How to buy VFV in Canada: step by step on Wealthsimple, and when VOO makes more sense

Here’s how to buy VFV in Canada: open a self-directed investing account, deposit Canadian dollars, search the ticker VFV and buy it on the Toronto Stock Exchange, with no currency conversion involved. The real decision comes before the buy button: whether the VFV ETF is the right S&P 500 fund for you, or whether VOO, the US-listed Vanguard fund VFV is built on, is worth the currency cost. This guide covers each step on Wealthsimple, which account to hold VFV in, and the numbers that settle VFV vs VOO. YieldMaple checked Wealthsimple’s pricing page and Trade fee schedule and Vanguard Canada’s VFV page on September 23, 2026, and every figure below comes from those pages.

How to buy VFV in Canada at a glance

Buying the S&P 500 on Wealthsimple: VFV vs VOO (checked September 23, 2026)

	VFV (Canadian-listed)	VOO (US-listed)
Cost to buy on Wealthsimple	$0 commission, no currency conversion	$0 commission plus a 1.5% conversion fee from a CAD account
Cost to sell later	No conversion	Another 1.5% conversion back to CAD
Exchange and currency	Toronto Stock Exchange, Canadian dollars	US exchange, US dollars
Managed by	Vanguard Investments Canada Inc.	The Vanguard Group, in the United States
What it holds	S&P 500 stocks, 100% US, mainly through VOO	S&P 500 stocks directly
Annual fund fee	0.08% MER	Lower than VFV's
US withholding tax on dividends in an RRSP	Paid inside the fund	Exempt when held directly
T1135 and US estate tax	Generally neither T1135 foreign property nor a US-situated asset	T1135 foreign property in a non-registered account; generally a US-situated asset
Suits	Most Canadian investors, in any account	Large RRSPs with US dollars on hand or a free USD account

The first row decides it for most people. VFV is priced in Canadian dollars, so a Wealthsimple purchase costs $0 in commission and nothing to convert, and selling later involves no conversion either. VOO is priced in US dollars on a US exchange; buy it from the Canadian-dollar side of a Wealthsimple account and the Trade fee schedule applies a 1.5% conversion fee to the purchase, then another 1.5% when you sell and convert back. VOO does have two genuine advantages: its expense ratio is lower than VFV’s 0.08% MER, and in an RRSP a directly held US-listed fund is exempt from the US withholding tax that VFV pays on dividends inside the fund. The sections below put numbers on both, and explain the T1135 and estate-tax rows.

How do you buy VFV on Wealthsimple?

Open a self-directed account, fund it in Canadian dollars, search “VFV”, enter a dollar amount or number of units, and submit; the commission is $0.

1. Pick the account type. VFV can go in a TFSA, RRSP, FHSA or non-registered account; the next section covers which one. It has to be a self-directed account. A managed Wealthsimple portfolio chooses the funds for you, so there’s no way to pick VFV inside it.
2. Open the account. Sign up in the Wealthsimple app or on the web; Wealthsimple says it takes minutes. Opening costs $0. Account minimum for self-directed investing: none.
3. Fund it. Link a bank account and deposit Canadian dollars. Instant deposits let you invest before the transfer settles, up to a limit that depends on your client tier. If you already hold VFV at another brokerage, transfer the account instead of selling: Wealthsimple reimburses the old institution’s transfer-out fee on transfers of $25,000 or more, up to $150 per account, and most transfers take 2–4 weeks. The Wealthsimple transfer guide covers the paperwork.
4. Search VFV and check it’s the right fund. The listing should read Vanguard S&P 500 Index ETF, priced in CAD on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Two look-alikes catch people out: VSP is Vanguard’s currency-hedged S&P 500 fund, and VOO is the US-listed fund that trades in US dollars.
5. Choose dollars or units. Wealthsimple’s fractional-shares page tells you to look for the “fractional shares” label on a fund’s page in the app. If VFV shows it, enter a dollar amount (your whole monthly contribution, say) and the order fills during market hours. If not, enter a whole number of units.
6. Set the order type and submit. For whole units, a limit order at or just above the current ask price caps what you pay and still fills quickly on a fund of VFV’s size. The preview should show $0 commission and no currency conversion. If a conversion appears, you’ve picked a US-listed fund; cancel and search again.
7. Automate the next purchases. Set up a recurring investment (weekly, bi-weekly or monthly) and turn on dividend reinvesting, so each quarterly distribution buys more VFV without another order from you.

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s regular session runs from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET on business days, and Canadian trades settle one business day after they fill. Wealthsimple’s ETF page says eligible ETFs can also trade 24 hours a day, five days a week. Outside the regular session there are fewer buyers and sellers, so the gap between bid and ask tends to widen; if you trade then, use a limit order.

Which account should you buy VFV in?

