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Despite the havoc caused by US President Donald Trump’s trade war, Canadian stocks have held in relatively well, providing good news for fund investors.
To screen for the top-performing funds in this category, we looked for those with the best returns over the last one-, three-, and five-year periods. Eight funds made it through the screen:
Canadian Equity Funds Performance
Over the last 12 months, Canadian equity funds have returned 13.07%. On an annualized rate, these funds have returned 6.16% over the last three years and 13.41% over the last five. That compares with the Morningstar Canada Index, which has returned 15.85% over the last 12 months, 7.56% per year over the last three years, and 14.97% per year over the last five years.
Canadian Equity Funds vs. the Morningstar Canada Index
Source: Morningstar Direct. Data as of April 18, 2025.
What Are Canadian Equity Funds?
Funds in the Canadian equity category must invest at least 90% of their holdings in securities domiciled in Canada, and their average market capitalization must be greater than the Canadian small/mid-cap threshold, according to the Canadian Investment Funds Standards Committee.
Screening for the Top-Performing Canadian Equity Funds
To find the best Canadian equity funds, we looked at returns data from the past one, three, and five years using data available in Morningstar Direct. We screened for Canada-domiciled open-ended and exchange-traded funds in the top 33% of the category using their lowest-cost primary share classes for those periods. We also filtered for funds with a Morningstar Medalist Rating of Bronze, Silver, or Gold. We excluded funds with assets under USD 100 million. This left eight funds.
Because the screen was created with the lowest-cost share class for each fund, some may be listed with share classes that are not accessible to individual investors, or they may be aimed at institutional investors and require large minimum investments. The individual investor versions of those funds may carry higher fees, reducing returns to shareholders. In addition, Medalist Ratings may differ among the share classes of a fund.
CI Morningstar Canada Value Index ETF
Over the past year, the C$279.7 million CI Morningstar Canada Value Index ETF rose 19.89%, while the average fund in its category rose 13.07%. The CI Investments fund, launched in February 2012, has climbed 7.18% over the past three years and 19.70% over the past five.
CI Morningstar Canada Momentum Index ETF
Over the past year, the C$540.5 million CI Morningstar Canada Momentum Index ETF rose 25.31%, while the average fund in its category rose 13.07%. The CI Investments fund, launched in February 2012, has climbed 9.09% over the past three years and 16.05% over the past five.
MDPIM Canadian Equity Index Pool
Over the past year, the C$601.4 million MDPIM Canadian Equity Index Pool fund rose 15.19%, while the average fund in its category rose 13.07%. The MD group fund, launched in January 2018, has climbed 6.80% over the past three years and 14.49% over the past five.
NBI Sustainable Canadian Equity ETF
Over the past year, this C$2.2 billion fund has gained 17.46%, while the average fund in its category is up 13.07%. The fund, launched in March 2020, has climbed 11.97% over the past three years and 15.11% over the past five.
RBC QUBE Canadian Equity Fund
Over the past year, the C$2.2 billion RBC QUBE Canadian Equity Fund rose 16.42%, while the average fund in its category rose 13.07%. The RBC fund, launched in August 2018, has climbed 7.45% over the past three years and 14.44% over the past five.
Canadian Equity Fund
Over the past year, the C$1.3 billion Canadian Equity Fund rose 16.32%, while the average fund in its category rose 13.07%. The SEI fund, which launched in May 2006, has climbed 7.35% over the past three years and 15.28% over the past five.
Vanguard FTSE Canada All Cap Index ETF
Over the past year, the C$8.6 billion fund has gained 15.60%, while the average fund in its category is up 13.07%. The Vanguard fund, launched in August 2013, has climbed 7.19% over the past three years and 14.74% over the past five.
Senior Morningstar analyst Ryan Jackson says: “Vanguard FTSE Canada All Cap ETF offers broad exposure to the Canadian stock market at a low price, a simple formula that few have been able to beat in the long run. Tracking nearly the entire Canadian stock market makes this a reasonably well-diversified fund. It normally tallies around 170 holdings, the top 10 of which represented between 35% and 40% of the portfolio over the past three years. That’s a higher share than the category average but on par with the Morningstar Canada Index, its category benchmark. Sweeping in mid- and small-cap stocks can present an edge when large caps fall out of favor.”
Vanguard FTSE Canada Index ETF
Over the past year, the C$2.1 billion Vanguard FTSE Canada Index ETF rose 15.87%, while the average fund in its category rose 13.07%. The Vanguard fund, which launched in November 2011, has climbed 7.43% over the past three years and gained 14.93% over the past five years.
Jackson says: “This strategy weights stocks by market capitalization, a cost-efficient and proven approach. Market-cap weighting channels the market’s collective view on each holding’s relative value, allowing the fund to coast on the research of the crowd without running up its own expenses. It also requires little turnover, a benefit that’s complemented by index buffers designed to limit turnover and the accompanying trading costs. This fund sweeps in stocks representing the largest 86% of the market, a scope that usually admits somewhere between 45 and 55 holdings. The top 10 of those represented between 45% and 52% of the portfolio over the past three years. That’s a higher share than the category average, but the pedigree of the franchises atop the portfolio dials back firm-specific risk.”
This article was generated with the help of automation and reviewed by Morningstar editors. Learn more about Morningstar’s use of automation.
The author or authors do not own shares in any securities mentioned in this article. Find out about Morningstar’s editorial policies.