VFV (Vanguard S&P 500 Index ETF) is one of the largest ETFs listed in Canada, with $36.2 billion in total assets. This review covers what VFV holds, what it costs, how it’s taxed in a TFSA or RRSP, and how it compares with ZSP, XUS, VOO and XEQT. It is general education, not financial advice.
Compare VFV with ZSP (BMO’s fund on the same index, at a 0.09% MER) or XIC for Canadian equity. For one-fund diversification, see XEQT or VEQT. New to ETFs? Start with Best Canadian ETFs 2026 or Canadian Investing for Beginners.
VFV at a glance
YieldMaple checked Vanguard Canada’s VFV page on October 6, 2026. Returns are Vanguard’s, to September 30, 2026, re-checked on October 8, 2026.
| Detail | VFV |
|---|---|
| Ticker | VFV (TSX, CAD) |
| MER | 0.08% |
| Index tracked | S&P 500 |
| Total assets | $36.2 billion |
| Distributions | quarterly |
| 12-month trailing yield | 0.84% |
| 5-year annualized return | 16.14% |
| 10-year annualized return | 15.89% |
| Inception | November 2, 2012 |
| Currency hedging | None (VSP is the hedged version) |
| Provider | Vanguard Investments Canada Inc. |
In sentences: VFV charges a 0.08% MER, held $36.2 billion in total assets, and pays distributions quarterly at a 12-month trailing yield of 0.84%. It returned 16.14% a year over five years and 15.89% a year over 10 years, and launched on November 2, 2012. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.
What does VFV hold?
VFV tracks the S&P 500, an index of roughly 500 large US companies, and Vanguard says the fund invests primarily in the US-domiciled Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. That US-listed fund is VOO, so VFV is a Canadian-dollar wrapper around it rather than a fund that buys each stock itself.
The ten largest holdings on August 31, 2026, per Vanguard, in order:
- NVIDIA (8.07%)
- Apple (7.03%)
- Microsoft (5.69%)
- Amazon
- Alphabet Class A
- Broadcom
- Alphabet Class C
- Meta Platforms
- Micron Technology
- Tesla
Those ten made up about 37.8% of the fund, and the top three alone were about 20.8%. The S&P 500 is weighted by company size, so the largest technology companies carry the most weight. BMO’s fact sheet for ZSP, which follows the same index, put Information Technology at 37.84% of that fund on the same date.
VFV is 100% US stocks. It has no Canadian, international or emerging-market holdings and no bonds.
Is VFV the cheapest S&P 500 ETF in Canada?
VFV’s 0.08% MER is the lowest of the Canadian-listed, unhedged S&P 500 ETFs YieldMaple checked: BMO’s ZSP and iShares’ XUS each charge 0.09%. Vanguard’s own hedged version, VSP, also charges 0.08%. The side-by-side of Canadian S&P 500 ETFs compares these funds and the other Canadian-listed versions on fees, structure and currency.
The gap is small. One basis point between VFV and ZSP is $1 a year on $10,000. VFV’s whole MER works out to about $8 a year for every $10,000 held.
Three things explain why VFV is so widely held:
- Low fee. The MER is 0.08%, per Vanguard.
- US-only exposure. All-in-one funds such as XEQT and VEQT mix US, Canadian, international and emerging-market stocks. VFV holds only the US portion, so investors who want a specific US weight can set it themselves.
- Canadian-dollar listing. Unlike VOO, VFV trades in Canadian dollars on the TSX, so buying it needs no currency conversion.
VFV vs ZSP, XUS, VOO and XEQT
| Fund | MER | Size | How it holds the index |
|---|---|---|---|
| VFV (Vanguard) | 0.08% | $36.2 billion | Through the US-listed Vanguard S&P 500 ETF |
| ZSP (BMO) | 0.09% | $24.4 billion | 505 securities held directly |
| XUS (iShares) | 0.09% | $13.3 billion | Through a US-listed iShares fund |
| VSP (Vanguard, hedged) | 0.08% | $6.3 billion | Currency-hedged to Canadian dollars |
Sizes are each provider’s latest published figure (VFV on October 6, 2026; ZSP on August 31, 2026; XUS from its August 2026 fact sheet; VSP in September 2026).
VFV vs ZSP
ZSP (BMO S&P 500 Index ETF) tracks the same index in Canadian dollars. The differences:
- MER: 0.08% for VFV, 0.09% for ZSP.
- Structure: VFV invests through Vanguard’s US-listed S&P 500 ETF. ZSP held 505 securities directly.
- Size: $36.2 billion for VFV, $24.4 billion for ZSP.
- Launch: VFV on November 2, 2012, ZSP on November 14, 2012.
- Distributions: both pay quarterly.
Results have been nearly identical. Over the 10 years to August 31, 2026, the latest date BMO reports for ZSP, VFV returned 15.62% a year and ZSP 15.61%.
VFV vs XUS
XUS (iShares Core S&P 500 Index ETF) tracks the same index at a 0.09% MER, one basis point above VFV. It is smaller, at $13.3 billion, and pays distributions twice a year (semi-annual) rather than quarterly. Like VFV, it holds a US-listed fund: iShares lists its holdings as one fund, the US-listed iShares Core S&P ETF Trust, plus a little cash.
VFV vs VOO
VOO is Vanguard’s US-listed S&P 500 ETF, the fund VFV itself invests in. It trades in US dollars. For a Canadian investor the trade-off looks like this:
- Fee: VOO’s expense ratio is 0.03% against VFV’s 0.08%. The gap is 0.05 percentage points, or about $5 a year on $10,000.
