All-in-One Investing Solutions – Keep Investing Simple

When I first learned about investing in the stock market, it seemed confusing. But after years of learning, I’m here to tell you that investing doesn’t need to be complicated or time-consuming.

Investing in an all-in-one fund, as in one exchange-traded fund, can help you achieve your financial goals without leaving you frustrated and overwhelmed.

This post is exactly what I wish someone had told me when I started investing on my own. I’m confident it would have completely changed the trajectory of my investing journey and saved me thousands of dollars and hours of my time.

So, if you want to simplify your portfolio and save time investing on your own, let’s dive in.

Why Invest in an All-in-One ETF?

With an all-in-one ETF, you can access a diverse portfolio of companies, industries, countries, and risks without doing hours of research. It is a portfolio solution in one product.

All-in-one ETFs rebalance to your preferred asset allocation without you having to do anything. Everything is done directly within the fund, keeping things simple for you.

ETFs often have lower fees than high-cost mutual funds. How much lower? The average mutual fund MER (management expense ratio, aka “fee”) in Canada is 2.53%, and the highest ETF MER listed below is 0.24% (more than 10 times lower).

And all-in-one ETFs let you manage your own investments with very little time needed – investing for people without time.

Who are All-in-One ETFs for?

All-in-one ETFs are the perfect solution for DIY investors, whether they be beginners or more advanced.

They are for investors who want to save money on fees and keep more of their returns in their pockets.

And if you want to invest or make more decisions with their investments, then all-in-one ETFs can be a good fit too.  Everything packaged together in one fund substantially decreases analysis paralysis in deciding the best options. Let the fund think for you.

It’s also important to note that all-in-one ETFs can be purchased in registered (RRSP, RESP, TFSA, FHSA, etc.) accounts and non-registered accounts.

This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I may receive a commission if you purchase through my links.  Please read my disclaimer for more information.

Where to Buy All-in-One ETFs?

Chances are, if you’re looking to invest in an all-in-one ETF, you want to save money on management fees. And why not save money on trading commissions too?

While ETFs can be bought through your bank’s direct investing platform or several other brokerages, my 2 preferred discount brokerages (and the ones I personally use) are Questrade and Qtrade.

Questrade doesn’t charge a trading commission to buy ETFs (only to purchase). 

While Qtrade charges $8.75 per trade, they have a list of 100+ ETFs with no trading commissions for buying or selling. The iShares all-in-one ETFs listed below fall under Qtrade’s “free” ETFs. And when you open an account by clicking on the image below, you can get a $150 sign up bonus and up to 5% cashback.

All-in-One Investing Solutions

There is more than one company that offers all-in-one ETFs.  I believe the big 3 players in this game in Canada are Vanguard, iShares, and Bank of Montreal (BMO). 

Are there others? Absolutely, but the whole point of this post is to keep things simple. So minimizing the options to choose from does just that.

Each of the above companies offers multiple portfolio-type fund solutions. But to keep things simple and comparable, I will discuss 3 types. One is a balanced fund consisting of a 60:40 split between stocks and bonds, one has a growth focus with a 80:20 split between stocks and bonds, and the final option is a 100% equity fund.

Vanguard All-in-One ETFs

Vanguard’s 3 all-in-one ETFs are VBAL, VGRO, and VEQT. 

VBAL

The Vanguard Balanced ETF Portfolio has an MER of 0.24% and goes by the ticker symbol VBAL. Its inception date is January 25, 2018.

VBAL has over 31,000 underlying holdings making it a very diverse one-fund solution.

At the time of writing, VBAL consists of 25.4% US equities, 24.2% Canadian bonds, and 17.5% Canadian equities. Compared to the iShares and BMO equivalent all-in-one ETFs, Vanguard has the lowest Canadian bond and highest Canadian equities exposure.

VGRO

The Vanguard Growth ETF Portfolio has an MER of 0.24% and goes by the ticker symbol VGRO. Its inception date is January 25, 2018.

VGRO has over 31,000 underlying holdings making it a very diverse one-fund solution.

At the time of writing, VGRO consists of 34.1% US equities, 23.8% Canadian equities, and 15.2% international equities. It has the lowest international equities weighting compared to iShares and BMO equivalents.

VEQT

The Vanguard All-Equity ETF Portfolio has an MER of 0.24% and goes by the ticker symbol VEQT. Its inception date is January 29, 2019.

VEQT has 13,630 underlying holdings making it a very diverse one-fund solution.

At the time of writing, VEQT consists of 42.9% US equities, 29.9% Canadian equities, and 19.4% international equities. 

iShares All-in-One ETFs

Blackrock is the company behind iShares and the world’s largest asset manager. iShares’ 3 all-in-one ETFs are XBAL, XGRO, and XEQT. 

XBAL

The iShares Core Balanced ETF Portfolio has an MER of 0.20% and goes by the ticker symbol XBAL. Its inception date is June 21, 2007.

XBAL has over 21,000 underlying holdings making it a very diverse one-fund solution.

At the time of writing, XBAL consists of 29.05% US equities, 23.92% Canadian bonds, and 15.03% Canadian equities. Compared to VBAL and ZBAL, XBAL has the highest US equities weighting.

XGRO

The iShares Core Growth ETF Portfolio has an MER of 0.20% and goes by the ticker symbol XGRO. Its inception date is June 21, 2007.

XGRO has over 21,000 underlying holdings making it a very diverse one-fund solution.

