Vanguard S&P 500 Index ETF (VFV-T)

Very popular option for S&P 500 exposure. High exposure to "Magnificent 7". Very good performance the past 10 years. Good option for long term investors. Must be prepared to hold for 10 years (avoid market sell offs). 

Vanguard is a great place to start. Keep in mind that the S&P is broad market-cap exposure, so it's price x outstanding shares, with no connection to value. Rather, it's more a momentum strategy. Leaves you exposed to Magnificent 7 and concentration risk.

Note that it's a 9 bps expense ratio. Keep in mind that the S&P 500 is very tech and communications heavy, 30% tech and 9% communications. That space is not cheap. Risks. Those sectors have been almost the only leaders this year, so he expects some rotation into other sectors. Consider an equal weight ETF instead.

About 34% is tech and communications, so it's pricey. 25x PE, 4.4x price to book. Yield is 1.6%.

ZDY has better valuations, less exposure to tech and communications of about 20%. 18x PE, 3.3x price to book. Yield is 2.8%. More conservative. Better risk/reward.

Or other similar ETFs? They're all basically the same thing: the S&P 500, the number one index in the world, holding every famous American stock you can think of. Looking ahead, he expects other country indexes to outpace the S&P 500, including the TSX. But you should still have some exposure to the S&P 500. Go with the equal-weighted S&P 500, rather than the hedged or unhedged ETF. Go with the EQL--it's fine. Don't worry about the CAD, because the Bank of Canada won't allow the CAD to go much above 79 cents.

VEQT vs. VFV vs. XWD He prefers VEQT and XWD, because he'd rather be all-world than just the U.S. He likes diversification. VEQT is all-cap vs. XWD is large-cap, and he prefers all-cap. So, VQET is his top choice here.