I was introduced to Passiv as a result of joining the Questrade family back in 2025; Questrade subsequently broke off ties with Passiv earlier this year and have been working on improving their own platform to do a lot of what Passiv did. (Like recently introducing custom indexing1).
Anyway, I still use Passiv since it makes it easy to see my entire retirement portfolio (including accounts owned by my spouse) all in one screen. Even its free version is useful in that regard2.
Anyway, Passiv up until this week only natively supported Questrade and Wealthsimple in the Canadian market. But I see that they now also support DIYers using BMO Investorline and CIBC Investor’s Edge. So if you’re a user of these brokerages, you can enjoy the benefits of one screen for all your accounts.
A decent looking concept, but of no interest to me personally unless they add support for RRIF accounts. I’m not holding my breath. ↩︎
The paid version allows you to execute rebalancing trades, among other things. Passiv’s main competition is all-in-one ETFs. ↩︎
I cover what I hold in my retirement portfolio every month (latest update is here), but as you can see, I only hold ETFs. What’s underneath the ETFs? Let’s take a look!
Calculating this is straightforward:
Use the percentages I have of each ETF from the June update
Look at the “Holdings” section of ETF or in the case of AOA/XGRO/XEQT, “Aggregate Underlying Holdings”1 and write down the percentages of each stock. I stopped when I accounted for 20% of each ETF.
Multiply (1) by (2) and add them all up.
By doing this exercise, I can now account for the 20 companies that make up 20% of my retirement portfolio:
These 20 companies are really the tip of my personal investment iceberg — my aggregate retirement portfolio has at least 32,000 holdings, since that’s what’s actually inside AOA, the one ETF I own with the most holdings2. But the fate of these 20 companies will have an outsized influence on the overall performance of the portfolio. The only surprise for me is that there is only one company outside North America in the list. I would have expected one or two more.
It will be interesting to see what kind of differences I see once I complete kicking USD out of my retirement portfolio and go back to a list of only seven magnificent ETFs. I’m not sure there will be big changes, given that I’m keeping my asset allocations constant throughout, but I’m expecting some differences3. We’ll see come January 2027, I guess.
Just for fun, and given my recent article on the SpaceX IPO, I wanted to know how much I held of that particular company. AOA hasn’t included it yet4, but XGRO and XEQT have already. As of June 30, 0.02% of my portfolio is invested in SpaceX.
In most cases, as of June 30. VFV only shows to May 30. ↩︎
XGRO has 22000, for reference. I think the extras in AOA come mostly from fixed income (bond) products since they have broader geographic coverage. ↩︎
The biggest changes won’t be visible since they occur in the bond side of my holdings. AOA and XGRO have very different approaches to this part of the market, but as it’s only 15% of my retirement holdings, they don’t show up as a “top” holding in my retirement portfolio . ↩︎
And won’t until SpaceX is profitable. AOA includes IVV, which is an S&P 500 index fund, and the S&P 500 requires companies to be profitable before inclusion in that index. ↩︎
It’s not that often an ETF launch causes so much buzz, but my usual feeds are all talking about Avantis CIBC CAGE. So what is it? Per its fact sheet it
Invests primarily in equity securities from developed and emerging markets through a portfolio of ETFs. The fund selects companies based on value and profitability characteristics, using a broad set of company financial fundamentals such as book value, earnings, and cash flow, together with current market prices. Designed to provide diversified global equity exposure in a single investment option.
“Invests primarily in equity securities…through a portfolio of ETFs”
Translation: CAGE is a fund of funds that’s 100% equity. Sounds a lot like XEQT/ZEQT/TEQT/VEQT. Looking a little deeper, it holds
CAUS: A US Equity ETF
CACE: A Canadian Equity ETF
CADE: An International Equity ETF
CASV: A Global Small Cap ETF
CAEM: An Emerging Equity ETF
Seems pretty normal so far.