At the time of writing, XGRO consists of 37.92% US equities, 19.61% Canadian equities, and 19.76% international equities. XGRO has the highest US and international equities weightings compared to the Vanguard and BMO all-in-one growth ETFs.

XEQT

The iShares Core Equity ETF Portfolio has an MER of 0.20% and goes by the ticker symbol VEQT. Its inception date is August 7, 2019.

XEQT has 9730 underlying holdings making it a very diverse one-fund solution even if it has fewer underlying holdings than VEQT.

At the time of writing, XEQT consists of 46.13% US equities, 24.14% Canadian equities, and 24.46% international equities. If you are looking for international exposure with an all-equity fund, XEQT has the highest weighting compared to its competitors.

BMO All-in-One ETFs

The Bank of Montreal’s three all-in-one ETFs are ZBAL, ZGRO, and ZEQT. 

ZBAL

The BMO Balanced ETF has an MER of 0.20% and goes by the ticker symbol ZBAL. Its inception date is February 15, 2019. Making it the newer kid on the block regarding all-in-one ETFs.

ZBAL has over 7900 underlying holdings making it a diverse one-fund solution.

At the time of writing, ZBAL consists of 28.8% US equities, 33.8% Canadian bonds, and 16.3% Canadian equities. When compared to VBAL and XBAL, ZBAL has the highest Canadian bond weighting.

ZGRO

The BMO Growth ETF has an MER of 0.20% and goes by the ZGRO ticker. Its inception date is February 15, 2019.

ZGRO has over 7,500 underlying holdings making it a diverse one-fund solution.

At the time of writing, ZGRO consists of 37.7% US equities, 21.2% Canadian equities, and 16.50% international equities. ZGRO has the lowest Canadian equities weighting compared to the Vanguard and iShares all-in-one growth ETFs.

ZEQT

The BMO All-Equity ETF has an MER of 0.20% and goes by the ticker symbol ZEQT. Its inception date is January 24, 2022, making it the newest fund on this list. There was obviously an appetite for this type of fund if BMO wanted to get in on the action.

ZEQT has 3300 underlying holdings making it the fund with the smallest number of holdings on this list. Nothing to be alarmed about, just less diversification than its competitors.

At the time of writing, ZEQT consists of 46.1% US equities, 25.5% Canadian equities, and 20.3% international equities. 

How to Pick an All-in-One ETF?

The first step in picking an all-in-one ETF is to decide on your preferred asset allocation (ratio of stocks to bonds).  Your asset allocation will depend on your goals, investment time horizon, and risk profile.

Someone with a 30-year investment time horizon may invest very differently than someone with a 5-year time horizon. If you have a long time horizon, an all-equity option may be for you. While if you have a shorter time frame or are extremely risk averse, you may look for a more balanced or growth option.

Keep in mind that even though all equity funds are riskier than balanced funds, they are still substantially less risky than penny stocks or other alternative investments.

Once you know your preferred asset allocation, it’s a matter of picking the company you want to invest with.  In my opinion, you really can’t go wrong with any of them, so don’t get too lost in analysis paralysis trying to pick the “best” ETF.

Remember, it’s about time in the market, not timing the market, so the quicker you can make a decision (without rushing), the quicker you can get your money working for you in the market.

Personally, I’m invested in both VEQT and XEQT.  My kids have some VGRO in their portfolios, but that is because it was before I learned about the all-equity options. Eventually, I may convert VGRO to VEQT, but time will tell.

All-in-One ETF Comparison

Fund Name	Ticker	MER	Asset Allocation
Vanguard Balanced ETF Portfolio	VBAL	0.24%	60% equities : 40% bonds
Vanguard Growth ETF Portfolio	VGRO	0.24%	80% equities : 20% bonds
Vanguard All-Equity ETF Portfolio	VEQT	0.24%	100% equities
iShares Core Balanced ETF Portfolio	XBAL	0.20%	60% equities : 40% bonds
iShares Core Growth ETF Portfolio	XGRO	0.20%	80% equities : 20% bonds
iShares Core Equity ETF Portfolio	XEQT	0.20%	100% equities
BMO Balanced ETF	ZBAL	0.20%	60% equities : 40% bonds
BMO Growth ETF	ZGRO	0.20%	80% equities : 20% bonds
BMO All-Equity ETF	ZEQT	0.20%	100% equities

Checklist for Investing in an All-in-One ETF

Okay, so you’ve read everything and are on board for managing your investments without spending hours a month doing so. But how do you do it?

Here is a simple checklist you can follow to help you out:

• Decide on your preferred asset allocation
  • What is your investment time horizon?
  • How risk averse are you?
  • What are your goals for your investments?
• Decide whether you want to invest in Vanguard, iShares or BMO
• Open a brokerage account (if you don’t already have one)
• Transfer money to your brokerage account
• Purchase your all-in-one ETF

On an ongoing basis, all you have to do is buy more shares of your ETF every time you deposit money into your brokerage account.  No rebalancing or extra thought required.

It’s a good idea to re-evaluate your preferred asset allocation every few years to see if anything has changed.  If it has, you can start looking for another all-in-one ETF that better aligns with your current goals.

All in, this process should take you no more than 10 hours a year to implement and execute.

Final Thoughts

Knowing what I know now and if these products were around when I first started investing, I would have just invested in an all-in-one ETF to keep things simple.

Sure, you can further complicate things and learn different investing strategies. But if you want to keep things simple, with low fees and a low time commitment, then all-in-one ETFs are the solution you’ve been looking for.