Best Global Stock ETFs for Canadian Investors

Investing in global stocks can provide diversification, but the wide variety of markets can make it difficult to navigate individual securities. Global stock exchange-traded funds can be an easy way to get diversified exposure to world markets.

These ETFs invest mainly in stocks from developed markets around the world, along with some in emerging markets. Four of the ETFs that made it through the screen are index funds and five are actively managed, with offerings from firms including BlackRock, Vanguard, Fidelity, and BMO.

For this story, we highlight nine top global stock ETFs for Canadian investors:

• iShares Core MSCI All Country World ex Canada Index ETF XAW
• Vanguard FTSE Global All-Cap ex Canada Index ETF VXC
• iShares MSCI Minimum Volatility Global Index ETF XMW
• iShares MSCI World ETF XWD
• iShares Core Equity ETF XEQT
• BMO All-Equity ETF ZEQT
• Fidelity Global Innovators ETF FINN
• Vanguard All-Equity ETF Portfolio VEQT
• Capital Group Global Equity Select ETF (Canada) CAPG

We screened for ETFs with Gold, Silver, or Bronze Medalist Ratings (meaning our analysts expect them to outperform their categories’ index or median over the long term) that are 100% assigned by Morningstar analysts (rather than indirectly or quantitatively assigned).

Here’s a closer look at our picks. A table with their recent performance is at the end of this article.

iShares Core MSCI All Country World ex-Canada Index ETF

• Morningstar Medalist Rating: Gold
• Morningstar Rating: ★★★★★

The C$3.5 billion iShares Core MSCI All Country World ex-Canada Index ETF offers cheap exposure to a broad index of global stocks outside of Canada with a 0.22% management expense ratio.

It does this by following the MSCI ACWI ex Canada Investable Market Index (an index of more than 8,000 stocks) using a combination of six US and Canadian iShares ETFs: the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF IVV, the iShares Core MSCI EAFE IMI ETF XEF, the iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets IMI ETF XEC, the iShares Core S&P Total US Stock Market ETF ITOT, the iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF IJH, and the iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF IJR. All six funds hold Gold or Silver Medalist ratings.

“iShares Core MSCI All Country World ex Canada Index ETF is an outstanding foreign-stock fund that charges one of the lowest fees in the global equity Morningstar Category,” writes Daniel Sotiroff, senior manager research analyst at Morningstar.

The iShares fund’s three-year annualized return of 19.4% lags the 20.2% return of the Morningstar Global Markets Index over the same period.

Vanguard FTSE Global All-Cap ex-Canada Index ETF

• Morningstar Medalist Rating: Gold
• Morningstar Rating: ★★★★★

The C$2.8 billion Vanguard FTSE Global All-Cap ex-Canada Index ETF offers inexpensive exposure to a broad index of global stocks outside of Canada and has a 0.22% manager expense ratio.

The Vanguard fund tracks the FTSE Global All-Cap ex-Canada China A Inclusion Index, which features over 10,000 stocks from around the world. To do this, it holds four US and Canadian Vanguard ETFs, all of which have Bronze, Silver, or Gold Medalist Ratings: the Vanguard Large-Cap ETF VV, the Vanguard FTSE Developed All Cap ex North America Index VIU, the Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF VWO, and the Vanguard Small-Cap ETF VB.

“Vanguard FTSE Global All-Cap ex Canada Index ETF is an excellent choice for exposure to stocks listed outside of Canada,” writes Sotiroff. “Its extensive portfolio and rock-bottom management expense ratio should prove tough to beat.”

The Vanguard fund’s 19.6% return over the past three years lags the 20.2% return of the Morningstar Global Markets Index over the same period.

iShares MSCI Minimum Volatility Global Index ETF

• Morningstar Medalist Rating: Silver
• Morningstar Rating: ★★★

The C$187 million iShares MSCI Minimum Volatility Global Index ETF tracks the MSCI ACWI Minimum Volatility Index. “It uses [a mathematical model called an] optimizer to carve out a defensive portfolio from the MSCI All Country World Index, a broad benchmark that covers the large- and mid-cap global stock market,” writes Morningstar senior analyst Ryan Jackson.

To track the index, it holds the iShares MSCI Global Minimum Volatility Factor ETF ACWV, a US ETF with a Silver Medalist Rating. The minimum volatility strategy aims to add a defensive tilt to the fund compared to other global index ETFs. So far, it’s been successful. “Its returns were about 30% less volatile than the MSCI ACWI over the 10 years through March 2025,” writes Jackson. “That helped it deliver better risk-adjusted performance than the parent index over that span.”

iShares MSCI World Index ETF

• Morningstar Medalist Rating: Gold
• Morningstar Rating: ★★★★★

This C$1.5 billion fund tracks the MSCI World Index, a cap-weighted index of more than 1,000 large- and mid-cap stocks from developed markets. It does this by holding three US and Canadian ETFs: the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF, the iShares MSCI EAFE ETF EFA, and the iShares S&P/TSX 60 ETF XIU, all of which hold Bronze, Silver, or Gold Medalist Ratings. It differs from the iShares Core MSCI All Country World ex-Canada Index ETF in that it contains Canadian stocks but does not contain emerging-market or small-cap stocks.

