XEQT in 2026: Q1 Performance Review and What's Ahead for Investors

Every January, I do the same thing: I open my brokerage app, look at my XEQT balance, and ask myself the same question every investor asks — “How’d we do last year, and what’s coming next?”

It’s now April 2026, and we’re one quarter into the year. Markets have given us plenty to think about — ongoing trade tensions, shifting central bank policies, the continued AI boom, and the usual drumbeat of “experts” predicting doom or euphoria. Through it all, my XEQT position has been quietly doing what it always does: giving me exposure to the entire global economy in a single ticker.

Let me walk you through what’s happened so far in 2026, how XEQT’s diversification has played out, and why the answer to “is XEQT still a good investment?” hasn’t changed one bit.

1. XEQT’s Track Record: Annual Returns Since Launch

Before we talk about 2026, let’s ground ourselves in XEQT’s full history. XEQT launched in August 2019, so we have over six years of real performance data:

Note: These are approximate total returns in CAD, including dividends. Actual returns vary slightly depending on when you measure and whether dividends were reinvested.

The pattern is clear: XEQT has delivered strong long-term returns despite having one significantly negative year (2022) and facing multiple “crisis” events along the way. COVID, inflation, rate hikes, geopolitical conflict, trade wars — XEQT weathered all of it.

If you invested $10,000 when XEQT launched in 2019, it would be worth roughly $18,000-$19,000 today. Not bad for zero effort and zero stock picking.

2. Q1 2026: What’s Happened So Far

The first quarter of 2026 has been a mixed bag, and that’s actually pretty normal. Here’s what’s been driving markets:

Trade tensions continue

If you’ve been following the news, you know that global trade relationships remain complicated. Tariffs, counter-tariffs, and trade policy uncertainty have created volatility, particularly for export-heavy economies. We wrote about how tariffs affect XEQT in detail earlier this year — the short version is that XEQT’s global diversification acts as a natural buffer because you’re not overexposed to any single country’s trade relationships.

Central banks diverge

The Bank of Canada and the US Federal Reserve have been charting somewhat different courses in 2026. Interest rate policy continues to be a major market driver, and we covered how rate changes impact XEQT previously. The key takeaway remains the same: XEQT holds equities, not bonds, so interest rate movements affect it indirectly through economic conditions rather than directly through bond math.

AI and tech remain strong

The artificial intelligence theme that drove so much of the 2023-2024 rally has continued into 2026, though with more nuance. Markets are starting to differentiate between AI companies with real revenue and those running on hype. XEQT’s broad exposure means you own the AI winners (NVIDIA, Microsoft, Alphabet) without making a concentrated bet on which specific companies will dominate.

Canadian dollar movements

The CAD has been volatile in early 2026, influenced by commodity prices, trade policy, and interest rate differentials with the US. For XEQT holders, a weaker Canadian dollar boosts the value of your foreign holdings (roughly 75% of the portfolio), while a stronger CAD acts as a headwind. Over time, these currency effects tend to wash out.

The bottom line for Q1

Markets have been choppy but not catastrophic. Some weeks have been great, others have been rough. This is completely normal. If you’ve been checking your portfolio daily, you’ve experienced unnecessary stress. If you’ve been investing automatically and ignoring the noise, you’ve been living your best life.

3. How Diversification Has Played Out

One of the most interesting things about 2026 so far is how different regions have performed differently — which is exactly the scenario where XEQT’s diversification shines.

Regional performance snapshot (Q1 2026, approximate)

The beauty of this is that you didn’t have to predict which region would outperform. You own all of them. When the US stumbles, maybe international markets pick up the slack. When emerging markets are volatile, Canadian banks provide stability. That’s the entire point of global diversification.

Compare this to investors who went all-in on just the S&P 500 or just Canadian stocks. They’re making a concentrated bet on one country’s economy. Sometimes that bet pays off spectacularly. Other times — like Canada in 2014-2016 during the oil crash — it really doesn’t.

4. Has Anything Changed About XEQT Itself?

People often ask whether BlackRock has made any changes to XEQT’s structure or allocation. The short answer: XEQT’s underlying approach hasn’t changed. It still holds the same four underlying ETFs (ITOT, XIC, XEF, IEMG), and BlackRock periodically rebalances the weights to maintain the target allocation.

The MER remains 0.20%, making it one of the cheapest all-in-one ETFs available in Canada.

A few things worth noting:

• XEQT’s total assets under management continue to grow. More Canadians are discovering the one-ETF approach, which is great for liquidity and keeps bid-ask spreads tight.
• The underlying indices have naturally evolved as companies grow and shrink. The AI-related stocks have become a larger portion of the US allocation, for example, simply because those companies’ market caps have grown.
• Dividend payments continue on the usual quarterly schedule. XEQT’s yield sits at roughly 2%, which gets reinvested if you have DRIP enabled.

In other words: XEQT is doing exactly what it’s supposed to do. No surprises. No drama. Just quiet, global diversification.

