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My 3‑ETF “Sleep‑Well” Portfolio for 2025

Sleep-at-night investing: three low-cost ETFs that deliver global diversification, Canadian strength, and automatic balancing so you can grow wealth without stock-picking stress.

Amy Legate-Wolfe

Author Bio Amy became interested in investing in 2018 after having her first daughter. After receiving a masters degree in journalism from Western University, she became frustrated that the finance industry remained a confusing place for Canadians like her: new parents, millennials, and other young people who needed to understand their finances. Now, Amy focuses on tech companies and renewable energy for growth opportunities, coupling that with long-term investing strategies and equities. She also provides investors with a daily newsletter, Canada Stock Digest, for daily market updates. Her work can also be found at Canada's National Observer, where she writes on the business side of climate action. Before joining Motley Fool Canada, Amy wrote for major news organizations including HuffPost, CTVNews.ca, and CBC. When she’s not researching investing strategies, Amy’s time is pretty much monopolized by her two wild daughters, but in what little spare time she has she loves to do yoga, go on walks with her dog, and travel with her husband. Social Media Follow Amy on LinkedIn and Canada Stock Digest. Favorite Investment Quote “October: This is one of the particularly dangerous months to speculate in stocks. The others are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, August and February.” – Mark Twain

Published September 22, 2025 9:00 pm EDT

Key Points

XAW gives broad global exposure outside Canada at low cost, with about 60% U.S. weight, 0.22% MER, and a 1.5% yield.
VEQT is a one-fund, all‑equity portfolio with automatic rebalancing, low 0.25% fees, and strong long-term returns focused on North America and beyond.
VCN delivers broad Canadian exposure at ultra‑low 0.05% fees, a 2.4% yield, and diversified holdings across banks, energy, materials, industrials, and tech.

There’s been a lot of talk about what stocks can give you either a surge in income through dividends or growth. Yet that leaves many investors perhaps forgetting that slow and steady really does win the race. That’s why today we’re going to narrow our focus to exchange-traded funds (ETF). These options may not exactly be the “to the moon” growth stocks, but the three here will certainly help you sleep better at night.

a woman sleeps with her eyes covered with a mask — Source: Getty Images

XAW

First, there’s the iShares Core MSCI All Country World ex Canada (TSX: XAW) ETF. This ETF is the best way to get in on global diversification outside Canada, and it’s doing quite well with shares up 12% year-to-date and 17% in the last year alone. This growth mainly coincides with the growth in U.S. tech, as well as international markets.

When you buy this stock, you’re getting exposure to around 8,300 stocks through “fund of funds” and a heavy tilt towards the U.S. at about 60% of the portfolio. Beyond that, investors gain access to Europe, Asia, and emerging markets. The only catch? No Canada, pairing it well with the others in this article.

What’s more, the stock has done quite well long term. Shares trade with a low 0.22% management expense ratio (MER), and a 1.5% dividend yield paid out semi-annually. All considered, it’s an ETF you can certainly set up and forget about with low turnover, low costs, and exposure to the entire world.

VEQT

Next up, we have the Vanguard All-Equity ETF Portfolio (TSX: VEQT), which is your one-punch pass to global equity exposure with automatic rebalancing. Right now, shares are up 22.5% in the last year, with a 1.4% dividend yield at low fees at a 0.25% MER.

What you get from this top ETF is a portfolio directed at 30% to Canada, 45% to the U.S., and 25% to developed or emerging markets outside North America. The focus here is also on equities, no bonds. And with a five-year annualized return of 13.5%, it’s clear that the investment strategy is working.

For this stock, if you’re looking for a simple, all equity solution, this is the ETF for you, especially if you want to focus on North America and emerging markets. Plus, with automatic diversification and rebalancing, it allows you to sleep at night knowing your cash is being invested in top-quality stocks for the long run.

VCN

Finally, we have the Vanguard FTSE Canada All Cap Index ETC (TSX: VCN). Now we can focus on Canada, with an ETF that brings you the best and brightest of the bunch. It’s also the best performer of the three, with shares up 21% year to date, and 28% in the last year, led by banks and companies like Shopify.

If you really want to focus on Canada, this is the ETF for you. It invests in everything from the Big Six Banks to top energy companies and tech buys. Sectors tilt towards about 34% financials, 16% energy, 14% materials, 12% industrials and 11% tech. So you have a balanced approach, giving you great long-run Canadian exposure.

Plus, it has a super low cost at a 0.05% MER, and a higher yield at 2.4%! Therefore, it’s also the best way to provide you with dividends that can be reinvested over and over again. All in all, it’s a safe, low-cost, strong ETF for those wanting exposure to the safest and best Canadian equities.

Bottom line

Taken together, these three ETFs provide you with a safe mix of low-cost and low-maintenance options. You gain growth, diversification, income, and security. So if you’re looking to invest in a broad and diverse range of stocks, these ETFs are a great place to start.