Is splitting XEQT, VEQT, ZEQT, or CAGE worth it?

MER savings apply to your full portfolio across all account types.

FWT savings in this calculator reflect only the RRSP benefit. The Canada–US tax treaty eliminates the 15% US withholding tax on US-sourced dividends when USD-listed ETFs are held directly in an RRSP. This benefit does not apply to TFSAs or non-registered accounts.

In non-registered accounts, US withholding tax on USD-listed ETFs is creditable via the foreign tax credit — recoverable whether you hold the all-in-one or the split. There is no incremental FWT saving from splitting in a non-registered account.

Foreign country withholding tax (Level 1) on international holdings — XEF, XEC, AVDV — is unrecoverable in all account types. This drag exists whether you hold the all-in-one or the components directly and is not captured as a saving in this calculator.

AVDV (USD-listed international small cap value) carries two layers of unrecoverable withholding tax in a TFSA: Level 1 from the foreign countries where stocks are held, and Level 2 from the US wrapper. Hold AVDV in a non-registered account or RRSP instead.

USD-listed ETFs (ITOT, VTI, AVUS, AVUV, AVDV) require currency conversion to purchase. Norbert's gambit is the standard low-cost method, a multi-day process using DLR/DLR.U or equivalent. This one-time friction cost is not reflected in the annual savings above.

20- or 30-year projection assumes annual savings are reinvested at 6% annually. Illustrative only. This calculator does not constitute financial advice.