The Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) Ownership
BNS ownership summary
as of October 17, 2026- Institutions
- 50.9% of shares outstanding
- Insiders
- 0.02% of shares outstanding
- Shares outstanding
- 1.22B
- Float
- 1.20B shares available to trade
- Short interest
- 0.26% 16.2M shares short
- Days to cover
- 8.73 short interest up 33.0% vs prior month
- Institutions 50.90%
- Insiders 0.02%
- Other investors 49.08%
BNS top institutional holders
20 largest| # | Holder | % of shares | Shares | Value | Change | Reported |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal Bank of Canada | 5.41% | 65.8M | $6.03B | −6.0M (−8.3%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 2 | Bank of Montreal | 4.27% | 51.9M | $4.76B | −4.1M (−7.4%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 3 | BMO Capital Markets Corp. | 4.27% | 51.9M | $4.76B | −4.1M (−7.4%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 4 | Vanguard Capital Management, LLC | 2.93% | 35.7M | $3.27B | +23,327 (+0.1%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 5 | CIBC World Markets Inc. | 2.07% | 25.2M | $2.31B | −764,102 (−2.9%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 6 | NORGES BANK | 1.51% | 18.4M | $1.68B | −166,890 (−0.9%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 7 | Acadian Asset Management LLC | 1.51% | 18.4M | $1.68B | +3.4M (+22.4%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 8 | 1832 Asset Management L.P | 1.34% | 16.3M | $1.49B | −2.0M (−11.0%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 9 | NATIONAL BANK OF CANADA /FI/ | 1.29% | 15.7M | $1.44B | −723,071 (−4.4%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 10 | Geode Capital Management, LLC | 1.18% | 14.3M | $1.31B | +1.5M (+11.5%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 11 | TD Asset Management Inc | 1.16% | 14.1M | $1.29B | −5.1M (−26.5%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 12 | Scotia Capital Inc | 1.06% | 12.9M | $1.18B | −486,792 (−3.6%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 13 | The Toronto-Dominion Bank | 1.03% | 12.5M | $1.15B | −5.1M (−28.9%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 14 | Fidelity International Ltd | 1.01% | 12.2M | $1.12B | +3.2M (+35.5%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 15 | Canada Pension Plan Investment Board | 0.96% | 11.7M | $1.07B | +2.6M (+28.5%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 16 | Vanguard Fiduciary Trust Co | 0.90% | 10.9M | $1.00B | −46,189 (−0.4%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 17 | CIBC Global Asset Management Inc | 0.88% | 10.8M | $985.4M | +2.0M (+22.3%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 18 | JPMorgan Chase & Co | 0.88% | 10.7M | $983.1M | −108,498 (−1.0%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 19 | Vanguard Global Advisers, LLC | 0.78% | 9.5M | $866.8M | +685,801 (+7.8%) | June 30, 2026 |
| 20 | TD Waterhouse Canada Inc | 0.74% | 9.0M | $828.5M | −629,165 (−6.5%) | June 30, 2026 |
Value at the latest close. Change = shares bought or sold in the latest quarterly filing (13F). In the top 20, 7 holders added 13.3M shares and 13 cut 29.4M.