5. How XEQT Compares to Other Options in 2026

With interest rates still elevated compared to the near-zero era, some investors are wondering whether alternatives are more attractive. Let’s look at the landscape:

XEQT vs GICs in 2026

GIC rates have come down from their 2023-2024 peaks but still offer 3-4% for 1-year terms. That’s decent for short-term savings, but it doesn’t beat XEQT’s long-term expected return of 7-9%. For money you won’t need for 5+ years, XEQT remains the better choice. For money you need within 1-3 years, GICs still make sense.

XEQT vs high-interest savings accounts

HISA rates of 3-4% are fine for emergency funds and short-term parking, but they lose to inflation over time. XEQT is for wealth building; savings accounts are for wealth preservation. Different tools, different jobs.

XEQT vs bonds

Bond funds have stabilized after the rough 2022-2023 period, and they offer more predictable income. But if you’re more than 10 years from retirement, XEQT’s all-equity approach has historically outperformed balanced portfolios by a meaningful margin. If you’re closer to retirement and want to reduce volatility, consider XBAL or XGRO instead.

6. What About the Rest of 2026?

I’m going to be honest with you: I have no idea what markets will do for the rest of the year. Neither does anyone else, despite what the talking heads on BNN or the “experts” on Twitter/X claim.

Here’s what I do know:

• Markets could go up 20%. They could drop 20%. They could go sideways.
• Over the next 10-20 years, global equity markets have historically returned 7-10% annually. There’s no reason to believe this fundamental dynamic has changed.
• Every single year, there are credible-sounding reasons to be scared. Tariffs, recessions, elections, geopolitical conflict, pandemics — there’s always something. And every single time, the long-term investors who stayed the course came out ahead.

My plan for the rest of 2026 is exactly the same as my plan for every year:

1. Continue my automatic bi-weekly XEQT purchases
2. Don’t check my portfolio more than once a quarter
3. Ignore market predictions
4. Focus on my savings rate and career
5. Reread this post if I ever feel the urge to “do something”

7. Lessons from XEQT’s First Six Years

XEQT has now been around long enough to give us some meaningful lessons:

Lesson 1: The worst days are always followed by recovery

2020 saw XEQT drop roughly 30% in a few weeks during the COVID crash. It recovered fully within months. 2022 saw a grinding 11% decline that took about a year to recover from. Both times, investors who held (or better yet, bought more) were rewarded.

Lesson 2: Time in the market beats timing the market

Someone who invested $10,000 in XEQT at launch and never looked at it again is up roughly 80-90%. Someone who tried to time the dips and rallies — selling during COVID, waiting for a better entry in 2023 — almost certainly did worse.

Lesson 3: Diversification doesn’t mean every year is smooth

Some years, the US portion of XEQT carried the returns while Canada lagged. Other years, Canadian energy stocks boomed while international markets struggled. Diversification doesn’t eliminate volatility — it ensures no single bad bet ruins your portfolio.

Lesson 4: The MER matters enormously

At 0.20%, XEQT has kept more of your returns than virtually any mutual fund available in Canada. Over six years, the compounding effect of low fees is already visible in the performance data.

Lesson 5: Simplicity is sustainable

The XEQT investors who’ve done best are the ones who set up automatic purchases and stopped paying attention. No rebalancing. No sector rotation. No “should I add more tech?” No stress. Just consistent purchasing of a single, globally diversified ETF.

8. Your 2026 XEQT Action Plan

Whether you’re new to XEQT or have been holding for years, here’s what I’d suggest for the rest of 2026:

If you’re already invested:

• Keep going. Don’t change your contribution amount because of market volatility.
• Don’t check too often. Once a quarter is plenty. Once a month is fine. Daily is harmful.
• Reinvest dividends. Either through DRIP or by buying more shares when dividends land.
• Review your overall financial plan once this year — contribution room, emergency fund, debt levels. We have an annual portfolio checkup guide for this.

If you’re thinking about starting:

• Now is fine. There is no perfect time. The best time was years ago. The second best time is today.
• Start with whatever you can. $50, $100, $500 — the amount matters less than the habit.
• Set up automatic purchases. Wealthsimple’s recurring buy feature is perfect for this. We have a guide to automating your XEQT purchases.
• Pick the right account. TFSA first for most people. Our TFSA vs RRSP comparison can help you decide.

If you’re nervous about the market:

• Read our post on market volatility. It’s normal. It’s temporary. It’s the price of admission for long-term equity returns.
• Remember your timeline. If you don’t need this money for 10+ years, a bad quarter or even a bad year is meaningless in the grand scheme.
• Focus on what you can control. Your savings rate, your contribution schedule, your career — these have far more impact on your wealth than what the market does this quarter.

The Bottom Line

Six-plus years into XEQT’s existence, the thesis is stronger than ever. Global diversification works. Low fees compound in your favour. Simplicity prevents costly mistakes. And the long-term trajectory of the global economy continues to point upward, even through tariffs, pandemics, rate hikes, and whatever else 2026 throws at us.

Is XEQT still a good investment in 2026? The answer is the same as it was in 2020, 2022, 2024, and every year in between: yes, if you’re investing for the long term.

The market will give you reasons to doubt. Ignore them. The market will give you reasons to panic. Ignore those too. Just keep buying XEQT, keep living your life, and let time and compound growth do the heavy lifting.

See you at the next quarterly check-in.