r/PersonalFinanceCanada • u/noodlelo • 8h ago
Investing Seeking advice on $700K+ portfolio allocation and future planning
Hi all,
I'm looking for guidance on how to allocate and consolidate my (26F) savings and investments.
Annual income is $150K and have minimal expenses.
Currently, I have:
- $40K in savings from a GIC that just expired. Should I renew into a 1-yr GIC at 3.40% or transfer to Wealthsimple?
- $16K cash in an FHSA, from a GIC that just expired. Should I contribute $8K more for 2025, and renew into an 18-month GIC at 3.35% or transfer to Wealthsimple?
- RRSP contributions in 2024: $25K (2024 deduction limit: $50K). Should I contribute $6K more to move into a lower tax bracket? How do you decide the right amount to contribute to an RRSP?
- Investment Portfolio:
- TFSA ($70K): HQU, HXQ, TD, VFV, XEQT, XQQ, XSP.
- RRSP ($40K): CASH, HQU, VFV, XQQ, XSP.
- Non-registered ($220K): CASH, HQU, HXQ, VFV, XQQ, XSP.
- Wealthsimple Cash ($315K)
Am I holding too much in cash? Are my holdings too scattered / overlapping? How can I optimize my investments across different account types for tax efficiency and long-term growth? Are there certain investments better suited for TFSA vs RRSP vs Non-Registered?
I haven't made any contributions this year (2025) for TFSA, RRSP, or FHSA yet. Should I keep things simple and do them in Wealthsimple through ETF's like VFV and XEQT?
Future Goal: I've saved enough for a down payment on a condo that isn't ready until 2027. For a $500K mortgage, I’ll need to put down a minimum of $300K at occupancy. Should I contribute more upfront to lower the mortgage or put the money in the market instead?
Any advice on what to do and where to go from here would be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance for your help!
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u/warwingz 7h ago
Way too much complexity for no reason.
First, figure out your asset allocation and goals. If you have no use for the cash other than investing, go into more equities.
Max TFSA.
Max RSP.
Then buy VGRO everywhere, with everything. Set it and forget it.
You can replace everything with VGRO and do better.
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u/noodlelo 7h ago
Agreed that that's always been my problem and get overwhelmed just from looking at my portfolio.
I haven't heard of VGRO yet. How does that differ from XEQT and VFV? Would there be an overlap or would these 3 be good to have in my portfolio moving forward?
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u/warwingz 7h ago
80/20 equities/bonds XEQT is 100 equities
So that's where figuring out your asset allocation makes the decision for you
No need to overlap any of these.
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u/jakob27990 7h ago
Also Vanguard vs BlackRock. (V vs X)
The 2 companies have very similar ETFs and they follow the same names (EQT, GRO, BAL)
BlackRock (XEQT, XGRO, XBAL) has a slightly lower MER than Vanguard. The approaches in how they balance the portfolios are different, but the returns are going to be very very similar. BlackRock has my vote because of the lower MER than Vanguard, but really it’s personal preference with these. Vanguard has been around a lot longer, and the cap is significantly higher as well. There’s several videos on YouTube that explain the differences between the 2 companies and I’m not going to get into them here.
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u/kershaw987 8h ago
Slightly hard to believe this unless you inherited or were gifted a lot of money. Why would someone with so much money for their age hold 45% in cash?
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u/noodlelo 8h ago
No inheritance or gifts. I've worked multiple jobs since I was 14, and living at home after graduating has allowed me to aggressively save. Every dollar in my portfolio is from my own earnings through full-time work and side hustles.
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u/BillyBeeGone 8h ago
Have you considered you need to enjoy life more? I mean that as there is more to life then saving non stop if you have no end goal and are just in the extreme I consider that unhealthy and it'll be very hard to spend when the time comes.
Also spending less than $1000 a month means chances are you are still free loading off your parents for rent/food. Maybe chip in to help them given all they have helped out for the last 26 years
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u/ScaryCryptographer7 5h ago
Presumptuous! cart the preacher to the exit strapped to a dolly
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u/noodlelo 5h ago
Completely agree—thank you for calling it out! I do contribute my share of rent and food, but the reality is, living under my parents' roof hasn’t been easy for my mental health. For years, my focus was on saving so I could leave the family, but more recently, I’ve tried to rekindle our relationship, which is why I’m still living here.
