-
Vanguard Canadian Aggregate Bond Index ETF (VAB)
-
Vanguard FTSE Canada All Cap Index ETF (VCN)
-
Vanguard FTSE Global All Cap ex Canada Index ETF (VXC)
-
Vanguard Growth ETF Portfolio (VGRO)
While we cannot personalize responses, with the prospect of investing for a near-term purchase, we tend to prefer liquid, low volatility, and conservative vehicles to help protect against any near-term drawdowns in capital.
VGRO invests in 80% stocks and 20% bonds, and is fairly well-balanced, although it does tilt towards growth, which we like for a longer-term timeframe. The difference in a 100% VGRO vs. 25/25/50 VAB, VCN, and VXC portfolio is that the latter has a 25% exposure to bonds vs. VGRO at 20%, and roughly 5% less exposure to the US markets than VGRO, and with slightly more emerging and developed markets exposure.
Overall, we would be comfortable with the simplicity of VGRO, however, for shorter timeframes (1-3 years), we prefer a mix of high-interest savings ETFs (or GICs), bond ETFs, and some exposure to equities.