XEQT is a single ETF that holds roughly 8,000+ companies across the US, Canada, international, and emerging markets, rebalances itself automatically, and charges 0.20% a year. Here's exactly what's inside it, what it costs, how it compares to the alternatives, and who it's actually for. One ETF, 8,000+ companies, 0.20% a year, rebalances itself. Here's what's inside it and who it's for.
XEQT (iShares Core Equity ETF Portfolio) is an all-equity asset-allocation ETF from BlackRock Canada, launched in August 2019. Instead of holding individual stocks directly, it holds four other iShares ETFs, each covering a different region, and blends them into one fixed set of target weights that it rebalances back to automatically.
The pitch is simple: buy one ticker, get global diversification, never think about rebalancing again. That's the entire reason the "just buy XEQT" phrase exists as a meme in Canadian personal finance circles — for a lot of people, it genuinely is that simple.
| Underlying ETF | Covers | Approx. weight |
|---|---|---|
| ITOT | US total stock market | ~45% |
| XIC | Canadian stock market | ~25% |
| XEF | International developed markets | ~24% |
| XEC | Emerging markets | ~6% |
Weights drift slightly month to month and XEQT rebalances back to target automatically — you don't have to do anything.
Underneath the four regional ETFs, XEQT ultimately owns roughly 8,000 to 9,000 individual companies. The largest few make up a meaningful slice on their own — this is what "buying the whole market" actually looks like in practice:
| Company | Approx. weight |
|---|---|
| NVIDIA | ~4.2% |
| Apple | ~4.0% |
| Microsoft | ~3.7% |
Individual holding weights shift with market prices and change more often than the regional allocation above — treat these as a snapshot, not a fixed list.
Technology is the largest sector at roughly 26% of the fund, followed by financials (~19%) and industrials (~11%) — a natural result of weighting by company size (market capitalization) rather than picking sectors deliberately.
| XEQT | |
|---|---|
| Management fee (MER) | ~0.20% per year |
| Trading commission (Wealthsimple/Questrade) | $0 |
| Advisor / management fee | None — it's self-directed |
| Rebalancing cost | $0 — automatic, built into the fund |
| Distribution frequency | Quarterly |
The 0.20% MER is deducted inside the fund and already reflected in its unit price — there's no separate invoice. For comparison, the average Canadian equity mutual fund charges somewhere around 2% a year, ten times as much, and most don't outperform their benchmark over 10+ year periods once that fee is accounted for.
| Option | Fee | Effort | Volatility |
|---|---|---|---|
| XEQT (100% equities) | ~0.20% | None — automatic | Full market risk |
| VEQT (Vanguard equivalent) | ~0.20% | None — automatic | Full market risk |
| XGRO (~80% equities / 20% bonds) | ~0.20% | None — automatic | Lower |
| XBAL (~60% equities / 40% bonds) | ~0.20% | None — automatic | Lowest of these four |
| Picking individual stocks | $0 MER | High — research + rebalancing | Concentration risk |
| Average active mutual fund | ~2% | None | Full market risk |
XGRO and XBAL trade lower expected long-term returns for smaller peak-to-trough declines — the right choice depends on your time horizon and risk tolerance, not on which one is "better."
For a long-term investor with 10+ years and no need to touch the money sooner, yes — XEQT is a reasonable default that most people would take years of research to meaningfully beat. It won't be the top-performing option every single year, and it will drop hard in bad ones. What it reliably does is remove the two things that actually sink most DIY portfolios: high fees and forgetting to rebalance.
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XEQT (iShares Core Equity ETF Portfolio) is an all-equity asset-allocation ETF from BlackRock Canada, launched in August 2019. It holds four underlying iShares ETFs covering the US, Canada, international developed markets, and emerging markets, giving roughly 8,000+ companies in a single ticket that rebalances itself automatically.
XEQT's management expense ratio is about 0.20% per year, charged inside the fund and already reflected in its unit price — there is no separate bill. That covers both the management fee and the fees of the underlying ETFs it holds.
XEQT holds four iShares ETFs: ITOT for US stocks, XIC for Canadian stocks, XEF for international developed markets, and XEC for emerging markets. Combined, that's roughly 8,000 to 9,000 individual companies. Geographic weighting is approximately 45% US, 25% Canada, 24% international developed, and 6% emerging markets.
For a long-term investor who wants broad global exposure without picking individual stocks or rebalancing manually, XEQT is a commonly recommended core holding. It is 100% equities, so it carries full stock market risk and volatility — it is generally not recommended for money needed within about five years.
Both are all-equity, all-in-one ETFs with nearly identical management fees around 0.20%. VEQT (Vanguard) carries a somewhat larger Canadian weighting than XEQT, while XEQT leans slightly more toward the US. Over long holding periods the practical difference between the two is expected to be small; either is a reasonable choice.
XEQT trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange like a stock, so you buy it through any Canadian brokerage account. Wealthsimple and Questrade both offer $0 commission on ETF purchases, so buying XEQT costs nothing beyond the fund's own 0.20% MER.
Yes. XEQT is a Canadian-listed ETF and is eligible to be held in a TFSA, RRSP, FHSA, or a regular taxable account.
XEQT is 100% invested in equities with no bond allocation, so it will decline significantly during a market downturn along with global stock markets generally. Diversification across thousands of companies and regions reduces single-company risk, but does not reduce overall market risk. Investors who want lower volatility in exchange for lower expected long-term returns typically look at XGRO (about 80% equities) or XBAL (about 60% equities) instead.
Fund figures on this page (MER, allocation, holdings) reflect publicly available data as of August 2026 and change over time — confirm current figures directly with iShares/BlackRock before acting. This page is educational and is not financial, tax, or legal advice. See the terms of use.