RRSP Season: Here's the 1 Move I'd Make This Week

RRSP Season: Here’s the 1 Move I’d Make This Week

Here’s one top exchange traded fund (ETF) long-term investors may want to consider adding to their RRSPs right now, and why.

Chris MacDonald

Chris MacDonald has had a love for finance his whole life, ultimately leading him to pursue an MBA in finance. He's worked as a financial analyst for a number of companies in the corporate finance and venture capital space during his 10-year investing career. He endeavors to follow in the footsteps of iconic investors like Warren Buffett in building a long-term defensive portfolio.

Published March 16, 4:20 pm EDT

It’s mid-March 2026, and if you’re like me, you’re staring down your RRSP statement with a mix of excitement and urgency. For some, plotting some big moves may be ahead.

Now, the 2025 contribution deadline came and went on March 2. However, with tax season heating up and markets showing resilience amid tariff talks and steady growth, now’s the perfect window to deploy fresh capital or rebalance for the long haul.

After crunching the numbers and scanning the TSX, there’s one move I think every RRSP holder should make this week. Here’s why I think loading up on the BMO S&P/TSX Capped Composite Index ETF (TSX:ZCN) makes sense.

Let’s dive in!

ETFs can contain investments such as stocks — Source: Getty Images

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Why this ETF?

The BMO S&P/TSX Capped Composite Index ETF is one of the top exchange traded funds (ETFs) I think can provide investors with the sort of long-term returns they’re looking for. Much of that has to do with this fund’s composition, which covers essentially all of the large-cap options in the Canadian market.

With investors gaining low-cost exposure to some of the best companies Canada has to offer (at reasonable multiples), this is a fund that also provides a 2.2% dividend yield (higher than most market index funds) with better valuations than many similar U.S.-based ETFs.

I think mid-March is a great time to consider adding exposure to this name for a couple reasons. First, buyers are mostly sitting on the sidelines after allocating capital over the past few weeks. And with so much geopolitical turmoil out there, investors can gain exposure to this ETF at a slight discount to past weeks.

As the saying goes, the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, but the second-best time is today. So, for those looking to kick off tax-deferred growth for retirement, this is a top option to include in an RRSP right now.

Why now?

I think ZCN is among the most balanced and consistent offerings within the Canadian ETF space, and this is personally the ETF I use to track the performance of the broader TSX. I have a feeling many investors are doing the same thing.

Thus, owning the basket and holding a significant percentage of one’s portfolio in a well-diversified offering that covers the entire market can be appealing. That goes for passive and active investors alike.

I think this fund’s strategy of capping individual holdings at a 10% weighting limits some concentration risk, and mutes the over-reliance on one or a handful of stocks for outperformance (like other ETFs). Additionally, with this Canadian ETF eligible for preferential domestic tax treatment, this is a name I think investors can comfortably hold for decades in a tax-deferred account like an RRSP.