u/I_Play_Kennen

Hey all,

I'm a devout XEQT buyer myself. The question of lump sum vs DCA comes up here a lot, so I built a little tool to try and help illustrate the difference of both strategies.

https://wealthradiant.com/xeqt-lump-sum-vs-dca-simulator/

It compares lump sum vs 3 month, 6 month, and 12 month DCA plans using a few simple selectable market paths. I also added a historical XEQT reality check for past start dates like before the COVID drop and before the 2025 spring dip.

My own takeaway from building it: lump sum usually wins if the market generally goes up, but DCA can still be useful if it helps someone actually invest instead of sitting in cash and overthinking the entry point.

Things I’d love to hear:

- Is the calculator clear enough?

- Are the assumptions fair?

- Are there other XEQT scenarios you’d want added?

- Does anything feel misleading or too simplified?

Any feedback is appreciated!

For transparency, this is a page on my site. There are no ads, affiliate links, or sign up wall on the calculator. I built it because I hold XEQT and kept seeing the same question here, and was curious if I could map it out.

Thanks!

I went down a rabbit hole recently looking at MERs for Canadian ETFs and how much the difference actually matters over time.

The annoying part is that a 0.20% MER vs 0.24% MER sounds tiny, and in many cases it is. But once you compare a low-cost ETF to a higher-fee fund, or even just model it over 20-30 years with regular contributions, the dollar difference gets a lot easier to understand.

So I built a simple Canadian ETF fee drag calculator.

It lets you pick from a list of Canadian-listed ETFs, enter a starting balance, contribution amount, expected return, and time horizon, then compare the projected fee drag. I also added a couple of mutual fund fee benchmarks, not as specific funds, but just to show what a typical higher-fee option can look like compared with low-cost ETFs.

The main goal is not to say “always pick the lowest MER.” That is not always the right answer. Asset allocation, currency hedging, tax treatment, account type, and what the ETF actually holds still matter.

But I wanted a quick way to answer questions like:

- How much does a 0.10% MER difference matter over 30 years?

- Is the fee gap between two similar ETFs actually meaningful?

- How different does an ETF look compared with a 1.75% mutual fund fee benchmark?

- At what portfolio size does a small MER difference start becoming real money?

I’m still tweaking it, so feedback would be appreciated! Especially if anything feels confusing, misleading, or if there are ETFs you think should be added.

Canadian ETF Fee Drag Calculator

Cheers!