What’s an all-in-one ETF
XGRO (iShares Core Growth ETF Portfolio) is all-in-one ETF available on the TSX. All-in-one ETFs are a portfolio professionally managed available for investors in a form of an ETF. It has three main advantages:
- easy access to a portfolio so it’s great for DIY investors who would like a handoff approach to investing;
- portfolio is rebalanced automatically to maintain the desired allocation;
- Good substitute to Robo-advisors such wealthsimple invest (auto-pilot), Questrade porfolios…etc. All-in-one ETF cost less than managed Robo-advisors in terms of fees.
XGRO Investment objective
The Fund seeks to provide long-term capital growth by investing primarily in one or more exchange-traded funds managed by BlackRock Canada or an affiliate that provide exposure to equity and/or fixed income securities.
In essence, when acquiring XGRO, you are acquiring of portfolio of ETFs. 80% of the portfolio is invested in equity ETFs while the remaining 20% is invested in fixed income ETFs. It’s a growth portfolio ideal for investors with long term objective and medium risk tolerance.
XGRO vs VGRO vs ZGRO
There are two main all-in-one ETFs that have same portfolio breakdown (80% equity and 20% bonds): The Vanguard Growth – VGRO and the BMO Growth – ZGRO.
VGRO and XGRO are neck to neck in terms of performance. VGRO has a slight edge in a 3 years period cumulative performance.
| Ticker | 6M | 3yrs | 5yrs |
| XGRO | -13.39 | 5.21 | 6.05 |
| VGRO | -13.30 | 4.99 | na |
| ZGRO | -13.22 | 4.97 | n-a |
Fees and Morningstar rating
XGRO has a 0.20% management expense ratio. This is the total charge for the fund. Even if XGRO a group of ETFs at once, client will not pay MER for each ETF, the maximum they are charged is the MER of the all-in-one ETF.
| Management Fee | 0.18% |
| Management Expense Ratio (MER) | 0.20% |
Morningstar rating
Fees and AUM comparison
XGRO and ZGRO offer the lowest fees at 0.20%. Vanguard’s VGRO is a bit higher at 0.24%. Another factor that could impact your choice is liquidity. Generally speaking, the larger fund the better liquidity it offers to investors. Liquidity determines the difference between bid and ask price when selling or buying. So, it’s an important factor to consider. The largest fund among our three contenders is Vanguards ETF VGRO with over 3 Billion dollars in assets.
| Ticker | AUM* | MER |
| XGRO | 1,232 | 0.20 |
| VGRO | 3,229 | 0.24 |
| ZGRO | 130 | 0.20 |
XGRO Holdings
HGRO has a great coverage, it includes US, Canada and World equities. 36.47% is invested in US stocks. As you can see below, XGRO invests in a basket of i-shares ETFs.
| Name | Weight |
|---|---|
| ISHARES CORE S&P TOTAL U.S. STOCK | 38.17 |
| ISHARES S&P/TSX CAPPED COMPOSITE | 20.63 |
| ISHARES MSCI EAFE IMI INDEX | 19.14 |
| ISHS CORE CAD UNIV BND IDX ETF (CA | 11.51 |
| ISHARES CORE MSCI EMERGING MARKETS | 3.89 |
| iShares Core CAD ST Cor Bd Index | 2.90 |
| ISHARES US TREASURY BOND ETF | 1.84 |
| ISHARES BROAD USD INVESTMENT G | 1.84 |
| USD CASH | 0.09 |
| CAD CASH | 0.08 |
List of stocks held by XGRO through the basket ETFs it invests in:
| Company Name | Allocation |
|---|---|
| Microsoft Corp | 2.0% |
| Apple Inc | 1.9% |
| Shopify Inc Registered | 1.4% |
| Royal Bank of Canada | 1.2% |
| Amazon.com Inc | 1.2% |
| The Toronto-Dominion Bank | 1.1% |
| Brookfield Asset Management Inc Class A | 0.7% |
| Enbridge Inc | 0.7% |
| Tesla Inc | 0.7% |
| Alphabet Inc Class A | 0.7% |
XEQT iShares Core Equity ETF Portfolio vs XGRO iShares Core Growth ETF Portfolio
XEQT is more aggressive than XGRO. The portfolio of ETFs under XEQT are 100% in stocks whereas under XGRO they are 80% in stocks.
So, it depends on your risk tolerance. If you have a long term objective and have a higher risk tolerance then XEQT is a great option.
see below the holdings for XEQT:
| Name | Weight % |
|---|---|
| ITOT – ISHARES CORE S&P TOTAL U.S. STOCK | 46.87 |
| XIC – ISHARES S&P/TSX CAPPED COMPOSITE | 24.77 |
| XEF – ISHARES MSCI EAFE IMI INDEX | 23.29 |
| IEMG – ISHARES CORE MSCI EMERGING MARKETS | 4.83 |
| CAD CASH | 0.14 |
| USD CASH | 0.10 |
How can I buy XGRO
Clients have simply to use their banks brokerage websites or independent brokers platform (such as Questrade or Wealthsimple) to acquire the ETF. No need to contact a financial advisor, it’s a product for DIY investors.
XGRO can be held in registered accounts such as RRSP, TFSA or RESP.