BNS top mutual fund and ETF holders
19 largest| # | Holder | % of shares | Shares | Value | Change | Reported |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blk Ics Eur As Liq Envirally Awr Hertg D | 8.22% | 100.0M | $9.16B | +100.0M (0.0%) | July 31, 2026 |
| 2 | Vanguard Total Intl Stock Index Inv | 1.49% | 18.1M | $1.66B | +1,573 (+0.0%) | August 31, 2026 |
| 3 | Vanguard Developed Markets Index Admiral | 0.99% | 12.1M | $1.11B | −18,790 (−0.2%) | August 31, 2026 |
| 4 | BMO Equal Weight Banks ETF | 0.83% | 10.1M | $926.5M | −5,099 (−0.1%) | September 9, 2026 |
| 5 | iShares Core S&P/TSX Cap Composite ETF | 0.69% | 8.4M | $773.8M | −49,086 (−0.6%) | September 30, 2026 |
| 6 | RBC Canadian Dividend Fund A | 0.68% | 8.3M | $759.8M | — | August 31, 2026 |
| 7 | iShares S&P/TSX 60 ETF | 0.58% | 7.0M | $641.6M | +182,138 (+2.7%) | September 30, 2026 |
| 8 | Fidelity SAI Canada Equity Index | 0.54% | 6.6M | $600.1M | +177,130 (+2.8%) | August 31, 2026 |
| 9 | TD Dividend Growth - I | 0.46% | 5.6M | $515.3M | — | June 30, 2026 |
| 10 | Scotia Canadian Dividend A | 0.44% | 5.4M | $493.2M | −81,000 (−1.5%) | July 31, 2026 |
| 11 | BMO Covered Call Canadian Banks ETF | 0.43% | 5.2M | $475.0M | — | September 9, 2026 |
| 12 | JPMorgan BetaBuilders Canada ETF | 0.37% | 4.5M | $409.6M | +18,522 (+0.4%) | September 30, 2026 |
| 13 | BMO S&P/TSX Capped Composite ETF | 0.36% | 4.4M | $402.6M | +3,474 (+0.1%) | September 9, 2026 |
| 14 | Vanguard FTSE Canadian High Div Yld ETF | 0.36% | 4.4M | $401.5M | +27,166 (+0.6%) | August 31, 2026 |
| 15 | Vanguard FTSE Canada All Cap ETF | 0.35% | 4.3M | $393.7M | +81,488 (+1.9%) | August 31, 2026 |
| 16 | Vanguard FTSE All-Wld ex-US ETF | 0.24% | 2.9M | $269.6M | +14,760 (+0.5%) | August 31, 2026 |
| 17 | iShares MSCI Canada ETF | 0.24% | 2.9M | $264.1M | — | September 30, 2026 |
| 18 | Schwab International Equity ETF™ | 0.23% | 2.8M | $259.9M | — | September 30, 2026 |
| 19 | Fidelity Series Global ex US Index | 0.20% | 2.4M | $224.4M | — | August 31, 2026 |
Funds report holdings monthly or quarterly; dates differ by fund.
BNS shares outstanding
Year-end shares outstanding, adjusted for splits.
Who owns BNS
Institutional investors own 50.9% of Bank of Nova Scotia's shares and insiders 0.02%. The largest holder is Royal Bank of Canada with 5.41% of the shares (65.8M), as of June 30, 2026. Among the top 20 institutions, 7 added shares and 13 reduced their stake in the latest filings. Short interest is 0.26% of the float, or 8.73 days of average trading volume. The share count rose 1.8% since 2014.
Related: BNS analyst forecast, BNS dividend history. See the BNS stock overview for the latest quote and news.
BNS ownership FAQ
Who owns the most Bank of Nova Scotia stock?
The largest shareholders of Bank of Nova Scotia are Royal Bank of Canada (5.41%), Bank of Montreal (4.27%), BMO Capital Markets Corp. (4.27%), Vanguard Capital Management, LLC (2.93%), CIBC World Markets Inc. (2.07%).
What percentage of Bank of Nova Scotia is owned by institutions?
Institutions hold 50.9% of Bank of Nova Scotia's shares outstanding; insiders hold 0.02%.
Which funds own Bank of Nova Scotia?
The largest fund holders of Bank of Nova Scotia are Blk Ics Eur As Liq Envirally Awr Hertg D (8.22%), Vanguard Total Intl Stock Index Inv (1.49%), Vanguard Developed Markets Index Admiral (0.99%), BMO Equal Weight Banks ETF (0.83%), iShares Core S&P/TSX Cap Composite ETF (0.69%).
What is Bank of Nova Scotia's short interest?
16.2M shares of Bank of Nova Scotia were sold short, 0.26% of the float; at the average daily volume it would take 8.73 days to cover.
How many shares of Bank of Nova Scotia are outstanding?
Bank of Nova Scotia has 1.22B shares outstanding, of which 1.20B are in the public float.