Best S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 ETFs in Canada (2026): VFV, ZSP, XUS, XSP, QQC and Others Compared

The S&P 500 follows the largest US public companies, and the Nasdaq-100 follows 100 of the biggest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq exchange. Several issuers sell Canadian-listed ETFs that track each one, and within an index the funds look much alike. The main choices are whether a fund is hedged to the Canadian dollar and how it holds the stocks: directly, through another ETF, or through a swap. This page explains both, then compares the funds from Vanguard, BMO, iShares, Global X and CI Global Asset Management using figures each issuer publishes. It doesn’t pick one.

What are the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq-100?

The S&P 500 is made up of the largest and most liquid US public companies, and each one counts in proportion to the market value of its shares that are available to trade, so the biggest companies carry the most weight. Global X describes it as about 80% of the US stock market by value.

The Nasdaq-100 is narrower: Nasdaq builds it from 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on its exchange, weighted by a modified version of market value. iShares points out the result: these funds give large US companies without banks and other financial firms.

VFV, for example, seeks to track the S&P 500 before fees and expenses, holding its stocks directly or indirectly; the funds below each name the index they track. Because the fund pays expenses, its return can differ from the index’s, as Global X’s ETF Facts notes.

Hedged or not, and how does the fund hold the stocks?

Hedging. The stocks are priced in US dollars, so an unhedged fund’s value in Canadian dollars also moves with the exchange rate. The Ontario Securities Commission’s investor site gives the example: if the US dollar loses value against the Canadian dollar, your US stocks are worth less in Canadian dollars. BMO puts the other side of it, saying its unhedged ZSP benefits when the local currency rises. A hedged fund such as XSP or ZQQ tries to remove that currency effect, though Vanguard notes hedging can reduce the risk but not eliminate it. Our page on hedged vs unhedged ETFs goes further.

How the fund holds the stocks. There are three ways:

• The stocks themselves. BMO says ZSP holds the stocks in the index in the index’s proportions.
• Another ETF. VFV invests mainly in Vanguard’s US-domiciled S&P 500 ETF, and Vanguard says you don’t pay management fees twice for it. XUS’s fact sheet lists one holding, the iShares Core S&P ETF Trust, and XSP holds the same trust plus currency contracts.
• A swap. Global X says HXS may use one or more swap agreements to get the index’s return without owning the stocks. Global X lists a swap fee of up to 0.50% and a trading expense ratio of 0.46%, and the fund carries credit risk on what its bank counterparties owe it. Global X describes HXS as for investors not looking for regular distributions.

Withholding tax. US dividends paid into a Canadian-listed fund are taxed by the US first, and BlackRock says this applies to every Canadian-listed fund holding US stocks, directly or through another ETF, in any account. Under Article XXI of the Canada-US tax treaty, US dividends paid to an RRSP or RRIF are exempt from US withholding; in a TFSA, FHSA, RESP or taxable account the standard 15% treaty rate applies, and only in a taxable account can it be recovered as a foreign tax credit. The US withholding tax page has the rule, and US-listed vs Canadian-listed ETFs shows the cost by account.

ZSP vs XSP: both track the S&P 500 with a 0.08% management fee; XSP is hedged to the Canadian dollar and ZSP isn’t. ZSP holds the stocks itself and pays quarterly; XSP holds the iShares Core S&P ETF Trust and pays semi-annual. BMO’s hedged version of ZSP is ZUE.

VFV vs VOO: VOO is the US-listed Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, traded on NYSE Arca, and it is the fund VFV mainly holds. VFV trades in Toronto in Canadian dollars. Which one costs less in withholding tax depends on the account: BlackRock says US-listed ETFs held directly in an RRSP or RRIF are generally exempt from US withholding, and a Canadian-listed one like VFV isn’t. The US-listed vs Canadian-listed ETFs page compares them account by account.

The main S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 ETFs compared

The table below lists the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 ETFs this page compares, with each figure taken from the issuer’s own fund page, fact sheet or ETF Facts.

