XEQT Holdings Breakdown: What You Actually Own When You Buy XEQT

When you buy XEQT, you’re not just buying one stock - you’re instantly becoming a shareholder in over 9,000 companies worldwide.

But what exactly do you own? Which companies? Which countries? Which sectors?

This guide breaks down XEQT’s complete holdings so you understand exactly what you’re investing in.

XEQT’s Structure: A Fund of Funds

XEQT is NOT a direct stock picker. Instead, it’s a “fund of funds” that holds other iShares ETFs:

XEQT’s Underlying ETFs:

1. ITOT - iShares Core S&P Total US Stock Market ETF (~47%)
2. XEF - iShares Core MSCI EAFE IMI Index ETF (~21%)
3. XEC - iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets IMI Index ETF (~6%)
4. XIC - iShares Core S&P/TSX Capped Composite Index ETF (~26%)

Total: These 4 ETFs give you exposure to ~9,000 individual companies.

Geographic Allocation: Where Your Money Goes

By Country (Approximate):

Takeaway: You’re heavily weighted toward North America (73%), which makes sense as these are the largest, most developed markets.

Top 20 Holdings in XEQT

When you invest $1,000 in XEQT, here’s approximately how much you own of each company:

Top 20 total: ~$189 of your $1,000 (18.9%)

Remaining 8,980+ companies: ~$811 (81.1%)

Sector Breakdown: Industry Diversification

By Sector (Approximate):

Takeaway: Heavy technology weighting reflects the modern global economy, but you’re still diversified across all major sectors.

Canadian Holdings: What You Own in Canada

Top Canadian Companies in XEQT:

1. Shopify - E-commerce platform
2. Royal Bank of Canada - Banking
3. Toronto-Dominion Bank - Banking
4. Canadian National Railway - Transportation
5. Enbridge - Energy infrastructure
6. Bank of Nova Scotia - Banking
7. Brookfield Asset Management - Asset management
8. Canadian Pacific Railway - Transportation
9. Bank of Montreal - Banking
10. Manulife Financial - Insurance

Total Canadian exposure: ~26% of XEQT

Why so much Canada? Canadian investors often use “home country bias” to reduce currency risk and align with the Canadian economy.

Market Cap Distribution

XEQT owns companies of all sizes:

Large-cap (>$10B): ~80%

• Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, etc.
• Stable, established companies
• Lower growth, lower risk

Mid-cap ($2B-$10B): ~15%

• Growing companies
• Balance of growth and stability

Small-cap (<$2B): ~5%

• High-growth potential
• Higher risk, higher reward potential

Takeaway: Mostly large, stable companies with some exposure to smaller growth companies.

What XEQT Doesn’t Hold

XEQT has ZERO exposure to:

❌ Bonds - 100% equity allocation ❌ Commodities - No gold, silver, or direct commodity exposure ❌ Cryptocurrency - No Bitcoin or crypto exposure ❌ Private equity - Only publicly traded companies ❌ Cash - Fully invested at all times

This is by design: XEQT is for pure equity growth.

How XEQT Chooses Its Holdings

XEQT uses market-cap weighting:

What this means:

• Larger companies get bigger allocations
• Apple (market cap $3T) gets ~100x allocation of smaller companies
• Automatic adjustment as companies grow/shrink
• No active stock picking or opinions

Advantages of market-cap weighting:

✅ Objective - No human bias ✅ Tax-efficient - Minimal turnover ✅ Low-cost - No research team needed ✅ Self-correcting - Winners automatically get larger allocations

Disadvantages:

❌ Concentration - Top 10 companies are ~20% of portfolio ❌ No value tilt - Doesn’t favor cheap stocks ❌ Bubble risk - Overvalued sectors get larger allocations

Holdings Change Over Time

XEQT’s top holdings in 2019 vs 2026:

2019 Top 5:

1. Apple
2. Microsoft
3. Amazon
4. Facebook
5. Alphabet

2026 Top 5:

1. Apple
2. Microsoft
3. Nvidia (entered top 5!)
4. Amazon
5. Meta

What changed: Nvidia’s AI dominance pushed it into top 3. Tesla grew significantly.

