The XEQT Investor's Annual Portfolio Review: A 30-Minute Checklist That Could Save You Thousands

I went three full years without looking at my portfolio. Three years. I set up automatic contributions into XEQT on Wealthsimple, told myself “set it and forget it,” and took that advice more literally than anyone probably should.

When I finally logged in – on a random Tuesday evening because I needed to update my address – I found three things that made my stomach drop. First, my auto-invest had silently stopped eight months earlier after my linked bank account changed. Eight months of contributions, just… not happening. Second, I still had my ex-girlfriend listed as the beneficiary on my TFSA. We had broken up two years prior. Third, I had accumulated almost $14,000 in unused TFSA contribution room that I could have been filling instead of letting cash pile up in a savings account earning next to nothing.

None of these were complicated problems. Each one took about five minutes to fix. But the cost of not catching them earlier? Thousands of dollars in missed growth. And potentially a very awkward legal situation if something had happened to me.

That was when I realized that “set it and forget it” needs a small asterisk: set it, forget about it for 364 days, and then spend 30 minutes once a year making sure everything is still working.

That is what this post is about. The 30-minute annual review that keeps your XEQT strategy on track – without turning you into someone who obsessively checks their portfolio every day.

1. Why “Set It and Forget It” Isn’t Quite Right

Let me be clear: XEQT is the closest thing to a maintenance-free portfolio that exists. It holds over 9,000 stocks across 49 countries. It automatically rebalances its four underlying funds so you do not have to. It charges a low MER. You do not need to pick stocks, time markets, or rebalance between asset classes. Compared to managing a portfolio of individual stocks or even a three-fund portfolio, XEQT eliminates about 95% of the work.

But that last 5% still needs you. Here is what XEQT cannot do for you:

• Maximize your contribution room. XEQT does not know whether your TFSA, RRSP, or FHSA has space left. It does not know that you got a raise and can afford to contribute more.
• Keep your beneficiaries current. Life changes – marriages, divorces, births, deaths – and your account designations need to reflect reality.
• Optimize your account structure. The right split between TFSA, RRSP, FHSA, and non-registered accounts depends on your income, tax bracket, and goals. That changes over time.
• Confirm your automation is running. Auto-invest features can break when bank accounts change, cards expire, or platforms update their systems.
• Harvest tax losses. In non-registered accounts, selling at a loss to offset gains is a manual decision only you can make.
• Adjust for life changes. Getting married, having kids, changing jobs, buying a house – these events can shift your entire financial picture.

All of this takes about 30 minutes, once a year. Pick a date – I use January 2nd, when the markets are closed and I have nothing better to do – and run through the checklist below.

2. The 30-Minute Annual Checklist

Here is the full checklist, broken into eight checks. I have timed myself doing each one, and the whole thing takes me between 25 and 35 minutes depending on how much coffee I have had.

Check 1: Contribution Room Audit (5 minutes)

This is the single most valuable check on the list. Unused contribution room is free money left on the table – or more precisely, it is tax-sheltered growth you are missing out on.

Log in to your CRA My Account (or check your most recent Notice of Assessment) and note your available room in each registered account:

What you are looking for:

• Unused TFSA room. If you have more than $7,000 in unused room, you may want to make a lump-sum contribution or increase your monthly auto-invest amount. Every dollar sitting in a savings account instead of your TFSA is earning taxable interest instead of tax-free XEQT growth.
• Unused RRSP room. Especially relevant if your income increased this year. Higher income means a bigger tax deduction from RRSP contributions. Check our guide on TFSA vs RRSP priority if you are not sure which to fill first.
• FHSA eligibility. If you are a first-time home buyer and have not opened an FHSA yet, you are missing one of the best tax-advantaged accounts available in Canada. The $8,000 annual limit does not carry forward until you open the account, so every year you wait is a year of room lost forever.