The account matters more than the fund: VFV costs the same to buy in any Wealthsimple account, but the tax treatment of its growth and dividends changes with the account.

• TFSA. Growth and withdrawals are tax-free, and the 2026 limit is $7,000 of new room. US withholding tax on VFV’s dividends can’t be recovered in a TFSA, but it can’t be recovered on VOO in a TFSA either, so this account doesn’t tip the VFV vs VOO choice. The Wealthsimple TFSA guide explains the three TFSA types.
• FHSA. For first-time home buyers, contributions are deductible and qualifying withdrawals for a home are tax-free, with $8,000 of room a year up to $40,000 in total. An all-stock fund concentrated in one country can fall sharply just before a purchase, so match what you hold to how soon you’ll buy. The Wealthsimple FHSA guide covers the rules.
• RRSP. Contributions are deductible, and room is 18% of last year’s earned income up to $33,810 for 2026. This is the one account where VOO has a tax edge. The Canada–US tax treaty exempts dividends from US-listed funds held directly in an RRSP from US withholding tax, but VFV has that tax deducted inside the fund before anything reaches you. The Wealthsimple RRSP guide covers contributions and transfers.
• Non-registered. VFV’s distributions and any gains you realize are taxable. Vanguard reports the foreign tax VFV paid on each year’s distributions, and you can usually claim it as a federal foreign tax credit (line 40500) for foreign tax paid on income you report on your Canadian return.

Is VFV Canadian?

Yes: VFV is a Canadian-listed ETF managed by Vanguard Investments Canada Inc. and priced in Canadian dollars on the TSX, but everything it owns is US stocks.

Vanguard Canada’s VFV page lists the Toronto Stock Exchange as the fund’s exchange and the Canadian dollar as both its listed and base currency. Its market allocation is 100% United States, and the page says it “invests primarily in the U.S.-domiciled Vanguard S&P 500 ETF”. That US fund is VOO, which The Vanguard Group manages in the United States and which holds the S&P 500 stocks directly. So VFV is a Canadian wrapper around the same fund American investors buy. On August 31, 2026, VFV’s three largest holdings were NVIDIA, Apple and Microsoft.

In plain terms: VFV launched on November 2, 2012, holds $35.2 billion in total assets and charges a 0.08% MER. Its 12-month trailing yield was 0.84%, and its annualized NAV return to August 31, 2026 was 14.59% over five years and 15.62% over ten, per Vanguard. Those returns are in Canadian dollars, so they include the US dollar’s moves, and past returns don’t predict future ones.

Being a Canadian fund has three practical effects:

• No currency conversion to buy it, at Wealthsimple or at any other Canadian brokerage.
• You still carry US-dollar exposure. VFV is unhedged, so its price in Canadian dollars moves with both US stocks and the exchange rate. If you want most of the currency effect removed, Vanguard’s hedged version is VSP.
• Simpler tax paperwork. The CRA’s Form T1135 questions-and-answers page says units of a Canadian mutual fund trust aren’t specified foreign property, while an investment in a non-resident fund is, and holdings in an RRSP or TFSA are excluded. Canadian ETFs such as VFV are generally structured as Canadian mutual fund trusts, so in a non-registered account VFV generally stays off the T1135, while VOO counts toward its reporting threshold. US estate tax works the same way: the IRS lists stock of US corporations among the US-situated assets a non-resident’s estate can be taxed on, and US-listed ETFs such as VOO are generally treated as US-situated, while a Canadian fund isn’t on that list. The Canada–US tax treaty provides a limited waiver for small estates and a pro-rated credit for others, so it mainly matters for large taxable accounts, one reason Canadians with big non-registered portfolios often stick to Canadian-listed funds.

VFV vs VOO: which should Canadians buy?

For most Canadians buying on Wealthsimple, VFV: it trades in CAD with no conversion fee, while VOO bought from a CAD account costs 1.5% going in and again coming out.

VOO’s case rests on its lower expense ratio and, inside an RRSP, freedom from US withholding tax on dividends. Both are real. Both are small next to Wealthsimple’s currency costs unless you’re moving a large sum or already hold US dollars.

Worked example: $10,000 of the S&P 500 on Wealthsimple, three ways

Here’s what a Core client pays, using Wealthsimple’s published fees:

• VFV, bought from a CAD account. Commission is $0 and there’s no conversion. The only ongoing cost is the fund’s MER: about $8 a year.
• VOO, bought from a CAD account. Commission is still $0, but the conversion costs $150 on the way in and the same percentage again on whatever the position is worth when you sell: about $300 round trip.
• VOO, through a Wealthsimple USD account. A single $10,000 conversion falls in the 1.0% tier, so it costs $100. The USD account itself is $10 a month for Core clients, or $120 a year, which is 15 times VFV’s entire yearly MER on this amount.

