XGRO Fee Breakdown
How much does XGRO's MER actually cost?
XGRO is iShares' 80/20 growth ETF: most of the equity exposure of XEQT with a 20% bond cushion. Its 0.20% MER is low, but here is what it costs and when assembling the 80/20 mix yourself starts to pay.
Calculate your XGRO cost
XGRO is already selected. Enter your RRSP, TFSA, and non-registered balances to see what its MER and foreign withholding tax cost you per year, and where splitting starts to pay.
Your Portfolio
Enter what you have in each account. Leave 0 for any you don't use.
Your Savings
What XGRO's 0.20% MER costs per year
XGRO charges a 0.20% MER, the same headline rate as XEQT and lower than VGRO's 0.24%. On $100,000 that is about $200 a year, and roughly $1,000 on $500,000, skimmed from fund returns rather than billed.
Because XGRO is 80% equity, less of it is US stock than an all-equity fund, so the foreign withholding tax (FWT) drag is smaller than XEQT's but still real inside an RRSP. The DIY split holds ITOT directly to recover that tax. The calculator nets the MER gap and the FWT recovery for your account mix.
XGRO specifications
XGRO: ETF Specifications
- MER
- 0.20%
- Holdings
- ~9,800
- Equity / Bond
- 80% equity / 20% bonds
- Distribution
- Quarterly
- Inception
- Aug 7, 2018
- AUM
- ~$3B CAD
- Exchange
- TSX
- Currency
- CAD
What does XGRO hold?
XGRO is roughly 80% global equity and 20% bonds in one ticker. The equity sleeve mirrors XEQT (Canada, US, developed international, emerging markets) and the bond sleeve adds Canadian aggregate bonds. It rebalances automatically and distributes quarterly.
To replicate it you hold ITOT, XIC, XEF and XEC for the equity portion plus XBB for the Canadian bond sleeve, at the 80/20 weights. You get the same balanced-growth profile at a lower blended fee, with the trade-off of maintaining five positions instead of one.
The convenience cost at common portfolio sizes
The convenience cost: XGRO vs splitting
Assumes 50% RRSP allocation. See the calculator for your own numbers.
| Portfolio | Annual cost | 20-year cost (compounded) |
|---|---|---|
| $250K | $371/yr | $13,638 |
| $500K | $742/yr | $27,277 |
| $1M | $1,483/yr | $54,553 |
Annual cost combines MER drag and foreign withholding tax savings foregone, against a split into ITOT, XIC, XEF, XEC, XBB. Assumes a 50% RRSP allocation. The 20-year figure compounds annual savings at 6% growth. Use the calculator above for your own account mix.
Is XGRO's fee worth it versus DIY?
For most growth-tier investors, XGRO's 0.20% fee is a fair price for automatic rebalancing across both stocks and bonds, which is more work to maintain by hand than an all-equity split. The savings from going DIY are real but modest until the portfolio is large.
If you are weighing XGRO against VGRO, note XGRO's lower MER. Preselect XGRO below and enter your balances to see whether splitting clears your personal breakeven.