Common pitfall: If you withdrew money from your TFSA in a previous year, that room came back on January 1st of the following year. Check the actual number on CRA My Account – it may be higher than you think.

Check 2: Auto-Invest Is Still Running (3 minutes)

This takes two minutes and catches one of the most common silent failures I see. Log in to your brokerage account (Wealthsimple, Questrade, or wherever you hold XEQT) and verify:

• Auto-invest / recurring buy is active and scheduled
• The linked bank account or funding source is still valid
• The contribution amount still matches your target
• Contributions are going to the correct account (TFSA vs RRSP vs non-registered)

If you use Wealthsimple’s auto-invest feature, check the “Recurring” or “Auto-invest” section of your account. It should show your next scheduled purchase date and amount.

Why this breaks: Bank account changes, expired pre-authorized debit agreements, platform updates that reset settings, or insufficient funds that pause the automation. I have heard from readers who went 6-12 months without noticing. At $500/month, that is $3,000-$6,000 in missed contributions – and potentially tens of thousands in missed long-term growth.

Check 3: Beneficiary Designations Are Current (3 minutes)

This one is easy to check and potentially catastrophic to forget. Log in to each of your investment accounts and confirm:

• TFSA successor holder / beneficiary is correct
• RRSP beneficiary is correct
• Non-registered account beneficiary (if applicable) is correct
• Designations reflect your current relationship status

I wrote an entire guide on beneficiary designations because this topic is so important and so overlooked. The short version: if you have a spouse or common-law partner, they should be your successor holder (not just beneficiary) on your TFSA, and your beneficiary on your RRSP. Getting this wrong can cost your family tens of thousands of dollars.

Life events that should trigger an update:

• Marriage or new common-law partnership
• Divorce or separation
• Birth or adoption of a child
• Death of a previously named beneficiary
• You simply forgot to set one up in the first place (more common than you think)

On Wealthsimple, you can check and update your beneficiaries in the account settings section. It takes about two minutes per account.

Check 4: Account Type Optimization (5 minutes)

Are your investments in the right accounts? This is worth revisiting annually because your income and tax situation may have changed.

The general priority for most Canadian investors:

1. FHSA (if you are a first-time home buyer) – contributions are tax-deductible AND withdrawals for a home purchase are tax-free. It is the only account in Canada with a double tax advantage.
2. TFSA – tax-free growth, flexible withdrawals, no impact on government benefits. Best for most people.
3. RRSP – best if your marginal tax rate is high now and expected to be lower in retirement.
4. Non-registered – after all registered accounts are maxed.

Questions to ask yourself:

• Did my income change significantly this year? (If it went up, RRSP contributions become more valuable because the tax deduction is worth more)
• Am I still prioritizing the right accounts? (Review our TFSA vs RRSP priority guide if you are unsure)
• Am I holding XEQT in a non-registered account while I still have registered room available? (This is almost always a mistake)
• Do I have any old investments in a high-fee account that should be transferred?

If you realize you have been contributing to the wrong account, do not panic. Adjust going forward – the important thing is catching it now rather than five years from now.

Check 5: Tax-Loss Harvesting Window – Non-Registered Only (5 minutes)

This check only applies if you hold XEQT in a non-registered (taxable) account. If all of your XEQT is in a TFSA, RRSP, or FHSA, skip to Check 6.

Tax-loss harvesting is the practice of selling an investment at a loss to offset capital gains elsewhere in your portfolio. It is one of the few active tax strategies that makes sense even for passive investors.

Here is what to check:

• Do I have any unrealized losses in my non-registered account?
• Did I realize any capital gains this year (from selling other investments, receiving distributions, etc.)?
• Is it close to year-end? (Tax-loss harvesting is most commonly done in November/December, but reviewing your situation now helps you plan)

Important: Canada has a superficial loss rule – if you sell XEQT at a loss, you cannot buy it back (or a substantially identical security) within 30 calendar days before or after the sale. You can buy a similar but not identical ETF (like VEQT or ZEQT) to maintain exposure during the window.

