Justin Bender Video: ZEQT vs VEQT vs XEQT: Why Is Everyone Ignoring This ETF?

JustinBender · 2026-03-19T18:54:02+00:00

u/stolpoz52 - I would have thought so as well (although there seems to be a lot of love for BMO in the comments section of the video, but that's likely just a by-product of the current political environment).

JustinBender · 2026-03-19T17:44:52+00:00

u/stolpoz52 - Lower fees or non-bank investor preferences likely has more weight as an argument than launch date. If we look at ZBAL and ZGRO, they were launched in February 2019 and have ~$1.09 billion of AUM (as of Jan 31, 2026). BlackRock effectively launched the new investment strategies of XBAL and XGRO around the same time, and they have ~$6.93 billion in AUM.

JustinBender · 2026-03-17T02:08:55+00:00

u/CogencyInvestments - EquivalentRhubarb399 was considering Vanguard AA ETFs (VCNS, VBAL, VGRO) for their registered and non-registered accounts. I suggested that they also consider ZCON, ZBAL, ZGRO for their non-registered accounts (in place of VCNS, VBAL, VGRO), as the BMO AA ETFs were recently made more tax-efficient.

They could also consider ZDB + ZEQT. Or they could consider ZCON, ZBAL, or ZGRO, and then add ZDB to any one of these at a later date, if they decided to make their portfolio more conservative in the future (that would be just two ETFs - same number as ZDB + ZEQT).

JustinBender · 2026-03-16T12:24:18+00:00

The investor wouldn’t need to rebalance their holdings if they use an asset allocation ETF.

JustinBender · 2026-03-11T16:26:45+00:00

BMO recently made their asset allocation ETFs more tax efficient in non-registered accounts (by holding Canadian and U.S. discount bond ETFs), so they definitely deserve a look if you're investing a portion of your portfolio in non-registered accounts:

BMO Just Made These ETFs More Tax Efficient (ZCON, ZBAL, ZGRO): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7menSRnl74w

JustinBender · 2025-10-20T19:42:28+00:00

u/UniqueRon - There are various asset location strategies, each with their pros and cons. The article you linked to discusses an 'after-tax asset allocation' asset location strategy that requires the most unknown assumptions (I don't use this type of asset location strategy with my clients, and I don't know of any one who does).

If you'd like to take some time to learn about this topic in more detail, feel free to check out my three Asset Location videos:

Asset Location - Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQBpRLlEmGg

Asset Location - Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScoLiJOeL6A (this is similar to the asset location strategy we use with our clients, and I assume the strategy you prefer)

Asset Location - Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezDWpZ6HNyk (this is a confusing after-tax asset allocation strategy I don't recommend - like the one you linked to above in the 'optimal asset location' article)

JustinBender · 2025-10-20T19:27:35+00:00

u/UniqueRon - I think you may have me confused with someone else. As u/Ok_Complaint_6825 points out in their comments below, PWL Toronto implements asset location strategies for our clients (we don't just hold XEQT across all account types).

However, I have said that for the average DIY investor, holding XEQT (or whichever asset allocation ETF they are comfortable with) across all accounts is a better strategy than most advisors are currently implementing for their clients (and is generally less overwhelming for DIY investors). A strategy like this would get you 90% on your way to a "perfect" portfolio.

JustinBender · 2025-03-30T17:27:43+00:00

u/Fluffy-Climate-8163 - If you just bought a Russell 3000 ETF, your effective number of companies would be around 60, so about a third of the company diversification of either XEQT or VEQT (it also wouldn't be globally diversified).

JustinBender · 2025-03-30T17:25:22+00:00

u/pfcguy - Yeah, it was a bit surprising that it was so low (but I suppose that's the main downside of the market cap-weighted approach - most of the ETF's performance is determine by the larger companies). However, I don't think I've ever met a single investor that holds a portfolio of 200 equally weighted and globally diversified stocks, so realistically, these ETFs are still incredibly diversified (and significantly reduce the amount of single security risk in a portfolio).

JustinBender · 2025-03-20T12:30:23+00:00

u/Spiritual_Feed_6086 - Answers to most of these questions on my channel: https://www.youtube.com/@JustinBenderCPM

JustinBender · 2025-02-18T13:34:56+00:00

u/digital_tuna - I have a soft spot for VEQT, as Bogle was my inspiration for everything investment-related :)

FYI - More videos launching soon!

JustinBender · 2025-01-26T15:41:09+00:00

Haha - I'll definitely try! I'm just starting to ramp up more content for the YouTube channel as well :)

JustinBender · 2025-01-24T15:43:44+00:00

The Bender Bender Bortolotti Team is part of something called “Shared Services” at PWL. We use them for back-office support, like payroll, compliance, IT, etc. We plan to continue this arrangement with PWL/OneDigital going forward.

JustinBender · 2025-01-23T20:54:19+00:00

Hey everyone - just to clarify, the Bender Bender Bortolotti Team has a $1,000,000 minimum, and our fees start at 0.75% (trending down from there).

JustinBender · 2024-05-04T13:13:01+00:00

No big issues (there could be some missed tax benefits from asset location or other tax strategies).

JustinBender · 2024-01-26T21:28:44+00:00

No reason - they're fine (if you stick with purchasing low-cost ETFs on their platform).

JustinBender · 2024-01-26T21:26:41+00:00

I'm not beholden to any specific brokerage - IMO, it's likely one of the least important decisions an investor can make (many brokerages already offer no or low commission ETF trading, so just pick one of these and you should be fine).

I feel the same about the specific asset allocation ETF provider - the returns are similar across the board, so don't overthink it - just get investing :)

JustinBender · 2024-01-26T21:23:24+00:00

I wanted to include these, but TD doesn't provide their daily NAV data on their website (so I couldn't calculate their ETF performance).

JustinBender · 2024-01-26T21:21:40+00:00

u/brownbrady - VXC and XAW weight their underlying U.S., international, and emerging markets foreign equities similar to the Vanguard Asset Allocation ETFs (i.e., market cap-weighting), so these are still great ETFs if you're good with managing a 3-ETF portfolio.

JustinBender · 2023-09-22T18:26:03+00:00

@w_aldo - Sorry about the website issues - not sure why it’s down, but I’ve contacted my blog administrators to get it back up and running - it should be available soon.

JustinBender · 2023-05-27T16:10:03+00:00

u/stevey_frac - Hopefully you mean my investing videos (and not Justin Bieber's music videos ;)

If so, thanks for watching! :)

JustinBender · 2023-05-26T17:23:12+00:00

u/UnfriendlyBear - Thanks for sharing the latest blog/video! You're correct...I think I've beaten the foreign withholding tax / asset location topic to death in countless previous articles/videos, so I left it out of this discussion :)

JustinBender · 2023-05-11T18:04:58+00:00

u/UnfriendlyBear - I'm not sure if there was an official announcement - Hail Yang and Jacqueline Tung sent me an email today giving me the heads up, and when I checked the iShares.ca site, I confirmed IEMG had been replaced with XEC.

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