Balanced multi factor Canadian focused portfolio with strong momentum tilt and notable gold concentration
as of Mar 19, 2026Risk profile
- Secure Speculative
The risk profile, derived from past market volatility, reflects the level of risk the portfolio is exposed to. This assessment helps align your investments with your financial goals and comfort with market fluctuations.
Diversification profile
- Focused Diversified
The diversification assessment evaluates the spread of investments across asset classes, regions, and sectors. This ensures a balanced mix, reducing risk and maximizing returns by not concentrating in any single area.
What type of investor this portfolio is suitable for
Balanced Investors
This setup fits an investor who’s comfortable with equity‑driven ups and downs and has a long time horizon, often 10 years or more. They typically prioritize growth over income and are okay with only a modest dividend stream, reinvesting most distributions. A moderate‑to‑higher risk tolerance is needed, especially given the gold‑mining and equity concentration, yet there’s still a preference for diversification across regions, sectors, and factors rather than making ultra‑concentrated single‑stock bets. Goals might include building retirement savings, growing a taxable investment account, or compounding wealth for future big purchases. This kind of investor pays attention to costs, likes simple ETF structures, and accepts that short‑term drawdowns are the price of aiming for strong long‑term returns.
Positions
-
iShares Core Equity Portfolio
XEQT - CA46436D1087 26.49% -
Vanguard FTSE Canada
VCE - CA92203U1057 23.18% -
Vanguard FTSE Developed All Cap ex North Amer Idx ETF
VIU - CA92204G1054 16.56% -
iShares S&P/TSX Global Gold Index ETF
XGD - CA46428M1086 16.56% -
Fidelity Canadian Value ETF
FCCV - CA31609U1030 6.62% -
Vanguard S&P 500 Index ETF
VFV - CA92205Y1051 6.62% -
Agnico Eagle Mines Limited
AEM - CA0084741085 3.97%
The portfolio is almost entirely in equity ETFs with one direct stock, so it’s a clean, stock‑heavy setup. The biggest positions are a broad Canadian equity ETF, a core global equity ETF, and a Canada-focused fund, together making up well over half the portfolio. A sizeable gold ETF slice plus a direct gold miner add a clear precious‑metals angle. This equity‑dominant structure matters because it drives both growth potential and volatility; there’s very little ballast from bonds or cash. For someone targeting long‑term growth and comfortable with swings, this mix can work well, but short‑term stability will rely mainly on diversification across regions, sectors, and factors rather than on safer asset classes.
True holdings
-
Agnico Eagle Mines Limited 7.70%Part of fund(s):
- Fidelity Canadian Value ETF
- Vanguard FTSE Canada
- iShares Core Equity Portfolio
- iShares Core S&P/TSX Capped Composite
- iShares S&P/TSX Global Gold Index ETF
-
iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF 5.81%Part of fund(s):
- iShares Core Equity Portfolio
-
iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market Index ETF 5.41%Part of fund(s):
- iShares Core Equity Portfolio
-
Royal Bank of Canada 2.71%Part of fund(s):
- Fidelity Canadian Value ETF
- Vanguard FTSE Canada
- iShares Core Equity Portfolio
- iShares Core S&P/TSX Capped Composite
-
Newmont Goldcorp Corp 2.52%Part of fund(s):
- Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
- Vanguard S&P 500 Index ETF
- iShares S&P/TSX Global Gold Index ETF
-
Toronto Dominion Bank 1.90%Part of fund(s):
- Fidelity Canadian Value ETF
- Vanguard FTSE Canada
- iShares Core Equity Portfolio
- iShares Core S&P/TSX Capped Composite
-
Barrick Gold Corp 1.74%Part of fund(s):
- Fidelity Canadian Value ETF
- iShares S&P/TSX Global Gold Index ETF
-
Wheaton Precious Metals Corp 1.52%Part of fund(s):
- Fidelity Canadian Value ETF
- iShares S&P/TSX Global Gold Index ETF
-
Shopify Inc 1.40%Part of fund(s):
- Vanguard FTSE Canada
- iShares Core Equity Portfolio
- iShares Core S&P/TSX Capped Composite
-
Bank of Montreal 1.19%Part of fund(s):
- Fidelity Canadian Value ETF
- Vanguard FTSE Canada
- iShares Core Equity Portfolio
- iShares Core S&P/TSX Capped Composite
- Top 10 total 31.90%
Looking through the ETFs, Agnico Eagle ends up at 7.7% of the portfolio once you combine the direct holding and indirect ETF exposure, which is a clear, hidden concentration. There’s also layered exposure to broad U.S. market ETFs, plus meaningful stakes in major Canadian banks and large gold miners like Newmont and Barrick. Because we only see top‑10 ETF holdings, actual overlap is likely somewhat higher than reported. This matters because apparent diversification across many funds can mask big bets on a few names or themes. Keeping an eye on combined exposures to specific companies, industries, or styles helps ensure risk matches what you actually want, not just what the fund labels imply.