Takeaway: XEQT automatically adapts to the changing economy. You don’t need to predict winners.

Overlap: How Much Duplication?

Question: “If I own XEQT and individual stocks, is there overlap?”

Yes, significant overlap with US large-caps:

If you own:

• Apple stock + XEQT: ~2.8% of XEQT is Apple (overlap)
• Canadian banks + XEQT: ~8% of XEQT is Canadian financials
• Tesla + XEQT: ~0.9% of XEQT is Tesla

Recommendation: If you own XEQT, avoid buying individual stocks unless you want to overweight specific companies.

Emerging Markets Exposure

XEQT gives you ~6% exposure to emerging markets:

Top emerging market countries:

• China: ~2%
• India: ~1.5%
• Taiwan: ~1%
• Brazil: ~0.5%
• South Korea: ~0.5%
• Others: ~0.5%

Companies you own include:

• Alibaba (China)
• Tencent (China)
• Taiwan Semiconductor
• Samsung (South Korea)
• Infosys (India)

Why only 6%? Emerging markets are smaller, riskier, and less developed. 6% provides exposure without excessive risk.

How Often Do Holdings Change?

Turnover rate: ~5-10% annually

What this means:

• 90-95% of XEQT’s holdings stay the same each year
• Only small adjustments for rebalancing
• Very tax-efficient (minimal capital gains)

Changes happen when:

• Companies are added/removed from indexes
• Rebalancing to maintain target allocations
• Mergers, acquisitions, or bankruptcies

Dividends: Where They Come From

XEQT’s ~2% dividend yield comes from:

US companies: ~47% of dividends

• Apple, Microsoft, JPMorgan, etc.

Canadian companies: ~26% of dividends

• Canadian banks (RBC, TD, BMO)
• Pipelines (Enbridge)

International: ~27% of dividends

• European stocks tend to pay higher dividends

Distributions: Paid quarterly (March, June, September, December)

Are XEQT’s Holdings “Good”?

Advantages:

✅ Instant diversification - 9,000 companies ✅ Owns the winners - Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia automatically included ✅ Geographic spread - 50+ countries ✅ Sector balance - Not overconcentrated ✅ Quality companies - Mostly profitable, established firms

Potential concerns:

⚠️ Tech concentration - 28% in technology (risky if tech crashes) ⚠️ US dominance - 47% in one country (but it’s the largest economy) ⚠️ Top 10 concentration - ~20% in just 10 companies

Overall verdict: Well-diversified for a single fund, but not perfect.

Comparing XEQT Holdings to VEQT

How do iShares (XEQT) and Vanguard (VEQT) differ?

Similarities:

• Both ~9,000 holdings
• Both market-cap weighted
• Both global diversification
• Nearly identical performance

Differences:

• Slightly different Canadian allocation (XEQT: 26%, VEQT: 30%)
• Different underlying index providers
• XEQT uses iShares ETFs, VEQT uses Vanguard ETFs

Bottom line: Holdings are 95%+ similar. Choice comes down to preference.

The Bottom Line: What You’re Really Buying

When you invest $1,000 in XEQT, you’re buying:

✅ Ownership in 9,000+ companies worldwide ✅ Exposure to every major industry and sector ✅ Presence in 50+ countries across the globe ✅ Automatic rebalancing to maintain optimal allocation ✅ The world’s best companies (Apple, Microsoft, etc.) ✅ A diversified portfolio that would take years to build manually

You’re basically buying:

• The entire global economy
• Every major innovation
• Future economic growth
• Professional management
• Peace of mind

All for 0.20% annually.

Ready to Own the World’s Best Companies?

Start building your globally diversified portfolio with XEQT today. One investment, 9,000+ companies, complete diversification.

Remember: You’re not buying XEQT. You’re buying the entire global economy.

Disclosure: This post contains referral links. Holdings data is approximate and changes over time. Always check iShares official website for current holdings.