Best U.S. ETFs for 2019

Overview Canadian U.S. International Fixed-Income All-in-one ETFs Desert island picks

Here the panel again stood pat, opting to retain all four of our 2018 US equity picks. XUU was the hands-down winner due in part to its lower fee structure at 0.07%, according to Robb Engen. A slim majority opted to retain the non-hedged Vanguard S&P500 ETF (VFV) and its the sister ETF, the currency-hedged VSP. The panel was almost split on reinstating VUN (The Vanguard US Total Market ETF) which had been an All-Star before 2018, but in the end opted not to add it back.

Best U.S. ETFs – The list

ETF name	Ticker	Management Fee	MER	# of Holdings	Description
iShares Core S&P US Total Market Index ETF	XUU	0.07	0.08	3459	Returning All-star, low fees of 0.07%
Vanguard S&P 500 Index ETF	VFV	0.08	0.08	507	Provides unhedged exposure to the S&P500 at a very low cost
Vanguard S&P 500 Index ETF (CAD-hedged)	VSP	0.08	0.08	507	Provides currency-hedged exposure to the S&P_500 at no extra cost
BMO S&P500 Index ETF (CAD)	ZSP	0.08	0.09	505	Alternative to VFV; tied on fee; fund size is largest among 4 US Core ETFs

As was the case last year, the panel debated whether we should add some US-based technology ETFs, like QQQ. There are a couple of TSX-listed Canadian Nasdaq 100 type ETFs that several panelists liked but we were unable to get a majority to agree on adding this as a category.

However, readers should check our new desert island picks: several panelists went with specialty US equity ETFs, such as HXQ.U from Mark Yamada.

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About Jonathan Chevreau

As MoneySense’s Investing-Editor-at-Large, he is also author of Findependence Day and co-author of Victory Lap Retirement. Reach him at [email protected], where he is the founder of Financial Independence Hub.