What’s the difference between VFV and VOO?

Both track the S&P 500. VFV is Canadian-listed and trades in Canadian dollars (unhedged, so your return includes the CAD/USD move); VOO is US-listed and trades in US dollars at a slightly lower fee. Same index, different wrapper. Compare them directly on real data.

Should I buy a hedged or unhedged S&P 500 ETF?

Unhedged (like VFV) is what most long-term Canadian equity investors use: hedging costs money each year and currency adds a little diversification. Hedged (XSP) removes the currency swing, which some prefer for shorter horizons. There is no universal answer; test both across strong- and weak-loonie periods.

Is it better to buy US-listed VOO directly from Canada?

It can be marginally cheaper in fees, but you convert CAD to USD to buy it and there can be tax nuances by account type. For many investors the Canadian-listed VFV/ZSP/XUS are simpler for a tiny fee difference. This is general information, not tax advice.

How to Invest in the S&P 500 from Canada (VFV, VOO, and Hedging)

7 min read · Updated 2026-09-04

The S&P 500 is the most-owned index in the world, and Canadian investors can buy it several ways: a Canadian-listed ETF that trades in Canadian dollars (VFV, ZSP, XUS), a currency-hedged version (XSP), or the US-listed funds directly (VOO, IVV, SPY) in US dollars.

They all track the same 500 US companies, so in US-dollar terms the returns look nearly identical. What actually separates them for a Canadian is currency, fees, and account type. This guide walks through each in plain English, then shows how to put the exact tickers head-to-head on decades of real data.

Backtest the S&P 500 in CAD →

The ways to own it

Every option below tracks the S&P 500. What differs is the wrapper, the currency it trades in and whether the currency swing is hedged away:

•VFV / ZSP / XUS: Canadian-listed, trade in CAD, unhedged. The simplest option for most Canadian accounts; you get the S&P 500’s return plus the effect of the CAD/USD exchange rate.
•XSP: Canadian-listed, trades in CAD, currency-hedged. It aims to strip out the CAD/USD move so your return tracks the index’s US-dollar performance more closely.
•VOO / IVV / SPY: the US-listed originals, trading in USD, usually at the lowest fee. You convert CAD to USD to buy them, and they are unhedged by nature.

S&P 500 vehicles for a Canadian investor
Ticker	Listing	Trades in	Currency exposure
VFV.TO	Canada (TSX)	CAD	Unhedged (USD exposure)
ZSP.TO	Canada (TSX)	CAD	Unhedged (USD exposure)
XUS.TO	Canada (TSX)	CAD	Unhedged (USD exposure)
XSP.TO	Canada (TSX)	CAD	Hedged to CAD
VOO / IVV / SPY	United States	USD	Unhedged (held in USD)

All track the S&P 500: the difference is the wrapper, not the index. Illustrative, not recommendations.

What “unhedged” actually does to your return

When you hold an unhedged S&P 500 fund as a Canadian, your return has two moving parts: how the index did in US dollars, and how the Canadian dollar moved against the US dollar. If the loonie falls versus the USD, your US holdings are worth more in CAD, a tailwind. If the loonie rises, it is a headwind.

So VFV and VOO can post different Canadian-dollar returns in a given year even though they hold the identical index, purely because of the exchange rate. Over the very long run the currency effect tends to partly wash out, but in any single year it can add or subtract several percent.

Same S&P 500, different CAD outcome when the loonie moves (illustrative)

Index in USD terms

10%

Unhedged in CAD · loonie falls 5%

15%

Unhedged in CAD · loonie rises 5%

Hedged in CAD (XSP)

10%

Hypothetical: a 10% US-dollar index year under different currency moves. The hedged version aims to match the USD return; the unhedged one adds the currency swing. Run real dates in the tools.

Hedged vs unhedged: which and when

Hedging is not free (it carries a small ongoing cost and never tracks perfectly), so it is a trade-off, not a free win. The common way investors think about it:

•Unhedged (VFV / ZSP / XUS) is the default most long-term Canadian investors use for equities: currency adds some volatility but also a little diversification, and hedging costs money every year.
•Hedged (XSP) removes the currency guessing game, which some prefer for shorter horizons or if a rising loonie would bother them, at the cost of the hedge.
•For US-dollar bonds the calculus often flips (currency swings can swamp the modest return of bonds), but that is a separate question from an equity index fund.

Fees and account type still matter

The Canadian-listed funds carry a slightly higher management fee than the US-listed originals, but they save you the currency conversion and the paperwork of holding USD. In some registered accounts, holding US-listed funds directly can also carry a foreign-withholding-tax nuance on dividends. These differences are small next to simply picking a broad, low-cost index and holding it, but they are real, and worth understanding rather than guessing.

This is general education, not tax or investment advice. The right wrapper depends on your account and situation.

Test the exact tickers on real data

Rather than debate VFV vs VOO in the abstract, put them head to head: compare the exact tickers over the same period and see the Canadian-dollar returns, the volatility the currency added, and the drawdowns, then line an unhedged fund up against the hedged XSP to see what the hedge did through a strong-loonie and a weak-loonie stretch.

Try it yourself

VFV vs VOOThe two head to head on real, dividend-reinvested returns.Open tool →Backtest PortfolioTest VFV.TO, VOO, XSP.TO and any mix on decades of real data.Open tool →Stress TestSee how each version held up through 2008, 2020, and 2022.Open tool →

FAQ

What’s the difference between VFV and VOO?: Both track the S&P 500. VFV is Canadian-listed and trades in Canadian dollars (unhedged, so your return includes the CAD/USD move); VOO is US-listed and trades in US dollars at a slightly lower fee. Same index, different wrapper. Compare them directly on real data.
Should I buy a hedged or unhedged S&P 500 ETF?: Unhedged (like VFV) is what most long-term Canadian equity investors use: hedging costs money each year and currency adds a little diversification. Hedged (XSP) removes the currency swing, which some prefer for shorter horizons. There is no universal answer; test both across strong- and weak-loonie periods.
Is it better to buy US-listed VOO directly from Canada?: It can be marginally cheaper in fees, but you convert CAD to USD to buy it and there can be tax nuances by account type. For many investors the Canadian-listed VFV/ZSP/XUS are simpler for a tiny fee difference. This is general information, not tax advice.

Key terms in this guide

Plain-English definitions in the Learning Hub.

CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) →Total return →Benchmark correlation →Tracking error →Volatility (annualized standard deviation) →

Stop guessing — run the numbers on your own portfolio, free.