What seems like many lifetimes ago, I was a banker.

I ran branch banks, wrote operating manuals, and did business development. But the most fun I had was lending money. I loved roaming the county, talking with all kinds of businesses -- from those who needed money to buy equipment or inventory -- to developers who wanted to borrow funds to build high-end residential properties or commercial buildings.

My time in banking came with a silver lining that I didn't really appreciate until I left the industry: those eight years of toil and trouble sure taught me a lot about analyzing financial statements of companies (especially banks) to determine which ones had what it took to survive and prosper.

That knowledge came in handy when I moved on to the brokerage business on Wall Street as a securities analyst. Because of my banking experience, it was only natural that I -- at first -- specialized in the finance industry.

I wrote my first official analyst report about 13 brokerage houses, including the biggies, Bear Stearns, Charles Schwab, Merrill Lynch, and Paine Webber -- all of whom I sold short!

It was a bold move, as I soon found out that most securities analysts rarely say 'sell' for this reason: a good portion of the stocks they follow are their investment banking clients, or companies they do business with as transaction clearing firms, so issuing a 'sell' tends to stress those intertwined relationships. And since one of those brokerage firms I sold short was actually our company's trading partner, you can see why my report might have raised some eyebrows.

That trading partner's CEO called me, and so did my own CEO. They weren't too happy, but when I explained my primary reason -- nothing specifically adverse about the individual firms, but just because the economic cycle did not look very positive in the near-term for brokerage firms -- they backed off. And, fortunately, the research director (my boss) supported me 100%.

But the fun didn't end there. One particular company's rep called me some pretty juicy names in the Wall Street Journal (for which his boss later made him apologize, in writing!),

Charles Schwab himself made a point to have a very pleasant (but nerve-wracking) conversation with me, as to why he thought I was wrong, and Merrill Lynch wined and dined me in their President's dining room to try to convince me that I should change my mind.

It didn't work, because I had studied the economy, analyzed each of those 13 brokerage firm's financial statements (over a three-year period), and could see the beginning of weakness due to the declining economic environment. So I held my course, and I was right! The stocks of those 13 brokerage houses dropped by an average of 35% each, over the next few months, and we pocketed the difference.

Now, I'm not telling you this for sport. I just want you to understand the importance of economic cycles and other catalysts in choosing stocks. As I've said before, you can find the best, fundamentally-strongest company in the world, but if there is no momentum behind its shares, you could wait a lifetime for them to appreciate.

Back in my brokerage days, the downward momentum of the economic cycle fairly screamed a 'sell' on financial stocks, but right now, we are in just the opposite scenario. The economy has been on a very slow recovery and we are still in the early stages of that cycle... which opens up a great opportunity for us to make money.

Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE:TD) is a prime example of one of these opportunities.

When times are flush, most banks are fat and lazy. They rake in the money as the economy strengthens, easily gathering deposits and making loans.

But when a recession hits, financial companies are often the first to feel the effects -- deposits stop growing and their free-wheeling credit from the boom years gets them into trouble with rising loan losses.

That didn't happen to TD Bank. It never took TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) money during the crisis, and it continued to grow both its deposits and loans during the financial debacle. Consequently, the bank has deep capital reserves, and surpasses required capital minimums.

And as you can see below, the bank has paid a growing dividend over the past 20 years, with a current yield of 3.40%. In fact, it has never cut its dividend -- a move that many banks could not escape during the recession.

TD's growth has also been going on for some time. Through smart acquisitions and internal growth, the bank's assets have more than quadrupled in the last decade -- one of the most volatile decades in our market's history.

In addition, from October 2004 until October 2013, the bank grew its net revenue from $10.83 billion to $27.26 billion, its net income from $2.31 billion to $6.56 billion, and its earnings per share (EPS) from $1.70 per share to $3.46 per share.

The Canadian economy is also improving, but what I like about TD is its growth in the US market. You see, TD is also the 9th largest bank in the US, with $207 billion in deposits -- almost as much as the $248 billion it has gathered in Canada. Its US growth spurt really took off when TD acquired Commerce Bank in 2008.

The shares have risen lately, but I think there's still room to grow, as they are far from overbought at this level.

In short, the US economy is on the upswing, interest rates are still low, housing and unemployment are improving, and TD Bank has made significant inroads in the US markets. These catalysts make TD a great buy right now.

Action to Take --> I'm recommending that you add 100 shares of TD Bank at a price up to $52, for an initial target of $65. Please set your trailing stop at 20% less than you pay for your shares.