Growth
Historically, the portfolio’s compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.51% is very strong and would have crushed most broad equity benchmarks over the same period. Max drawdown of about ‑18.9% is surprisingly moderate for such a growthy, equity‑only mix, suggesting past downturns were relatively well cushioned. Needing only 43 days to generate 90% of returns highlights how a handful of big days drove results. This pattern is normal for equities but underscores why staying invested is crucial; missing a small number of strong days can severely hurt outcomes. While these numbers are encouraging, they’re backward‑looking, so future returns and drawdowns could differ significantly, especially if market conditions change.
Projection
The Monte Carlo results use past return and volatility patterns to simulate 1,000 possible future paths, a bit like running many “what if” market movies. The median outcome of about 930% and high average simulated annual return around 19.8% look very optimistic, while even the 5th percentile ending near 168.5% is positive. That paints a rosy distribution with relatively few bad scenarios. But Monte Carlo rests heavily on historical behavior continuing, which is a big assumption. Structural shifts, regime changes, or prolonged bear markets can break those patterns. It’s helpful to treat these simulations as a rough range‑finder, not a promise, and plan so your goals still work even if actual returns land closer to the lower‑end paths.
Asset classes
- Stocks 47%
- US Equity 23%
- Stocks 4%
- Cash 0%
- Other 0%
Asset‑class exposure is overwhelmingly equity: roughly 70% in diversified ETFs (Canada, U.S., developed ex‑North America) plus about 4% in a single stock and a substantial gold‑equity sleeve. There’s effectively no bond or cash allocation counted, which is unusual for a typical “balanced” profile but can still be acceptable for someone with a strong stomach and long horizon. In many benchmark “balanced” mixes, you’d see a significant bond slice to dampen volatility and provide a buffer during equity selloffs. Here, diversification has to come from spreading equity risk across markets and styles rather than across fundamentally different asset types. Anyone wanting smoother rides might eventually consider adding some fixed‑income or cash‑like exposure.
Sectors
- Basic Materials 30%
- Financials 20%
- Technology 12%
- Industrials 10%
- Energy 7%
- Consumer Discretionary 5%
- Health Care 4%
- Telecommunications 4%
- Consumer Staples 3%
- Utilities 2%
- Real Estate 1%
Sector exposure is dominated by basic materials at 30%, with financials at 20% and technology at 12%, while areas like healthcare and communications are in the mid‑single digits. That big materials tilt, driven by gold miners, stands out versus common global equity benchmarks where materials are usually in the single digits. This can be a plus if precious metals and related companies outperform during inflation, currency stress, or risk‑off episodes, but it also raises sector‑specific risk. Tech, financials, and industrials are all decently represented, which helps overall balance. A useful question is whether that heavy gold and materials exposure is intentional and aligned with your views, or just a byproduct of ETF choices that needs periodic sanity‑checking.
Regions
- North America 74%
- Europe Developed 13%
- Japan 6%
- Asia Developed 3%
- Australasia 2%
- Africa/Middle East 2%
- Asia Emerging 1%
- Latin America 0%
- Europe Emerging 0%
Geographically, the portfolio is heavily tilted to North America at 74%, with Canada being a major anchor, while Europe, Japan, and other developed regions make up most of the rest. Emerging markets exposure is minimal. Compared to a global market‑cap baseline, this is a clear home‑bias toward North America, and especially Canada, which many Canadian investors share. The upside is familiarity with local markets, currency alignment with domestic spending, and good coverage of major developed economies. The trade‑off is extra sensitivity to North American economic cycles, policy changes, and sector structures. Increasing non‑North‑American exposure can sometimes reduce risk if other regions perform differently, but sticking closer to home can feel more comfortable and simpler to manage.
Market capitalization
- Mega-cap 44%
- Large-cap 35%
- Mid-cap 17%
- Small-cap 3%
- Micro-cap 0%
Market‑cap allocation is tilted toward larger companies, with about 44% in mega caps, 35% in big caps, and 17% in mid caps, while small caps are just 3%. This large‑cap dominance is very much in line with global index norms and helps keep volatility somewhat lower than a small‑cap‑heavy portfolio. Large companies usually have more stable earnings, better access to capital, and deeper trading liquidity. The modest slice in mid and small caps still provides some extra growth potential and diversification. Overall, this size profile is well‑balanced and aligns closely with global standards, which is a positive sign that the portfolio isn’t taking on extreme risk in the smallest, most volatile parts of the market.
