Is Now a Bad Time to Start Investing in XEQT?

No. If your timeline is 5+ years, the best time to invest was yesterday. The second best time is today.

This question comes up constantly—during bull markets (“it’s too expensive”), bear markets (“it’s going lower”), and sideways markets (“I’ll wait for a clear direction”). The result is always the same: waiting costs you money.

Why “now” is almost always the right answer

The math is clear

Studies consistently show that time in the market beats timing the market. A Vanguard study found that lump-sum investing outperformed waiting for a dip roughly two-thirds of the time across global markets.

For a Canadian investing in XEQT (which holds 12,000+ global stocks), the data is even more compelling—global diversification smooths out the worst of any single market’s bad timing.

The cost of waiting

Every month you sit in cash, you miss:

If you invested $500/month in a globally diversified portfolio and missed the 10 best trading days over a 20-year period, your returns would drop by roughly 50%. Those best days almost always happen right after the worst days—when fear is highest.

“But the market is at all-time highs”

Markets spend most of their time near all-time highs. That’s what long-term growth looks like. The S&P 500 has hit hundreds of all-time highs over the last decade alone—and it kept going higher after most of them.

XEQT is globally diversified across Canada, the US, international, and emerging markets. Even if one market stalls, others may be growing.

“But what if there’s a crash right after I invest?”

Let’s say the absolute worst happens: you invest today and the market drops 30% tomorrow.

Here’s what history tells us about global market recoveries:

If your timeline is 10, 20, or 30 years, a short-term crash is a speed bump, not a cliff.

The real risk: not investing

Inflation in Canada has averaged 2-3% annually. A savings account earning 3-4% barely keeps pace. Over 10 years, $10,000 in cash loses significant purchasing power while the same amount in XEQT has historically grown substantially.

The biggest risk isn’t buying at the wrong time. It’s sitting in cash while your purchasing power slowly evaporates.

What to do right now

  1. If you have a lump sum: Invest it. Statistically, this beats dollar-cost averaging about 2/3 of the time
  2. If that feels scary: Split it into 3-6 monthly chunks and automate the purchases
  3. If you’re investing from paycheques: Set up recurring contributions and stop checking the price
  4. Regardless of approach: The key is to start and stay consistent

Stop Waiting, Start Building

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