- Currency conversion: buying VOO needs US dollars. At Wealthsimple, converting from a Canadian-dollar account costs 1.5%, which is $150 on $10,000. That one conversion equals about 30 years of the fee gap, before converting back.
- TFSA: US withholding tax applies either way and can’t be recovered.
- RRSP: under the Canada–US tax treaty, dividends paid to a retirement plan are exempt from US tax, as long as the plan is operated exclusively to provide pension, retirement or employee benefits. That covers VOO held directly in an RRSP. It does not reach VFV, because the US dividends are paid to Vanguard’s fund, not to the RRSP.
In short: VFV is simpler and has no conversion cost, while VOO has the lower fee and the RRSP treaty benefit for investors who already hold US dollars or can convert cheaply.
VFV vs XEQT
VFV holds US large-cap stocks only. XEQT had 8,296 underlying holdings across the world on October 6, 2026, with 46.11% in US stocks and 23.48% in Canadian stocks, at a 0.19% MER. VFV is a single-country building block. XEQT is built to be a whole stock portfolio that rebalances itself.
For the deeper comparison, see VFV vs XEQT.
How is VFV taxed in a TFSA or RRSP?
US withholding tax on VFV’s dividends is taken before the money reaches the Canadian fund, so a TFSA, an RRSP and an FHSA all receive the same net distribution. The Canada–US treaty rate on dividends is 15%.
Vanguard’s annual distribution table shows the size of it. For 2025, VFV reported $1.81 per unit of foreign income and $0.28 per unit of foreign tax paid.
A rough size relative to the holding: with a trailing yield of 0.84%, the tax withheld is in the range of 0.15% of the holding a year, or about $15 a year on $10,000.
By account type:
- TFSA and FHSA: the withholding happens inside the fund and can’t be recovered. Growth and withdrawals are tax-free in Canada.
- RRSP: the same fund-level withholding applies. The treaty exemption needs a US-listed fund held directly.
- Non-registered: distributions are taxable each year. The CRA offers a federal foreign tax credit (line 40500) for foreign tax paid on income you report on your Canadian return.
This section is general education, not tax advice.
How has VFV performed?
VFV returned 15.89% a year over the 10 years to September 30, 2026, per Vanguard Canada. Over shorter periods to the same date it returned 18.12% over one year, 24.47% a year over three years and 16.14% a year over five. Since inception the figure is 17.52% a year.
These are NAV returns in Canadian dollars, so they include movements in the US dollar. BMO’s hedged and unhedged S&P 500 funds show how much currency mattered over the last decade: to August 31, 2026, unhedged ZSP returned 15.61% a year and hedged ZUE 13.50%. A decade in which the Canadian dollar rose would reverse that gap.
Over the five years to September 30, 2026, XEQT returned 13.94% a year, per iShares. VFV came out ahead, and took on more concentration risk by being entirely US large-cap. Past performance does not predict future returns.
How do you buy VFV in Canada?
VFV is bought like any TSX-listed stock: open a brokerage account, fund it, search the ticker and place an order. The steps:
- Open a brokerage account. Wealthsimple charges $0 commission on stocks and ETFs, and Questrade charges $0 to buy and sell Canadian and U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs.
- Fund the account by bank transfer or Interac e-Transfer.
- Search “VFV” in the broker’s search bar and check that the listing is the TSX one.
- Place the order. A limit order sets the highest price the order will pay.
- Turn on dividend reinvestment if the broker offers it, so the quarterly distributions buy more units.
Fractional shares at Wealthsimple: yes — thousands of Canadian and US stocks and ETFs. That lets a fixed dollar amount go into VFV regardless of the unit price.
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Common VFV mistakes
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Assuming an RRSP removes the US withholding tax. It does for US-listed funds held directly. VFV is Canadian-listed, so the tax is taken inside the fund whichever account holds it.
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Buying VFV alongside XEQT for diversification. XEQT was already 46.11% US stocks on October 6, 2026. Adding VFV raises the US weight; it does not add new markets.
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Mixing up VFV and VSP. VSP is the currency-hedged version at the same 0.08% MER. The two can post different returns in the same year because of the exchange rate.
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Treating VFV as a complete portfolio. 100% of the fund is US stocks, and the three largest holdings are about 20.8% of it.
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Expecting a smooth ride. A fund that returned 18.12% in one year can fall sharply in another, and past returns don’t predict future ones.
Bottom line
VFV is a low-cost way to own the S&P 500 in Canadian dollars: 0.08% MER, $36.2 billion in total assets, one ticker on the TSX. ZSP and XUS track the same index for one basis point more, and VFV’s and ZSP’s 10-year returns to August 31, 2026 were within a hundredth of a percentage point of each other.
It is not a complete portfolio. VFV fits a reader who wants US large-cap exposure as one piece of a multi-ETF portfolio, or who has deliberately chosen a US-only holding. A reader who wants Canadian, international and emerging-market stocks in the same fund can look at a one-ticker fund such as XEQT.
VFV trades for $0 commission at Wealthsimple, and Questrade charges $0 to buy and sell Canadian and U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs.
Read next
- Best Canadian ETFs — the full ETF landscape
- VFV vs XEQT — head-to-head comparison
- XEQT Review — the all-in-one alternative
- How to buy ETFs in Canada — order placement mechanics
- Best TFSA account in Canada — where to hold VFV