XEQT ETF Review (2026): iShares Core Equity ETF Portfolio Holdings, MER and Distributions

XEQT, the iShares Core Equity ETF Portfolio, is a stock ETF run by BlackRock Canada that owns other iShares ETFs instead of individual stocks. For its current price and past performance, see BlackRock’s XEQT page; this page shows no returns, since past results can’t tell you what a fund will do next. What follows explains how XEQT is built, what it costs, what its payouts are made of and where it differs from similar funds, using BlackRock’s fund documents; it describes the fund rather than recommending it.

On this page: Holdings · Costs · Distributions · Accounts · Rivals · Limits Compare: XEQT vs VEQT · XEQT vs ZEQT

What does XEQT hold?

XEQT is a fund of funds: BlackRock says it was invested in iShares ETFs for the whole of its latest reporting period, and those ETFs generally follow broad stock market indexes. It aims to be 100% stocks: BlackRock gives its target as 100% equity. On August 31, 2026, its 5 holdings were:

• US stocks, 45.03%, split between two iShares total US market funds: the Toronto-listed iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market Index ETF (XTOT) and the US-listed iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF (ITOT), which trades on NYSE Arca
• Canadian stocks, 25.64%: iShares Core S&P/TSX Capped Composite Index ETF
• Other developed markets, 24.41%: iShares Core MSCI EAFE IMI Index ETF
• Emerging markets, 4.78%: iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets IMI Index ETF

Through those funds, XEQT held 8,294 stocks and other securities on October 7, 2026.

Those weights can move away from the targets between rebalancings; the targets in BlackRock’s report for the period to June 30, 2026 were 25% Canadian equities, 45% U.S. equities, 25% international developed-market equities and 5% emerging-market equities.

Keeping the mix. BlackRock monitors the fund and rebalances it when needed to bring each asset class back to its target weight. Its report says the fund generally isn’t expected to stray from a target weight by more than a tenth of that weight. BlackRock doesn’t expect to change the targets often, but it can change them at its own discretion.

Currency. XEQT’s units trade in CAD on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The Toronto-listed US fund it holds, XTOT, is not the currency-hedged version: iShares sells that exposure hedged to the Canadian dollar as a separate fund, XTOH. Our page on US-listed vs Canadian-listed ETFs covers hedging.

What does XEQT cost, and how has the fee changed?

XEQT has two fee figures. The management fee, 0.17% a year, is what BlackRock charges, and BlackRock says it covers the fees of the underlying ETFs too, which the fund pays indirectly through their prices. BlackRock also caps the total fees paid to it directly or indirectly by the fund.

The management expense ratio (MER), 0.19% for the six months to June 30, 2026, adds the fund’s other costs and sales tax, including its share of the underlying funds’ costs. The MER comes from the latest semi-annual or annual report, so it trails changes. You don’t pay it as a bill: it comes out of the fund and lowers its returns, whether the fund rises or falls. The ETF Facts lists trading costs separately, as the trading expense ratio.

Fee history. XEQT started on August 7, 2019. On December 18, 2025, BlackRock cut the management fee from 0.18% to 0.17%.

XEQT pays no trailing commission, but your broker may charge a commission each time you buy or sell units. The MER calculator shows what a fee costs over time.

What are XEQT’s distributions made of?

XEQT pays distributions quarterly. BlackRock says they come mainly from what the underlying funds pay out, minus XEQT’s expenses, plus any gains the fund realizes when it sells; at least once a year it pays out all its net taxable income, so the fund itself owes no income tax.

For 2025, BlackRock reported a total of $0.98 a unit, made up of:

• Foreign income: $0.43 (44% of the total)
• Capital gains: $0.32 (33%)
• Eligible Canadian dividends: $0.23 (24%)
• Return of capital: $0.04 (5%)

The foreign income is shown before the foreign tax paid on it, $0.05 a unit, which BlackRock lists as a negative amount, so the parts add up to more than the total. These are shares of the payout, not a yield. Part of the year’s total was paid as a reinvested distribution, in new units rather than cash.

BlackRock sorts each year’s distributions into these types only after the year ends; it reports them to CDS, the clearing house, which passes them to brokers for your tax slips. Your T3 slip comes from your broker, not from iShares.

Does the account you hold it in change anything?

XEQT can be held in registered plans, and it is eligible for dividend reinvestment and pre-authorized purchase plans. Holding one US-listed fund inside it doesn’t change the US withholding tax picture: BlackRock says every Canadian-listed ETF that owns US stocks faces the same withholding whether it holds them directly or through a US or Canadian ETF, and in a taxable or tax-free account alike. The RRSP exemption BlackRock describes applies to US-listed ETFs or US stocks you hold directly. See US-listed vs Canadian-listed ETFs for the cost by account and asset location for which account holds what.

How does XEQT compare with VEQT and ZEQT?

Vanguard’s VEQT and BMO’s ZEQT are two other all-equity funds, and both sit beside XEQT in our all-in-one table. VEQT charges the same 0.17% management fee as XEQT, and ZEQT charges less, 0.15%. VEQT holds more in Canada, 30.6% against XEQT’s 25.6%. The all-in-one ETF comparison has XEQT’s row beside theirs, and its XEQT vs VEQT and XEQT vs ZEQT sections go through the differences.

What doesn’t XEQT do?

• Its target is 100% stocks. The Ontario Securities Commission’s investor site says a half-stock, half-bond mix swings less and is less likely to suffer a large, sharp loss than an all-stock one; XEQT has no bond share in its target to play that role. BlackRock rates its volatility “Medium”, based on how much its returns have changed from year to year.
• BlackRock sets the regional mix. The targets are BlackRock’s choice, and it can change them.
• It can lose money. Its ETF Facts says its value can fall, ETFs carry no guarantees, and you may not get back what you put in; ETFs aren’t covered by CDIC deposit insurance.
• Distributions show up at tax time in a non-registered account. A fund distribution you reinvest is taxed as though you had received it, and the amount reinvested is added to your adjusted cost base (ACB); a fund that pays its year-end capital gains this way (reinvested in new units, then immediately consolidated so your unit count doesn't change) still gives you taxable income and a higher ACB. Selling units can trigger a capital gain. How ETFs are taxed covers return of capital and your cost base, and the T3 slip explained the slip.

Where to go next

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