woman signing a mortgage loan in a modern banking hall.
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 32
Upside Potential: 42.66%
Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV) is a regional bank, offering commercial and consumer banking across the Southeastern U.S. It works through four main segments: Wholesale Banking, Community Banking, Consumer Banking, and Financial Management Services—providing everything from real estate loans to investment advice. In the Ken Fisher Stock Portfolio, this stock represents a diverse bet on regional financial growth during changing economic times.
For Q1 ended March 31, 2025, Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV) posted earnings of $1.30 per share, up 4% from the previous quarter and 65% from last year. Its pre-provision net revenue jumped 22%, while its return on tangible equity hit 17.6%. Moreover, interest margins improved to 3.35%, and the company saw $40 million in loan growth—its best production since Q4 2022. Credit quality got better with charge-offs falling to 20 basis points, and the Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio staying strong at 10.75%.
Although the company’s clients are doubtful regarding tariffs and federal job cuts, Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV) kept its 2025 outlook steady. It expects 3-5% growth in loans and deposits, 3-6% growth in adjusted revenue, and stable core capital. The company also predicts that non-interest expenses will have a slower growth of just 2-4%. Furthermore, some recent strategic moves include building up its structured lending team and starting a deposit service for the legal industry.
Ken Fisher owns 316,529 Synovus shares worth $10.5 million, signaling faith in the company’s financial strength and earning potential. Within the Ken Fisher Stock Portfolio, Synovus stands out for performing well despite tighter credit and economic uncertainty.
Overall, SNV ranks 6th on our list of billionaire Ken Fisher’s finance stock picks with huge upside potential. While we acknowledge the potential of SNV as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than SNV but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
