BMO S&P 500 Index ETF (ZSP-T)

Low MER at 8 bps. A good choice for S&P exposure, with many of those companies being global players as well. Good choice for a university-aged person in their TFSA; buy it, hold, don't sell.

Great that the viewer is starting her son out early. Years of compounding growth is the best thing that any investor can do.

For anything that's related to just the S&P 500, you really need to know what you're buying. Here, you're buying about 37% in 10 companies. In other words, the top 10 companies represent about 37% of the S&P 500. So the ZSP and VOO are a bit top heavy. There's some risk if mega-cap tech names start to sell off, which they will at some point.
 
So take a look at diversifying. Perhaps VGG, where you still get exposure to tech but more dividend appreciation. Another approach is to look at ETFS that focus on quality, such as QUAL or ZUQ among other names. These two screen for strong ROEs and low leverage.

With the CAD declining vs. USD, it's time to think about locking in gains. Consider ZSP (S&P) vs. ZUE (S&P currency-hedged) where the difference lies in the exchange rate. Also consider if you're trading in a taxable account or not. As CAD weakens, ZSP (having more US exposure) will outperform. Therefore, ZUE (hedged) will outperform once the CAD gets stronger. In a registered account, sell ZSP and buy ZUE. If in a tax account, this is an individual financial planning decision. 

Is very liquid. Only a 0.09% MER. Great to own for S&P exposure. 

He and his team are not tax experts, and the answer is very individual-specific. Consult your tax advisor.

XSP or ZSP are good starting points. One is hedged, one is not. HXS is another option, though it doesn't pay distributions, just accumulates as capital.

Way for Canadians to get exposure to US markets.
Does not like valuation of US equity markets right now.
Would advise to wait for weakness before buying. 
Better investments that are undervalued. 

He likes the S&P500. He hasn’t sold anything.

VSP-T vs XSP-T vs ZSP-T. These all have exposure to the US Large Cap market, yet have different returns thus far this year. You have to be careful on these – some are currency hedged and others are not.

SPY-N vs. ZSP-T. They should be identical except ZSP-T trades in Toronto but has exposure to the US$. If the US$ gets stronger it should help the ETF. SPY-N has underperformed dramatically because it is in US$. They would be identical if you converted the dollars. There is foreign tax withholdings of about 30 basis points on SPY-N. ZSP-T gives you a foreign tax withholding also but you get a tax credit.

For a RRIF? There is a lot of interest in the US market now, and the S&P 500 is the anchor index globally. This has a currency hedge [the BMO web site lists the ZUE-T as the one hedged to the CAD$ and not the ZSP-T], and he doesn’t necessarily see a crisis coming, but sees Canada trading in a little lower range if the oil thing doesn’t happen. You are talking maybe 1%-2% in terms of return between a regular S&P 500 like the Vanguard S&P 500 Index (FVF-T) or the BMO S&P 500 Index (ZSP-T). If you are happy and comfortable with this one, go ahead and buy it. Thinks there is going to be a rebalance in January, so there may be a fair amount of supply in the 1^st 2 or 3 weeks, so you might want to give it a couple of weeks in January.

He would prefer SPDR S&P 500 (SPY-N), which gives you a lot more liquidity, you are just paying for it in US$’s and he likes the US$ exposure.

Is this appropriate for diversification and US holdings in an RRSP? There are a bunch of these that track the S&P 500. This has recently been repriced in a bidding war. These are the products he uses and recommends for his clients. We are now seeing these products being priced at prices that you would not believe how low they are.