Vanguard FTSE All-World ex Canada (VXC.TO)

Vanguard FTSE All-World ex Canada (VXC-T) or iShare Core MSCI World of Canada (XAW-T) for an RRSP? You have to focus on global investing. Canada is only 4% of the world. A Canadian’s portfolio, on average, is going to have 50% or more exposure to Canada, and that makes sense only when energy is doing well. That is the biggest swing factor in the Canadian marketplace. These are 2 great ETF’s. They give you basically the entire world outside of the US. This one is a little more focused on larger caps where the Ishare version is all-inclusive.

The world yields about 2.3%. There are dividend focused world ETFs. He is not sure focusing on dividends only makes sense. Dividends on average tend to underperform. VXC-T is everything in the world except for Canada. Foreign dividends don’t get preferential tax treatment, but that tax break is insignificant compared to what you would give up if you only invest in Canada.

Canada is less than 4% of the world market. Canada has almost none of the sectors that have lead the recovery. He loves investing globally. The only reason to have more than 4% in Canada, is for the dividend tax credit.

The entire world except Canada. Great for diversifying outside of Canada. Recommends 10-15% of a portfolio for this one.

The rest of the developed world has stronger seasonality than both the Canadian and US markets. The Hang Seng index is the best for seasonal strength. From mid-Feb. until end of May it tends to outperform the Canadian market.

This is a product that just recently came out. It invests in 96% of the world outside of Canada. Canadians are guilty of home country bias. As investors, we need to find ways to get out of Canada and into other parts of the world.

There is a question based on tax. You should talk to your accountant based on foreign holdings rules. Fine in a registered account.

Canada is 1/25th of the entire world market and this ETF gives you access to the rest of the world. This is the sort of product that he likes and that he will use. Most people have just too much money in Canada.

Home buying is obviously a big problem in Canada. People have typically way too much. He definitely would have no argument against this one. It is going to be up and down with the whims of what is going on in a macro environment.