Now the saving on the other side. VOO’s lower fee can save you at most VFV’s full MER, about $8 a year here, and only if VOO charged nothing at all. At that pace it would take almost 19 years to earn back the conversion paid to buy VOO from a CAD account, before the second conversion when you sell. The RRSP withholding-tax saving is a slice of a small number too: VFV’s trailing yield is 0.84%, and the US tax takes only part of each dividend. It adds up on a large RRSP held for decades, which is where VOO starts to earn its place.

When does VOO make sense for a Canadian?

VOO is worth the extra steps when all three of these are true:

1. You’re converting a large amount in one go, or you already have US dollars. Wealthsimple’s USD-account conversion fee falls with the size of each conversion: 1.5% under $10,000; 1.0% from $10,000; 0.5% from $25,000; 0% from $100,000. Moving US dollars you already hold into the account is free, per Wealthsimple’s pricing page. Even the top, fee-free tier uses Wealthsimple’s corporate exchange rate, which includes a spread.
2. The USD account costs you nothing. Its price is $10 a month for Core clients; free for Premium and Generation, and Premium starts at $100,000 in assets.
3. The money stays in an RRSP for a long time, so the withholding-tax exemption and the lower expense ratio have years to compound.

Picture a Premium client moving $100,000 into an RRSP’s USD side in one conversion. That amount reaches the top tier of the schedule above, so there’s no conversion fee (the spread still applies), and the USD account is included. VFV’s MER on that balance would be $80 a year, which is the ceiling on VOO’s fee saving, plus the withholding tax VOO avoids. For that investor, VOO is a reasonable choice, provided they’re comfortable holding US dollars. Wealthsimple’s pricing page doesn’t list which account types can have a USD side, so confirm in the app that your RRSP offers one before you plan around it. If any of the three conditions is missing, VFV is simpler and usually cheaper.

When Wealthsimple is the wrong fit for VOO: if you want to hold US dollars inside a TFSA or RRSP without a monthly charge and you’re not at Premium, Questrade suits you better. Its pricing page says you can hold USD in registered accounts, so US trades don't force a conversion, and its commission is $0 to buy and sell Canadian and U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs. Its currency conversion fee is 1.5%, per its transaction-fee page, the same rate Wealthsimple charges from a CAD account, so Questrade’s edge is holding US dollars for free, not converting them more cheaply. Investors converting large sums at brokerages that support it often use Norbert’s Gambit to convert CAD to USD near the market rate. Compare the two platforms in the Wealthsimple vs Questrade comparison, or check Questrade's current pricing .

If you’re weighing VOO or any other US-listed fund, the calculator below compares the conversion cost of buying from a CAD account with converting into a Wealthsimple USD account first, for your plan. The Wealthsimple USD account guide explains how the account works day to day.

What order type should you use to buy VFV?

A limit order at or slightly above the ask price is the safe default: it caps what you pay, and on a fund with $35.2 billion in assets it normally fills within seconds.

• Market order. Fills right away at the best price available. Reasonable during the regular session for a widely held ETF, riskier in the first minutes after the open or outside regular hours, when bid and ask prices can sit further apart.
• Limit order. You set the highest price you’ll pay. If the price moves above it, the order waits rather than filling at a worse price.
• Dollar-amount (fractional) order. You choose an amount, not a price, and Wealthsimple fills it during market hours. Handy for recurring contributions.
• Timing. Waiting for a dip is a guess. A fixed recurring purchase takes the decision out of it, and at $0 commission, buying often costs nothing extra.

Does VFV pay dividends?

Yes: VFV pays distributions quarterly, and its 12-month trailing yield was 0.84% as of August 31, 2026, per Vanguard Canada.

On a $10,000 holding, that yield works out to about $84 a year in distributions. It’s modest because most of VFV’s return has come from rising prices rather than payouts: its five-year annualized return to August 31, 2026 was 14.59%, per Vanguard. US withholding tax is also deducted inside the fund before VFV pays you. On Wealthsimple you can turn on dividend reinvesting for eligible ETFs, so each distribution buys more VFV automatically. In a non-registered account, the distributions are taxable in the year you receive them, even if they’re reinvested.

Should VFV be your only ETF?

Usually not: VFV is 100% US stocks, so on its own it’s a bet that one country keeps leading, and most portfolios add Canadian and international holdings.

There are three common ways to use it:

• As the US piece of a do-it-yourself portfolio, next to a Canadian equity ETF and an international one.
• As a tilt on top of an all-in-one fund such as XEQT, which is already about 45% US. The VFV vs XEQT comparison shows how the regional mix shifts when you add VFV.
• On its own, if you’ve decided you want only large US companies and accept the concentration.

If you’d rather own the whole world in one ticker, the step-by-step guide to buying XEQT on Wealthsimple is the better starting point. For a closer look at the fund itself, see the VFV review.