If you have significant unrealized losses and also realized capital gains, the savings from harvesting can be substantial. For more on avoiding tax mistakes, see our dedicated guide.

Check 6: Life Changes Check (3 minutes)

This is less about numbers and more about stepping back and asking whether your financial situation has materially changed. Run through this mental checklist:

• Did I get married, divorced, or enter/leave a common-law relationship?
• Did I have or adopt a child?
• Did I change jobs or experience a significant income change?
• Did I buy or sell a home?
• Did I receive an inheritance or other windfall?
• Did I take on or pay off significant debt?
• Am I closer to retirement than I was comfortable with last year?
• Has my risk tolerance changed? (Be honest about this one)

Why this matters: A $20,000 raise might mean increasing your monthly contributions by $500. Having a child might mean adjusting your emergency fund target. Getting married means updating beneficiaries (Check 3) and possibly rethinking your account strategy.

None of these require you to sell XEQT or change your core strategy. But they might change how much you invest and where you invest it.

Check 7: Fee Audit (3 minutes)

Fees can creep in from unexpected places, even for XEQT investors on commission-free platforms.

• Am I paying any account fees? (Some platforms charge inactivity fees, administration fees, or custody fees)
• Am I paying trading commissions? (If you are still on a platform that charges $5-$10 per trade, it might be time to switch)
• Do I have any old accounts at banks or other institutions charging higher fees?
• Have I checked whether XEQT’s MER has changed? (It has been 0.20% for years, but worth confirming)

The numbers that matter: XEQT’s MER of 0.20% means you pay $2 per year for every $1,000 invested. But if you are also paying $50/year in account fees, $10 per trade on 12 monthly purchases ($120/year), and holding a forgotten mutual fund at your bank charging a 2.0% MER – those fees add up fast. Over 25 years, an extra 1% in annual fees on a $100,000 portfolio costs you approximately $50,000 in lost growth.

Check 8: Emergency Fund Status (3 minutes)

Your emergency fund is what allows you to stay invested in XEQT during downturns. Without it, a job loss or unexpected expense could force you to sell at the worst possible time.

• Do I still have 3-6 months of essential expenses in a high-interest savings account?
• Have my monthly expenses changed? (If they went up, your emergency fund target may need to increase)
• Did I dip into my emergency fund this year? (If so, replenish it before increasing XEQT contributions)
• Is my emergency fund earning a competitive interest rate? (HISA rates change frequently – a quick comparison takes 30 seconds)

My rule of thumb: If your emergency fund is below three months of expenses, pause non-registered XEQT contributions and rebuild it first. Continue TFSA and RRSP contributions if possible, but your cash cushion needs to be solid before you prioritize growth.

3. The Printable Checklist

Here is the condensed version. Bookmark this page, print it out, or screenshot it. Run through it once a year and you are done.

Annual XEQT Portfolio Review Checklist

Contribution Room

• Check TFSA room on CRA My Account
• Check RRSP room on CRA My Account or NOA
• Check FHSA room (if applicable)
• Adjust contribution amounts if room is available

Automation

• Confirm auto-invest is active and scheduled
• Verify linked bank account is correct
• Confirm contribution amount matches target

Beneficiaries

• Review TFSA successor holder / beneficiary
• Review RRSP beneficiary
• Review non-registered beneficiary (if applicable)
• Update if any life changes occurred

Account Optimization

• Confirm investments are in the right account types
• Review priority: FHSA > TFSA > RRSP > Non-registered
• Check for old high-fee accounts to consolidate

Tax (Non-Registered Only)

• Check for unrealized losses (tax-loss harvesting opportunity)
• Review realized capital gains for the year
• Plan timing if harvesting makes sense

Life Changes

• Relationship status change?
• New dependents?
• Income change?
• Home purchase or sale?
• Risk tolerance shift?