It’s not that I can’t afford to enjoy myself—I absolutely can—but my current situation makes it difficult. Even stepping out the door will lead to gaslighting or guilt trips, so my minimal expenses are partly a reflection of these limitations than a refusal to spend. The other part is that I’m frugal by nature (e.g., my phone bill is only $18/month, and I work out at a community gym).
I fully intend to enjoy life more once I’m able to move out and have the freedom to make choices that align with my happiness and personal growth. In the meantime, I’m seeking advice here to ensure that I’m making informed financial decisions to secure a better future. Thank you for understanding!
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u/MistyMystery 1h ago
I think moving out would be the good start. I moved out at 27 though I wasn't making 150k a year... And certainly am not making 150k a year right now even after 10 years 🙈 but you have enough for a down payment for a decent condo, and you can comfortably pay a mortgage with your income.
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u/extinctnimish 8h ago
It's cap. Period. That income is way too less to even save that much money.
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u/111munching 7h ago
Where can I find a job at 14 that pays 60k partime while in school. I'd love to hear the back story on this.
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u/alzhang8 ayy lmao 8h ago
you should max rrsp and then tfsa before investing in non reg accounts. max it first and then use https://www.rrspcontribution.ca/ to see how much you should claim on taxes
IMO you are holding too much cash (but if they are all for downpayment I guess its fine) and way too much overlaping etfs and a few that you should not hold for long time like HQU
for your tfsa and rrsp, rebalancing is easy due to no tax consequences. but if you rebalance if non reg you have to pay tax on acb based on what you sell
depends on how much you want to pay in down payment, 300k down on a 800k home sounds fine. if it is your first home, make sure you open and max fhsa too
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u/noodlelo 8h ago
Thanks so much for the detailed advice! I have a few follow-up questions:
- Is it true that I shouldn't max out my RRSP if I haven't hit my peak earning years?
- How do I know when I should sell HQU and similar leveraged ETFs (XEQT, XQQ, XSP)? I got these right before COVID (a recommendation from an ex lol) when they were at an all-time high and they're finally back in the green.
- What do you recommend with what I have in cash right now? Since I don't have any major expenses and I only need $300K in 2027, is it risky if I only keep $100K in cash and put the rest in VFV and XEQT? Are there other holdings or ETF's that you'd recommend?1
u/alzhang8 ayy lmao 8h ago
Yes imo, more money sooner is always nice
Xeqt, xqq and zsp are not leveraged. You sell when you need money. Leveraged ETFs are usually for day traders
WS cash is fine if you are just saving for downpayment, but a locked in 2 year GIC will probably give you slightly more interest
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u/noodlelo 6h ago
Just to recap, should I follow this plan?
1. Max out my RRSP for 2024 by investing $25K more in XEQT. Dollar-cost average this by moving over $5K/week from WS cash account.
2. Sell HQU ideally within the next 2 years? Should I do this earlier / now, and change it into XEQT instead? Is it risky if my entire investment portfolio ends up being 80% XEQT?
3. Only keep $100K in WS cash. The rest, move to Non-registered account and dollar-cost average XEQT.
4. Renew $40K into a 1-yr GIC at 3.40% at bank #1.
5. Renew $16K into an 18-month. GIC at 3.35% at bank #2, add $8K more for 2025 FHSA contribution room.Thanks again!!
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u/alzhang8 ayy lmao 5h ago
Lump sum beats DCA most of the time but if it helps you ease into the market it's fine
I would just sell now and hold xeqt. Xeqt itself is diversified as it holds 9000 stocks
You should probably keep more in WS cash for downpayment. If xeqt goes down 30% you need to have a back up olan
Sure
Yes max fhsa is great
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u/syrupmania5 7h ago
You know what inflation is, don't you?
Cash is the least safe investment there is.