What does VFV cost to buy at other Canadian brokerages?

VFV trades commission-free at Wealthsimple, Questrade and TD Direct Investing (it’s on TD’s commission-free ETF list), while RBC Direct Investing’s full-suite accounts charge a commission on each VFV trade.

Commission to buy or sell VFV, and holding US dollars (checked September 23–24, 2026)

	Commission on a VFV trade	Holding US dollars (for VOO)
Wealthsimple	$0	USD account: $10 a month for Core clients; free for Premium and Generation
Questrade	$0 to buy and sell Canadian and U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs	you can hold USD in registered accounts, so US trades don't force a conversion
RBC Direct Investing	$9.95 per online or mobile trade (VFV isn't on RBC's commission-free ETF list)	USD allowed in TFSA, FHSA, RRSP, cash and margin accounts (not RESPs, and not GoSmart); conversion spread about 1.6% on conversions up to US$24,999
RBC GoSmart (existing RBC clients)	50 commission-free stock and ETF trades per year, then $9.95 per trade	TFSA, FHSA and RRSP accounts only, in Canadian dollars
TD Direct Investing	Commission-free: VFV is on TD's list of 108 commission-free ETFs (online and in-app trades)	Conversion spread 1.07% on transactions under $10,000; VOO is also on TD's commission-free list

Wealthsimple charges $0 per trade, and Questrade charges $0 to buy and sell Canadian and U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs, so VFV costs the same to trade at either. On holding US dollars, Wealthsimple’s USD account costs $10 a month for Core clients; free for Premium and Generation, while Questrade’s pricing page says you can hold USD in registered accounts, so US trades don't force a conversion.

RBC Direct Investing’s commission-free list is mostly iShares funds. It includes XUS, the iShares fund that tracks the same S&P 500 index in Canadian dollars, but not VFV, so a VFV trade there costs $9.95 per online or mobile trade. For VOO buyers, RBC’s full-suite accounts can hold US dollars in TFSA, FHSA, RRSP, cash and margin accounts (not RESPs, and not GoSmart), with multi-currency accounts included at no extra fee (CAD, USD and other currencies such as EUR, GBP and HKD), but RBC’s own conversion spread is about 1.6% on conversions up to US$24,999. Existing RBC clients can instead use GoSmart, which gives 50 commission-free stock and ETF trades per year and then charges $9.95 per trade; GoSmart accounts are TFSA, FHSA and RRSP accounts only, in Canadian dollars. TD Direct Investing’s pricing is $9.99 per trade (Standard); $7.00 per trade (Active Trader); $0 on select ETFs, and VFV is one of those select ETFs: it’s on TD’s list of 108 commission-free ETFs, which applies to online and in-app TD Direct Investing trades only (WebBroker, the TD app, Advanced Dashboard, TD Active Trader) — not trades placed on TD Easy Trade. VOO is on the same list. TD accounts that can hold US dollars: cash and margin accounts, RRSPs (except Basic RRSPs), RIFs, RLSPs, LRSPs and TFSAs; RESPs and RDSPs are Canadian-dollar only. TD’s currency conversion spread is 1.07% on transactions under $10,000. Small accounts can face TD’s maintenance fee of $25 a quarter when your household's TD Direct Investing accounts total less than $15,000, unless you qualify for a waiver.

Commissions matter most for people who buy often. Buying VFV every two weeks at RBC Direct Investing’s $9.95 a trade adds up to about $259 a year. That’s as much as VFV’s MER on a balance of about $323,000, which is why a no-commission platform suits recurring purchases.

Who should (and shouldn’t) buy VFV on Wealthsimple

Buy VFV on Wealthsimple if:

• You want the S&P 500 in a TFSA, FHSA, RRSP or non-registered account for $0 commission and no currency conversion.
• You invest small amounts often, where dollar-amount orders and free recurring purchases help most.
• You’re a Core client, or you’d be converting modest amounts to buy VOO.

Consider VOO instead if:

• You hold a large RRSP, already have US dollars or convert at the top tiers, and the USD account is included in your plan.

Consider another brokerage if:

• You want US dollars in a registered account without a monthly charge and aren’t at Premium: Questrade fits that better.
• You already invest at TD Direct Investing: VFV is on its commission-free ETF list for online and in-app trades, so there’s no commission reason to move (watch its small-account maintenance fee).
• You’re an RBC client who wants to stay in the bank’s app: GoSmart’s free-trade allowance covers VFV purchases.

Skip VFV altogether if:

• You want one fund that covers Canada and the rest of the world; an all-in-one ETF such as XEQT does that.
• You need the money within a few years; an all-stock, single-country fund can drop sharply right before you need it.

This page is general education, not financial advice; the right fund and account depend on your timeline, tax situation and other holdings. For everything else Wealthsimple offers, from account types to fees, see our complete Wealthsimple guide.