Why I'm Still Holding XEQT During Market Volatility (And You Should Too)

Your portfolio is red. The headlines say the sky is falling. Trade wars, tariffs, geopolitical chaos. You’re thinking about selling.

I get it. I’ve been there. And I’m still holding XEQT.

🎁 Get $25 of XEQT for free on Wealthsimple

This page covers why XEQT handles volatility better than most investments, the mistakes that cost people money during downturns, and what you should do instead of panic selling.

Markets Are Scary Right Now. That’s Normal.

Every generation of investors hits a moment where they think, “This is the big one.” The 2008 financial crisis. The 2020 pandemic crash. Trade wars and tariff escalations. Each time, it felt like the rules had changed for good.

They hadn’t.

Global stock markets have returned roughly 7-8% per year over the long run. That number includes world wars, recessions, pandemics, and every crisis you can name. The price of those returns? Periods where your portfolio drops and your stomach drops with it.

Volatility is the cost of admission for long-term returns. You can’t earn equity returns without living through equity drawdowns. If you could, everyone would do it and the returns would disappear.

Why XEQT Handles Volatility Well

Global Diversification Is Your Shield

XEQT holds over 9,000 companies through four underlying ETFs:

When US markets drop because of trade policy, Canadian or international stocks might hold steady. When one sector gets hammered, another absorbs the blow. You’re spread across the entire global economy, and that spread matters most when things get rough.

A portfolio of 5 tech stocks craters during a tech selloff. XEQT dips. There’s a difference.

BlackRock Rebalances for You

During volatile periods, BlackRock adjusts XEQT’s holdings to maintain target allocations. You don’t need to make any decisions. No logging in to sell winners and buy losers. No spreadsheets. The fund does it at 0.20% MER, which is cheaper than a single trade commission used to cost.

You’re Betting on the Global Economy

Owning XEQT means you believe the global economy will keep growing over the next 10, 20, 30 years. Individual companies go bankrupt. Sectors rotate. Countries have rough decades. But the global economy, measured across thousands of companies and dozens of countries, has grown through every crisis in modern history.

That bet has paid off for every investor with a long enough time horizon.

The 4 Biggest Mistakes During Volatile Markets

❌ Mistake #1: Panic Selling

Selling during a downturn turns a temporary drop into a permanent loss. You lock in the damage.

During the 2020 COVID crash, markets fell about 34% in a month. Investors who sold missed a recovery that brought markets to new highs within six months. The people who lost the most money weren’t the ones who held through the crash. They were the ones who sold at the bottom and waited too long to buy back in.

Selling low is the only guaranteed way to lose money in a diversified portfolio.

❌ Mistake #2: Moving to Cash

Cash feels safe. But inflation eats your purchasing power every day you hold it. And the real problem: you now need to decide when to get back in. That decision is harder than the one to get out.

Here’s the kicker. Most of the stock market’s best days happen right after its worst days. Miss just the 10 best trading days over a 20-year period and your returns get cut roughly in half. You can’t capture the recovery if you’re sitting in cash.

❌ Mistake #3: Trying to Time the Bottom

Nobody calls the bottom in real time. Professional fund managers with billion-dollar research budgets can’t do it. Your gut feeling after reading a scary article won’t do it either.

Markets bottom when fear peaks. By the time you feel confident enough to buy back in, you’ve already missed a big chunk of the recovery.

❌ Mistake #4: Abandoning Your Strategy

You picked XEQT for good reasons: low fees, global diversification, simplicity. A red month doesn’t change any of those reasons. A strategy you abandon during hard times was never a strategy. It was a fair-weather plan.

XEQT removes the need to make tactical calls. Your job is to keep buying and keep holding. The strategy works because you stick to it when it’s uncomfortable.

What History Tells Us About Recoveries

Every major market downturn has been followed by a recovery. Every single one.

The pattern is clear. Downturns end. Recoveries follow. Patient investors get rewarded.

If you’re investing for 10+ years, today’s volatility becomes a footnote in your portfolio’s history.

What You Should Do During Volatile Markets

✅ Keep contributing on schedule. Dollar-cost averaging works best when prices are falling. You’re buying more shares for the same money. Your future self will thank you for the shares you bought during the dip.

✅ Buy more if you have spare cash. XEQT at lower prices is XEQT on sale. Same 9,000+ companies, same diversification, lower entry point.

✅ Stop checking your portfolio daily. Once a quarter is enough. Daily checking turns paper losses into emotional decisions. You don’t check the value of your house every day. Treat your portfolio the same way.

✅ Remember your time horizon. If you don’t need this money for 5, 10, or 20 years, a bad quarter is irrelevant. Zoom out.

✅ Talk to someone before making moves. If you’re feeling anxious, talk to a friend who invests or a fee-only financial advisor. Don’t make portfolio decisions at 11 PM after reading doom headlines.

🎁 Get $25 of XEQT for free on Wealthsimple

Volatility Is an Opportunity If You’re Still Buying

Most XEQT holders are in accumulation mode. You’re adding money every month, building a position over years. For you, volatility is a gift.

Say you invest $500 per month. When XEQT drops 15%, that $500 buys roughly 18% more shares than it did last month. When markets recover (and they do), those extra shares amplify your gains.

The investors who build the most wealth aren’t the ones who avoid downturns. They’re the ones who keep buying through them. Dollar-cost averaging turns scary markets into a mathematical advantage.

“But What If This Time Is Different?”

I hear this during every downturn. And every time, it feels true. 2008 felt like the end of the banking system. 2020 felt like the end of normal life. Trade wars feel like the end of globalization.

None of them were.

Could something unprecedented happen? Sure. But XEQT’s design accounts for that uncertainty. You own companies across every major economy, every sector, every market cap size. If the US stumbles, you still own Europe, Canada, Japan, and emerging markets. If one industry collapses, you own all the others.

You don’t need to predict what happens next. You need to stay invested across enough of the world that you benefit no matter which part recovers first.

The Bottom Line: Stay the Course

Markets are volatile. Your portfolio is red. That’s uncomfortable. But here’s what we know:

✅ XEQT holds 9,000+ companies across the globe — real diversification, not the illusion of it

✅ Every major downturn in history has been followed by a full recovery

✅ Panic selling is the one move guaranteed to lock in losses

✅ Dollar-cost averaging turns volatility into a long-term advantage

✅ Time in the market beats timing the market

Your job as an XEQT investor is simple. Keep buying. Keep holding. Let time do what it’s done for every patient investor before you.

Ready to Stay the Course?

🎁 Get $25 of XEQT for free on Wealthsimple

Volatility is temporary. The wealth you build by staying invested through it is not. Open a Wealthsimple account, set up automatic contributions to XEQT, and stop worrying about what the market does this week. Your future self will be glad you did.

Disclosure: This page contains referral links. I may receive compensation if you sign up through these links, but this doesn’t affect my honest assessment. I genuinely believe XEQT is an excellent choice for Canadian investors seeking long-term wealth building.