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BMO MSCI Emerging Markets Index ETF (ZEM)
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iShares Core MSCI EAFE IMI Index ETF (XEF)
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iShares Core S&P U.S. Total Market Index ETF (XUU)
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iShares Core S&P/TSX Capped Composite Index ETF (XIC)
XIC
XUU
XEF
ZEM
Could you please give me the pros and cons of these ETFs, and alternatives if you feel there are any that are better.
Thank you very much for your service.
For all, pros are instant diversification and exposure to their respective market areas. For all, cons are fees, essentially. ZEM is fine in our view for emerging market exposure. Fees are decent for the category at 0.28%, and it is large ($1.09B) and liquid. XEF is similar but larger and fees are lower (0.22%). For diversified MSCI EAFE exposure, we would consider it very solid. One-year return is 19.68%. XUU is a 'total market' ETF. Assets $3.39B, fees 0.07%, one year 39.98%. It offers similar exposure as an S&P 500 fund, but includes small cap and mid cap companies. We like it quite a lot. XIC has $13.6B in assets, fees 0.06%, one year 30.71%. For 'capped' TSX exposure it is one of our go-to funds. When looking at 'general' market exposure in passive funds that follow an index, the main concerns are fees and liquidity. We would consider all of these very acceptable for general market exposure.