All-in-One ETFs in Canada: The Simple, Diversified, Low-Cost Way to Invest

Quick note before we start: this article shares general investing ideas for Canadians. It’s not personalized financial advice.

For decades, investors have chased the “next big thing”—the hot stock, the star fund manager, or the perfect market timing strategy. Yet, academic research keeps proving one boring truth: investing has already been solved.

The best portfolios are simple, globally diversified, and low-cost. Today, All-in-One ETFs (also called Asset Allocation ETFs) make achieving that easier than ever.

Here is why they are likely the only investment you will ever need.

1. The Evolution of Simple Investing

The path to simplicity started long before these ETFs hit the market.

1976: Jack Bogle launches the first index fund. People laugh, but it works.
2000s: ETFs make indexing accessible and tradable for everyone.
2010s: The “Couch Potato” strategy becomes popular, but requires buying 3–4 different ETFs and rebalancing them yourself.
2018 Onward: All-in-one ETFs (Vanguard, iShares, BMO) arrive. They package the entire Couch Potato strategy into a single ticker.

The Key Idea: You don’t need to beat the market to get wealthy. You just need to capture the market’s return efficiently.

2. What Is an All-in-One ETF?

Think of an All-in-One ETF like a high-quality meal kit. Instead of buying the pasta, the sauce, the spices, and the vegetables separately (and hoping you get the ratios right), you buy one box that has everything perfectly measured for you.

One single ETF ticker automatically holds:

Canadian Stocks: (Banks, energy, utilities)
U.S. Stocks: (Tech giants, healthcare, consumer goods)
International Stocks: (Europe, Asia, Emerging Markets)
Bonds: (Government and corporate debt for stability)

The Cost Advantage

The typical Management Expense Ratio (MER) is 0.20% – 0.25%. Compare that to the 2.00% average for Canadian mutual funds.

The Math: On a $50,000 portfolio, a mutual fund costs you $1,000/year. An All-in-One ETF costs you $100/year. That $900 difference compounds massively over 30 years.

3. Why They Work (The Evidence)

Why switch to this passive approach?

Active Managers Fail: The SPIVA Canada 2024 report found that more than 85% of Canadian equity funds trailed the index over a 10-year period.
Investors Behave Badly: Studies (like DALBAR) show that actual investors earn 1–2% less than the market because they panic-sell when stocks drop and buy when they are high.

All-in-one ETFs fix both problems. They lower your costs (guaranteed return improvement) and they automate the discipline so you can’t mess it up.

4. The Menu: Choosing Your ETF

Every major provider in Canada offers these funds. They are all excellent, so don’t stress about picking the “perfect” brand. Focus on the Risk Level (the mix of stocks vs. bonds).

Here is the landscape at a glance:

Profile	Stocks / Bonds	Vanguard	iShares	BMO	Horizons
Conservative	40% / 60%	VCNS	XCNS	ZCON	HCNS
Balanced	60% / 40%	VBAL	XBAL	ZBAL	HBAL
Growth	80% / 20%	VGRO	XGRO	ZGRO	HGRO
Equity	100% / 0%	VEQT	XEQT	ZEQT	HEQT
MER (Cost)		0.24%	0.20%	0.20%	~0.17%

What’s Inside?

Most of these funds hold thousands of securities. A typical breakdown looks like this:

~30% Canada (Home bias to lower currency risk and taxes)
~45% U.S. (Global growth engine)
~25% International (Diversification across Europe/Asia)

5. Global Diversification & The “Home Bias”

Canadian investors love Canadian stocks. It makes sense—we know the banks, we use the railways, we pay the phone bills.

But the Canadian market is tiny (less than 3% of the world) and not very diverse (mostly Financials and Energy).

All-in-one ETFs solve this by forcing you to own U.S. Tech, European Pharma, and Asian Manufacturing. This smooths out your ride. When the Canadian energy sector crashes, your U.S. tech stocks might be soaring.

6. How to Choose the Right One

Your goal isn’t to pick the fund with the highest return; it’s to pick the fund you can stick with when the market crashes.

(Note: Returns below are estimates based on the performance of the underlying indexes over the last decade. Future returns will vary.)

The “Safe” Route (40/60 or 60/40): Best for retirees or those who panic easily. You get moderate growth with a lot of stability.
The “Standard” Route (80/20): A classic growth portfolio. The 20% bonds act as a shock absorber during crashes.
The “Aggressive” Route (100% Stocks): For those with a long time horizon (15+ years) and a stomach of steel. Expect high volatility.

Tip: If you aren’t sure, VBAL/XBAL (60/40) is the classic “balanced” choice that has worked for decades.

7. How to Invest (Step-by-Step)

You don’t need a financial advisor to buy these.

Open an Account: Use a discount brokerage like Wealthsimple, Questrade, or your bank’s Direct Investing platform.
Fund the Account: Transfer money into your TFSA or RRSP.
Search the Ticker: Type in “VGRO” (or your choice).
Buy: Select “Market Buy” during market hours.
Automate: Many platforms now allow you to set up recurring buys. You pick the amount, they buy the ETF automatically.

8. The “Boring” Benefit: Psychology

The hardest part of investing isn’t math; it’s psychology.

When you own separate ETFs (one for USA, one for Canada, one for Bonds), you will be tempted to tinker. “Oh, the US market is down, maybe I shouldn’t buy that one this month.”

That tinkering kills returns.

With an All-in-One ETF, you can’t pick and choose. You buy the whole bundle. This removes the temptation to time the market and saves you from your own biases.

9. Who Is This NOT For?

For 95% of Canadians, these are the perfect solution. However, you might need a custom approach if:

You have a massive portfolio (> $500k): You might want to separate components for “Asset Location” (optimizing which account holds which asset to save on taxes).
You are withdrawing income: Retirees might prefer to hold cash and bonds separately so they don’t have to sell stocks during a downturn to pay the bills.

10. Example: How It Works in Practice

Let’s say you invest $10,000 in XEQT inside your TFSA.

You instantly own over 9,000 companies globally.
If Apple stock goes up, your ETF captures it.
If the Canadian dollar drops, the ETF adjusts.
Rebalancing: If stocks have a great year and get too “heavy” in the portfolio, the fund managers automatically sell some stocks and buy more bonds (or vice versa) to keep your risk level constant.

You do nothing. You just keep buying.

Summary: The Beauty of Simplicity

Investing doesn’t need to be exciting to be effective. In fact, “boring” usually wins.

All-in-one ETFs let you focus on the only things that truly matter:

Saving regularly (High savings rate).
Minimizing fees (Low MER).
Staying invested (Time in the market).

As Jack Bogle said: “The greatest enemy of a good plan is the dream of a perfect plan.”

For most Canadians, an All-in-One ETF is the good plan.