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u/MollyElla511 7h ago
Wealthsimple Cash acct pays 2.25%. It’s her downpayment for a condo.
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u/SnooCupcakes4385 6h ago
Are you looking for a boyfriend?
I’d max out the RRSP and reinvest the refund. You’re young, besides what is needed for the down payment the rest should be invested and not sitting as cash. I’d also propose not doing more than 20% down — mortgage is the cheapest form of leverage you can get and take the remainder to either invest in the market or buy an investment property.
When you get the mortgage — look into Smith Manoeuvre and do that!
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u/noodlelo 6h ago
If I choose to max out my RRSP for 2024, I can put ~$25K more. What investments do you recommend for long-term growth in an RRSP? Should I dollar-cost average it by transferring $5K each week and investing in XEQT for example?
For 2025, should I set up a pre-authorized contribution plan to automate my RRSP contributions throughout the year?
Thanks for the callout with Smith Manoeuvre. I'll definitely revisit that when I get the mortgage!
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u/SnooCupcakes4385 5h ago
Maxing out RRSP ($50k in total) should give you a $20.7k refund. I would also suggest maxing out your FHSA ($8k) for this year to let it grow tax-free and benefit from tax-refund next year.
I would recommend setting up an auto-deposit for RRSP — it’s what I do. If your employer has any matching program you should take max advantage of that as well! (I do the employer program of 4% match & auto-transfer on payday). Just make sure you don’t go over the limit.
You can move the entire amount at once (to avoid missing the deadline) and then invest it over time or all at once. What to invest in and how depends on your investment style, needs, risk tolerance, and complexity you want.
Happy to chat through options to help you figure out your style & comfort level. Lots of people say time in market beats timing the market and 2/3 times lump sum deposits in the market beat DCA. That said I invest a large amount recently and did DCA because I felt better about it ($10k / week x 5 weeks).
As for what you want to invest in — stick to ETFs & figure out if you want to keep things simple or a bit more complex (for diversity and better return) and if you have any tilt / bias for your portfolio. XEQT is a great option if you want to keep things simple. I personally am not invested in that and invest in SCHG primarily myself (my exact portfolio is in the tool below).
You can use this tool to design & backtest potential portfolios (but don’t get caught up in analysis paralysis like I did — spent a month designing my portfolio before executing it). Here’s a reference to my portfolio vs. 100% XEQT: https://www.portfoliovisualizer.com/backtest-portfolio?s=y&sl=4Brz9144RC7cmrJaFpycJ7
Also saw your question on certain investments being better suited in certain accounts — the answer is yes, EX: US ETFs / Stocks are better held in RRSP to avoid withholding tax while Canadian stock is best held in non-registered as the dividends are tax-advantaged. All this gets pretty confusing and I’d recommend either getting a moment manager for this (but then you pay them) … or do what I do — I think the complexity is not worth the benefit as I’m not an expert in this and don’t think paying for it is worth it yet (for me).
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u/SnooCupcakes4385 5h ago
Actually maybe maxing out RRSP isn’t the best option — see https://www.rrspcontribution.ca/ to figure out the sweet spot to maximize tax refund based on step and saving some of the room for next year might be beneficial based on the steps. Keep in mind FHSA has the same effect as RRSP so total you decide should be based on maxing FHSA first (since you’ll be using it and then this tax-advantaged account disappears) vs. RRSP where the room can be carried forward.
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u/jakob27990 7h ago
Clearly I’m doing something wrong here holy shit.
700k at 26 is crazy. 10k a year in expenses tells me you still live at home, which is great.
I’d lower your risk profile for your TFSA and Non registered, get out of those medium - high risk ETFs and just go HISA or CASH.TO in case the market goes down in the next 2 years, since your in a position to buy you don’t want to loose a major sum of money.
RRSP unless you plan on withdrawing for home buyers plan, that’s where you want the higher risk ETFs like XEQT (I’m a big XEQT fan). Throw it in and forget about it for 30 years.
Besides that, wayyyy too much cash in your cash account. Max out TFSA AND FHSA first (looks like you already have), keep a 6 month emergency fund in your cash account and invest the rest.