“The fund selects companies based on value and profitability…using financial fundamentals”
Translation: This isn’t an index fund. CAGE is picking which companies to invest in based on balance sheet metrics. This starts to sound like a typical managed fund that typically underperforms the index it’s supposed to be measured against1.
I’m skeptical. Index (aka passive) investing has proven that it works over time.
What’s inside CAGE?
So, let’s see what’s actually inside this fund and compare it to XEQT2. As it turns out, this isn’t easy. Figuring out what’s inside CAGE requires you to navigate to each of CAGE’s holdings and look at what’s there. Irritating, but that’s not the worst of it — the constituent funds only show top 10 holdings each. That leads to a tremendous blind spot as to what you’re actually purchasing when you buy shares of CAGE. I hope CIBC fixes this, and soon. Anyway, I took XEQT’s top 10 and compared it to CAGE’s allocation.
US Equity: 39.4% Canadian Equity: 30% International Equity: 17.6% Global Small Cap Equity: 8%9 Emerging Equity: 5%
US Equity: 45% Canadian Equity: 25% International Equity: 25% Emerging Equity: 5%
Comparing CAGE metrics with XEQT
This shows that CAGE is more expensive, holds fewer underlying stocks (we think), has a higher dividend yield (unsurprising, given its focus) and invests more in Canada than XEQT at the expense of International Equity10.
Performance
Comparing performance isn’t going to be very useful since CAGE is new, but CAGE inherits its strategy from an older US-based fund, namely AVGE. Now, to be clear, AVGE and CAGE aren’t quite the same thing. CAGE, as a Canadian fund, will tilt more to Canadian Equity holdings. But the approach used by AVGE and CAGE is the same: find quality companies and invest in them, wherever they are. So to me, comparing AVGE to its benchmark, the MSCI all-country investable market index, is a fair comparison. That index can be purchased by buying ACWI, an ETF that I’ve never heard of. I have heard of VT, so I’ll throw that into the mix since that seems to be a similar idea. Here’s what https://dqydj.com/stock-return-calculator/11 had to say about that:
Comparing performance of VT, ACWI and AVGE to gauge effectiveness of Avantis’ stock picking techniques
AVGE doesn’t have a hugely long track record either (less than 4 years in existence) but, regrettably, it’s coming up on the short end of the stick as compared to the passive index funds. Not by a lot, though.
My take
Buzz or no, I don’t think this product is for me. I buy passively managed ETFs, for the most part12. The lack of transparency on CAGE’s holdings is irritating (I am hoping/assuming that CIBC will fix this) and there’s nothing about the performance of its US sister that leaves me with FOMO. I’ll stick with The magnificent seven ETFs for now.
As of April 30, 2026 for both. I note that XEQT provides daily updates on one screen to see what’s inside. For CAGE, you have to resort to spreadsheets. ↩︎
The constituent ETFs of CAGE only show top 10 holdings; Broadcom doesn’t crack the top 10 of CAUS which is 40.13% of CAGE. ↩︎
The best credit cards for me are not necessarily the best cards for you. I don’t find I’ve changed my spending habits much in retirement, but being retired has meant I can spend a bit more time trying to optimize my credit card holdings to maximize benefits to me. One thing that I value above all else is cold, hard, cash. I don’t like “points” cards because understanding what kind of ROI I’m getting is nearly impossible, and always subject to the whims of a points to dollar conversion rate that can be changed at any time. I’m now holding three different credit cards, all of whom pay cash back, and all of them have their place in my spending universe.
Primary Card: Rogers Red World Elite Mastercard
Read about it here. As a Rogers customer1, this card is really the best possible card for my needs:
No fees
2% cash back on everything, paid as a reward credit that you then immediately apply to subsequent card purchases; this reward credit is multiplied by 1.5 if you apply it to a subsequent card purchase for a Rogers service.
3% cash back on USD purchases, which erases the 1.5% FX fee charged, and then some
Travel insurance, purchase insurance, etc etc
Free supplementary cards
The problem with this card is that its credit limit is a bit low; I even asked for an increase and was denied2.