“iShares MSCI World Index ETF isn’t the most comprehensive global stock fund available, but it captures most of the global market for a relatively low fee,” writes Sotiroff. The fund’s management expense ratio is 0.48%.

“The fund’s long-term performance has been outstanding. It beat the global equity category average by 3.2 percentage points annualized over the 10 years through December 2024,” writes Sotiroff. However, he adds: “While it remains relatively inexpensive, there are similar alternatives available that charge substantially less.”

The fund’s 20.2% three-year trailing annualized total return puts it in the 11th percentile of Canadian global equity funds, and it matched 20.2% return for the Global Markets Index over the same period.

iShares Core Equity ETF

• Morningstar Medalist Rating: Bronze
• Morningstar Rating: ★★★★★

The C$11.5 billion iShares Core Equity ETF is an actively managed fund that is part of the family of allocation funds. The other allocation funds hold both stocks and bonds, but the Core Equity ETF is 100% allocated to stocks.

While an actively managed fund, it doesn’t choose individual stocks, instead adjusting a portfolio of five Canadian and US index ETFs: the iShares Core S&P Total US Stock ETF, the iShares Core MSCI EAFE IMI ETF, the iShares Core S&P/TSX Capped Composite ETF XIC, the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF, and the iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets IMI ETF. All five funds hold Gold, Silver, or Bronze Medalist Ratings.

The fund’s 19.2% annualized total return over the past three years puts it in the top fifth of the global equity category, though still short of the 20.2% annualized return for the Global Markets Index over that period.

BMO All-Equity ETF

• Morningstar Medalist Rating: Bronze
• Morningstar Rating: ★★★★

The C$440 million BMO All-Equity ETF belongs to a family of allocation funds. Its sister funds hold both stocks and bonds, while the All-Equity ETF only holds stocks.

While an actively managed fund, it has a global stock portfolio through holdings of six Canadian stock Index ETFs: the BMO S&P 500 ETF (CAD), the BMO S&P/TSX Capped Composite ETF ZCN, the BMO MSCI EAFE ETF ZEA, the BMO MSCI Emerging Markets ETF ZEM, the BMO S&P US Mid Cap ETF ZMID, and the BMO S&P US Small Cap ETF ZSML. All six funds hold Bronze, Silver, or Gold Medalist Ratings.

The fund’s 19.0% annualized total return over the past three years puts it in the top fifth of the global equity category but short of the 20.2% return from the Global Markets Index.

Fidelity Global Innovators ETF

• Morningstar Medalist Rating: Silver
• Morningstar Rating: N/A

The C$1.4 billion Fidelity Global Innovators ETF is an actively managed fund with 103 stocks from around the world.

“Mark Schmehl focuses on two types of companies: those with weak fundamentals showing signs of improvement and innovation leaders with high market expectations,” writes Morningstar manager research analyst Luke Richardson.

The ETF is fairly new, but its manager has been running the same strategy in a traditional mutual fund since 2017. The mutual fund has returned 40.2% over the past three years, putting it in the top percentile of funds in the global equity category, and well above the Global Markets Index’s 20.2% return over that period.

The fund is concentrated in US stocks, with 75% allocated to them, compared with an average of 61% for the global equity category.

Vanguard All-Equity ETF Portfolio

• Morningstar Medalist Rating: Silver
• Morningstar Rating: ★★★★★

The Vanguard All-Equity ETF portfolio is one of a series of allocation funds with varying levels of stocks and bonds. While the other funds in the series hold both stocks and bonds, the Vanguard All-Equity ETF Portfolio only holds stocks.

While technically an active fund, it invests through allocations to four Canadian index ETFs to create a global stock portfolio: the Vanguard US Total Market ETF, the Vanguard FTSE Canada All Cap ETF VCN, the Vanguard FTSE Developed All Cap ex North America Index ETF, and the Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets All-Cap ETF. All four ETFs hold a Gold, Silver, or Bronze Medalist Rating.

The fund’s three-year trailing annualized total return of 19% puts it in the top fifth of the global equity fund category but below the 20.2% return for the Global Markets Index.

Capital Group Global Equity Select ETF (Canada)

• Morningstar Medalist Rating: Bronze
• Morningstar Rating: N/A

Another comparatively new fund is the actively-managed C$169 million Capital Group Global Equity Select ETF (Canada) fund, which was launched in October 22, 2024. However, the fund follows a similar strategy to the C$14.9 billion Capital Group Global Equity (Canada) Fund which dates back to 2002.

“The strategy operates a sleeve manager structure, with each of the six managers responsible for a portion of the portfolio,” writes Richardson. “Since June 2025, Carl Kawaja has been in charge of allocating money to the individual managers and manages inflows and outflows. The managers demonstrate different investment philosophies, which allows them to stick with their highest-conviction picks and should enhance portfolio diversification.”