Issuer-published figures. Holdings as of August 31, 2026 and September 30, 2026. MER as of BMO: the latest audited year (fact sheet of September 30, 2026); CI: December 31, 2025; Global X: June 30, 2026; Vanguard: June 30, 2026; iShares: June 30, 2026 (each issuer's latest reported MER). Each ticker links to the issuer's page, which has the current price, holdings, distributions and performance.

Rows are grouped by the index tracked, unhedged funds first. For VFV and VSP the holdings column counts the stocks inside the US ETF each one holds. There are no return or yield columns: how a fund did in the past can’t tell you how it will do next, and each ticker links to the issuer’s page with the current price and performance. Each fund’s ETF Facts, on the issuer’s site, sets out how risky it is, what it costs and who it is meant for.

How do the funds differ?

Fees. The S&P 500 funds’ MERs are close: 0.08% for VFV, 0.09% for ZSP and XUS, 0.11% for HXS before its swap fee and trading costs. The Nasdaq-100 funds cost more, from 0.21% for QQC to 0.39% for the BMO and iShares funds. The MER comes out of the fund whether it gains or loses.

How they hold the stocks. The table’s second column shows which of the three ways each fund uses.

Distributions. Payments run from quarterly (VFV, ZSP, QQC) to twice a year (XUS, XSP, XQQ) and once a year (ZNQ, ZQQ), while Global X’s two corporate class funds, HXS and HXQ, pay none.

Hedged versions. XSP, VSP and ZUE are the hedged versions of XUS, VFV and ZSP, each at the same MER as the unhedged fund. BMO’s ZQQ is the hedged version of its Nasdaq-100 fund ZNQ.

VFV vs ZSP vs XUS

All three track the S&P 500 without currency hedging, with the same 0.08% management fee.

• MER: 0.08% for VFV, 0.09% for ZSP, 0.09% for XUS.
• What it holds: ZSP the stocks themselves; VFV mainly Vanguard’s US S&P 500 ETF; XUS the iShares Core S&P ETF Trust.
• Distributions: VFV quarterly, ZSP quarterly, XUS semi-annual.

See how the funds differ for what sets them apart. Our VFV page covers VFV’s holdings and distributions in more detail.

ZQQ vs XQQ

Both track the Nasdaq-100 hedged to the Canadian dollar and hold the stocks themselves: 101 holdings in ZQQ and 102 in XQQ, each at a 0.39% MER. ZQQ pays annual and XQQ semi-annual.

What about Canada’s equivalent, the Dow, or the whole US market?

Canada. The closest Canadian match to a broad index fund is one tracking the S&P/TSX Capped Composite Index, such as iShares’ XIC, which iShares describes as owning the whole Canadian stock market. Our ETFs by category page compares them.

The Dow. The Dow Jones Industrial Average holds 30 large US companies and weights them by share price, not company size, as BMO’s fact sheet explains. BMO’s ZDJ tracks it with the currency hedged to Canadian dollars.

The broader US market. Funds such as Vanguard’s VUN track a total-market index that adds mid-size and smaller companies to the large ones; see ETFs by category.

What don’t S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 ETFs do?

• They hold one country. The funds here hold US companies, and the largest weigh the most. The Nasdaq-100 funds also leave out financial companies.
• They may overlap with what you own. BMO’s all-in-one ETF ZEQT, for example, holds units of ZSP. Our all-in-one ETFs page covers those funds, including VGRO, and technology ETFs have their own page.
• Distributions count at tax time in a non-registered account. For a fund set up as a mutual fund trust you get a T3 slip; distributions can include return of capital. Selling units can give a capital gain. How ETFs are taxed explains return of capital, reinvested amounts and your adjusted cost base; see also the T3 slip explained.
• They aren’t covered by deposit insurance and can lose money.

Where to go next

• VFV in detail
• US-listed vs Canadian-listed ETFs
• All-in-one ETFs compared
• Where to buy ETFs: compare brokers
• All ETF guides