Factors
Factor exposure shows strong tilts to quality, momentum, and low volatility, with moderate value and yield and a smaller size tilt. Factors are like underlying “personality traits” of stocks that research links to long‑term return patterns. High quality suggests exposure to financially solid companies, while strong momentum means holdings that have been recent winners, which can keep performing in trending markets but stumble in sharp reversals. Low‑volatility tilts often cushion downside compared with the market, though they can lag in roaring bull runs. Signal coverage isn’t perfect, so numbers aren’t exact, but the pattern is clear: the portfolio leans toward “steady winners” rather than deep value or high yield. That’s a thoughtful, historically well‑supported style mix.
Risk contribution
-
iShares S&P/TSX Global Gold Index ETF
Weight: 16.56% 29.6% -
iShares Core Equity Portfolio
Weight: 26.49% 21.4% -
Vanguard FTSE Canada
Weight: 23.18% 18.8% -
Vanguard FTSE Developed All Cap ex North Amer Idx ETF
Weight: 16.56% 12.7% -
Agnico Eagle Mines Limited
Weight: 3.97% 7.0% - Top 3 risk contribution 69.9%
Risk contribution shows how much each holding drives total volatility, which isn’t always proportional to its weight. The gold ETF, at 16.56% weight, contributes nearly 30% of risk, and the direct Agnico Eagle position also punches above its size. Together, top holdings create almost 70% of total portfolio risk, with gold exposures clearly dominating. This concentrated risk can amplify portfolio swings if precious‑metal stocks have a rough patch, even though the overall asset list looks diversified. Aligning risk with intent often means trimming positions whose risk share far exceeds their weight or balancing them with steadier holdings. Even simple rebalancing back to target weights over time can stop these risk concentrations from quietly growing bigger.
Dividends
- Agnico Eagle Mines Limited 0.60%
- Fidelity Canadian Value ETF 0.50%
- Vanguard FTSE Canada 0.60%
- Vanguard S&P 500 Index ETF 0.20%
- Vanguard FTSE Developed All Cap ex North Amer Idx ETF 0.20%
- iShares Core Equity Portfolio 0.20%
- Weighted yield (per year) 0.30%
The portfolio’s total dividend yield around 0.30% is quite low, driven by growth‑oriented broad market ETFs and gold miners that typically pay modest dividends. This setup leans much more toward capital appreciation than steady income, which fits long‑term growth goals but won’t satisfy someone needing regular cash flow. Dividends can help smooth returns and provide a psychological cushion in downturns, yet they’re just one component of total return. For investors in accumulation mode who reinvest distributions, a lower yield with higher growth potential can be perfectly fine. Anyone planning to rely on this portfolio for living expenses down the road might eventually think about gradually increasing exposure to more reliable dividend payers.
Ongoing product costs
- Fidelity Canadian Value ETF 0.35%
- Weighted costs total (per year) 0.02%
The disclosed total expense ratio around 0.02% at the portfolio level is impressively low, especially given the use of multiple ETFs. Individual fund fees, like 0.35% for the Fidelity Canadian Value ETF, are still moderate and blended down by ultra‑low‑cost core holdings from Vanguard and iShares. Costs matter because fees compound every year in the wrong direction; shaving even a fraction of a percent can add up significantly over decades. Here, cost drag is minimal, which supports better long‑term performance and keeps more of the return in your pocket. From a fee perspective, this setup is already in great shape and compares very favorably with typical actively managed or high‑fee products.
Risk vs. return
This chart shows the Efficient Frontier, calculated using your current assets with different allocation combinations. It highlights the best balance between risk and return based on historical data. "Efficient" portfolios maximize returns for a given risk or minimize risk for a given return. Portfolios below the curve are less efficient. This is informational and not a recommendation to buy or sell any assets.
On the risk‑return chart, the current portfolio would likely sit below the efficient frontier, given the outsized risk contribution from the gold ETF and Agnico Eagle. The efficient frontier is the curve showing the best expected return for each risk level using only your existing holdings but with different weights. Being below it means there’s a mix of the same funds that could deliver either higher return for the same risk or similar return with lower volatility. The presence of a minimum‑variance and an optimal (highest Sharpe ratio) portfolio indicates clear improvement potential. Rebalancing toward those more efficient weightings—without adding new products—could make the growth profile smoother while still keeping the core strategy and exposures intact.
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