Voyageur 152
When U.S. ETFs Earn the Paperwork, and Workplace Pensions Leave a Big Gap.
News for residents of the “11th province”: Canadians abroad.
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When U.S. ETFs Earn the Paperwork
Canadian investors now have more than $1 trillion invested in Canadian-listed ETFs, but the biggest U.S. ETF by itself is larger than the whole Canadian ETF market. MoneySense used that lopsided fact to reopen a very practical question. When is a U.S.-listed ETF worth the hassle?
The answer depends on currency conversion costs, management fees, liquidity, withholding tax, and whether the account creates extra U.S. tax paperwork. Canadian-listed ETFs are simpler because they trade in Canadian dollars. U.S.-listed ETFs can be cheaper, deeper, and sometimes the only way into a specific strategy.
That calculus can gets more important when you live abroad. A Canadian account, a foreign salary, a U.S. dollar cash pile, and a future return to Canada can all point in different directions. One ticker symbol can drag a lot of baggage behind it.
Read more: MoneySense
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Workplace Pensions Leave a Gap
Canada’s workplace pension pile passed $2.1 trillion in 2024, but The Globe and Mail says the money is wildly uneven once you split public and private workers. On a labour-force basis, the article puts public-sector workplace pension assets at $385,000 per worker. Private-sector workers tip the scales at $26,000.
Even after adding retirees into the count, the gap remains huge. The public-sector figure is nearly $294,000 per worker and retiree, while the private-sector side is near $19,900. RRSPs help close part of the distance, but they also put more of the work onto individuals.
For Canadians outside Canada, that turns retirement planning into a spreadsheet effort. CPP, OAS, RRSPs, TFSAs, locked-in pensions, tax residency, and exchange rates all meet in the same place. The old three-legged stool is often wobblier than advertised.
Read more: The Globe and Mail