Fees

• Confirm no unexpected account fees
• Confirm commission-free trading is active
• Check for old high-fee accounts

Emergency Fund

• Confirm 3-6 months of expenses in HISA
• Replenish if depleted during the year
• Adjust target if expenses changed

4. What to Review and How Often

Not everything needs an annual deep dive. Some things deserve a quick glance more frequently, while others truly only need attention once a year. Here is how I structure it:

Notice what is NOT on this list: Checking daily stock prices. Reading market forecasts. Watching financial news. Comparing your returns to the S&P 500 this quarter. None of that is productive for an XEQT investor.

The monthly “confirm auto-invest ran” is a 30-second glance to make sure the scheduled purchase went through. Check the transaction, close the app, go back to your life.

5. Common Mistakes Found During Annual Reviews

These are the issues that come up most often when people finally sit down for their annual review:

Leaving Money in Cash

You transfer money to your brokerage account but forget to actually buy XEQT with it. Or your auto-invest purchases a fixed dollar amount and the leftover cash sits there, not invested. The fix: After each auto-invest cycle, check that your cash balance is close to zero.

Forgetting About Old Accounts

A forgotten RRSP at a former employer’s group plan, or a TFSA at a bank you no longer use, holding a mutual fund with a 2.0%+ MER. During your annual review, confirm every account you have ever opened is either consolidated or closed.

Not Updating Contributions After a Raise

You set up auto-invest at $300/month three years ago. Two raises later, it is still at $300/month. The fix: Every time you get a raise, increase your auto-invest by at least 50% of the after-tax raise amount. Your annual review is the backstop for catching this if you forgot.

TFSA Over-Contribution

The CRA charges a 1% per month penalty on any amount over your TFSA contribution limit. The most common cause: withdrawing from your TFSA and re-contributing in the same calendar year, not realizing the room does not come back until January 1st of the following year. The fix: Always check your actual room on CRA My Account before making a large contribution.

Ignoring Non-Registered Tax Implications

If you hold XEQT outside registered accounts, you receive taxable distributions each year, and your adjusted cost base changes with each distribution and purchase. If you are not tracking your ACB, you could overpay taxes when you eventually sell. The fix: Use AdjustedCostBase.ca to track your ACB. For a deeper dive, see our guide on capital gains tax and XEQT.

No Beneficiaries Set At All

More common than anyone wants to admit. You clicked “skip” on the beneficiary page when you opened the account and never came back. Your annual review is the time to fix this – two minutes per account could save your family months of probate delays and thousands in legal fees.

6. The Bottom Line

Here is the paradox of the XEQT strategy: the thing that makes it so powerful – simplicity – is also the thing that makes people neglect it. When your investment strategy is “buy one ETF and hold it forever,” it is easy to assume there is literally nothing to do. And for 364 days a year, that is correct.

But one day a year, you need to sit down for 30 minutes and make sure the machine is still running. Check your contribution room. Confirm your auto-invest is working. Verify your beneficiaries. Look at your account structure. Glance at your emergency fund. Check for fees. No stock picking. No market timing. No analyst reports. Just a simple check of the things that actually matter.

I used to think that being a passive investor meant being completely hands-off. Now I know better. Being a passive investor means being strategically passive about the things that do not matter (market movements, daily prices, quarterly performance) and deliberately active about the things that do (contribution room, automation, beneficiaries, tax efficiency).

Pick a date. Put it in your calendar. Run through the checklist. Then go back to living your life, knowing your XEQT portfolio is doing exactly what it should.

Thirty minutes a year. That is the cost of keeping your financial future on track. I would say that is a pretty good deal.

Disclosure: This post contains referral links. I may receive compensation if you sign up through these links, but this does not affect my honest assessment. I genuinely believe XEQT is an excellent choice for Canadian investors seeking simple, low-cost, globally diversified growth. This is not financial advice. Consult a qualified financial advisor for personalized guidance.