Best Canadian ETFs for 2020

By Jonathan Chevreau on May 17, 2020
Estimated reading time: 1 minute

Our panel picks the best exchange-traded funds focussed on Canadian stocks.

Overview Canadian U.S. International Fixed-Income All-in-One Desert-Island Picks

All four Canadian equity ETFs return: VCN, XIC, HXT and ZCN (see accompanying chart for full ETF names), plus we added the BMO Low Volatility Canadian ETF (ZLB, MER 0.39%), as mentioned in our ETF All-star package overview. Remember that Canadian stocks are also amply represented in the All-in-one ETFs section. The market crash/correction in March revealed that, in Canadian-dollar terms, Canadian investors’ returns were improved if they had significant foreign exposure, “as our loonie took on some serious water,” says panelist Yves Rebetez. As such, he urges investors to review their exposure to domestic energy and financials stocks.

ETF Name	Ticker	Management Fee	MER	# of Holdings	Description
Vanguard FTSE Canada All Cap Index ETF	VCN	0.05	0.06	198	Exposure to Canadian small, medium and large caps, ultra low fee
iShares Core S&P/TSX Capped Composite Index ETF	XIC	0.05	0.06	230	Tracks Canada's best known index with a very low fee
Horizons S&P/TSX 60 ETF	HXT	0.07	0.03	60	Tax-efficient; rock-bottom 0.03% fee after rebate at least till January 2021
BMO S&P TSX Capped Composite Index ETF	ZCN	0.05	0.06	234	Fee as low as VCN and XIC; more assets than VCN
NEW! BMO Low Volatility Canadian Equity ETF	ZLB	0.35	0.39	46	Invests in low-beta Canadian stocks that have lower volatility than the market.

Compare the best online brokers in Canada

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.

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Comments Cancel reply

Brian Sweet says:

May 18, 2020 at 9:03 pm

I was somewhat disappointed that there weren’t any performance figures or other info used to choose these ETFs ala The Globe and Mail’s Number Cruncher.

I look forward to some additional info if available.

Reply
Tanzim H says:

December 12, 2020 at 7:09 am

Newbie investor here. I’m trying to understand the Management Fee vs MER. Online research suggests it only MER I need to worry about, however, Vanguard’s website (along with several others) also shows both mgmt fees and MER.

Therefore, if I invest $10k in VCN, is it fair to assume on a yearly basis I will be subject to 0.05% + 0.06% = 0.11% fees?

Reply
1. MoneySense Editors says:
  
  December 15, 2020 at 7:21 am
  
  Due to the large volume of comments we receive, we regret that we are unable to respond directly to each one. We invite you to email your question to [email protected], where it will be considered for a future response by one of our expert columnists. For personal advice, we suggest consulting with your financial institution or a qualified advisor.
  
  Reply