The other problem with this card is that it’s not tied to my normal banking, so I have to pay it manually3. And it only offers a login for the primary card holder, which isn’t ideal.
Secondary Card: CIBC Costco Mastercard
Read about that one here. This one is actually a conversion from another CIBC card I had. Converting a card from one kind to another means you don’t lose your credit limit, which was the main appeal here. I am a Costco member, so this is a good second choice for my needs:
no fees
1% cash back on everything except 2% back on gas and Costco.ca, and 3% back on Costco gas4 and restaurants5
Cashback paid annually in the form of a Costco gift certificate
Travel insurance, purchase insurance etc etc
Free supplementary cards
The travel card: Wealthsimple Visa
I’ve been on the waitlist (like many people) for quite a few months for this card now. I finally got my card when I called their support line to query about why a transaction on their prepaid Mastercard6 failed to complete. (Turns out there’s a daily limit on that card that can’t be modified). Anyway, the helpful agent offered to put in a good word for me and a few days later, I was able to successfully apply for the card and immediately download it to my phone7.
The Wealthsimple Visa’s features are a lot like the others:
no fee (if you have enough assets with Wealthsimple)
2% cash back on everything, paid into your account every month
travel insurance, purchase insurance, etc etc
and…most importantly for me, NO foreign exchange fees for any currency
With no foreign exchange fees, Wealthsimple’s Visa becomes the go-to card anytime I’m travelling to a non-US destination. It also becomes my primary card in the event that I cut ties with Rogers, since the only thing the Rogers card does better than the Wealthsimple card is paying for Rogers services.
The Wealthsimple card had a better credit limit than the Rogers card right out of the gate (I guess it helps that I had hard assets with them) but inexplicably does not have the concept of a secondary card, so my spouse is currently locked out of that benefit.
The card that got cut: the CIBC Aventura USD Gold Visa
This was a card I had for a few years when US travel was a more frequent (desirable?) option. It’s not a bad card, especially if you frequently transact in USD, but with two other cards that offered “good enough” coverage on USD purchases, I felt it was no longer needed. And (I forgot this) when I canceled my almost-never-used CIBC USD checking8 account, I lost the “no-fee” aspect of this card. At a cost of zero I might have been convinced to hang on to it “just in case”, but with a $35 annual fee (USD) it was no longer required. An hour long wait on hold with CIBC telephone banking was all it took9.
What card is used when?
For foreign currency transactions, Wealthsimple Visa card is best. Rogers card also a good option if USD.
For Costco gas and restaurants, Costco card is best.
Anything else, Rogers
Internet, television, home phone, if you’re curious. 2 year contract which I’ll probably break at the earliest opportunity 😉 ↩︎
I could set up a PAD, but I trust Rogers about as much as they trust me, it seems. ↩︎
There’s no advantage to actually shopping at a Costco store with this card, which seems weird. My weekly Costco grocery run is paid for with my Rogers Mastercard, since I get 2x the cash back <shrug>. What’s more, the Costco I usually frequent doesn’t have a gas station, and I’m not really willing to make a special trip to go get it — my CAA/Shell combination is about as good. ↩︎
These 2% and 3% rewards have annual caps, but I got bored trying to memorize them ↩︎
Part of Wealthsimple’s chequing account, a good product, in my view ↩︎
Great timing too, since I was in a foreign country at the time. ↩︎
I use American spelling here because (a) that’s how CIBC spells it and (b) it really is a US-domiciled account ↩︎
Writing that sentence has confirmed for me how low my standards for customer service have become. ↩︎
I’ve had the dubious privilege of serving as the executor of the estate of my late mother, who was predeceased by my father. I’ve been documenting my journey along the way (previous instalment here).
This instalment is subtitled “Endgame” because late last week I received a Clearance Certificate from CRA. The Clearance Certificate allows me as the executor to distribute the funds in the estate to the beneficiaries without worrying that the CRA will come knocking on my door at some future date looking for taxes1.
So now it is time to move money around from estate to beneficiaries, close accounts and shred the piles of paper in the filing cabinet. Money exists in three places: a CIBC bank account (not an estate account), a CIBC estate account, and in a BMO Investorline estate account.
CIBC Bank Account
Thanks to the advice of a friend who went through this before me, I had a joint chequing account with my mother. It was her account, and I never touched it, but when she died, the account became mine completely, no different than the other chequing account I hold at CIBC. This arrangement proved very handy in the early days of the estate, as I was able to pay funeral expenses out of this account without being out of pocket myself. The balance was low here, and a few e-Transfers to the beneficiaries later, the funds were cleared. A call to CIBC telephone banking (a surprisingly painless experience), and this account was closed from the comfort of my couch.
BMO Investorline
The vast majority of the estate funds are held at BMO Investorline, since I was acting as my parents’ DIY advisor for about 10 years. When my mother died, her RRIF and TFSA passed to her beneficiaries outside of the probate process (you’ve done this, right? Read more here). Her non-registered funds were converted into a brand new estate account and all the assets were transferred in kind. I could not access this account until I had a probated will. With full access, I eventually converted all the holdings into non-interest bearing cash; all that happened over a year ago (December 2024, to be exact). The account has been largely dormant since then, although I did pay the whopping tax bill for my mother’s Final Return2 from it.
Moving the funds out of BMO Investorline couldn’t be easier; thanks to their AccountLink service, you can write cheques against the cash balance held in your non-registered Investorline account. They do charge $1 for each transaction after the first 2 in any calendar month, so I have to make sure I leave enough cash behind to deal with that3.
CIBC Estate Account
Estate accounts are required to deposit cheques made out to the estate. One possible source of such a payment is CRA4, the other is death benefits from CPP/QPP and/or life insurance policies. My experience with the creation and management of a CIBC estate account was a total disaster. Something that should be relatively straightforward is inexplicably very labour intensive. The reasons are probably only knowable to CIBC, but I’ll give my perspective here:
The workflow has not been updated in decades. Opening an estate account required me to make an appointment at the bank. At this appointment, I sat in a chair in an office while I watched the bank employee type my information into some sort of online form. My involvement at this meeting was limited to producing a death certificate and repeating answers to questions that the bank already had in their systems (my name/address etc etc).
The branch employees do not understand how estate accounts work and they rely on a centrally located help desk to guide them through the process. I know this because the branch employee inadvertently gave me the number to this help desk and the very helpful employee I spoke to there was confused that a customer rather than a branch was calling.
There are no electronic records, no electronic access to estate accounts. Deposit a cheque? Visit the bank. Want the balance? Visit the bank. It’s all very circa 1970.
And, lastly, for all this, they have the gall to charge a $5 monthly service fee for “record keeping”.
Anyway, I am guessing that all the major banks are terrible with estates, but it’s hard to imagine a worse experience than with CIBC.
So, to close this account, I need an appointment (of course). The soonest one I could get at my local branch was a week away. I’ve compiled all the materials needed to unlock the funds (probated will, death certificate, blood sample) so I’m hoping this is a “one and done” kind of visit, but I’m not holding my breath on that one.
What’s especially annoying about the estate account is that it has a relatively small amount of money in it, growing smaller monthly thanks to the monthly service fee.
But this chapter is nearly over. Make no mistake, serving as an executor is a lot of work and requires a lot of patience.
RRIFs and non-registered accounts generate a lot of tax since they are assumed to be sold and converted to income in the hands of the account holder on the day of death. It’s nearly unavoidable, but I wrote a bit about reducing that tax bomb here. ↩︎
I can only imagine how much work it would be should I end up needing to clear a negative balance in a BMO Investorline Estate account. I wouldn’t know where to begin, ↩︎
In my case, the estate tax return had a refund. Not really sure why, one would have presumed that paying thousands of dollars to an accountant would result in a penny-perfect return, but you’d evidently be wrong about that. ↩︎
