Rate of Return: 9.4%
When was the last time you reviewed your RRSP portfolio? If you’re like most people, it was probably February, when you were deciding how much to contribute.
If that’s the case, it’s not enough. Your RRSP account should be given a thorough review at least twice a year. If it’s heavily invested in the stock market, a more frequent check is in order. The stock market is expensive right now and a correction is possible. Don’t be caught off guard.
When you review your plan, give special attention to asset allocation and how it compares to your original goals. If it’s more than five percentage points out of line in any category, consider doing some rebalancing.
RRSPs offer two tax advantages. All the money you contribute is tax-deductible up to the legal limit. For 2026, you can contribute up to 18% of your earned income from the previous year (2025), or the maximum dollar cap of $33,810, whichever is less.
The second benefit is that all the income you earn within the plan is tax-free until you make a withdrawal. Any withdrawal is taxable at your marginal rate.
This portfolio has two main objectives: to preserve capital and to earn a higher rate of return than is available from a GIC. The original value was $25,031.92.
The portfolio contains a mix of ETFs and stocks, so readers who wish to replicate it must have a self-directed RRSP with a brokerage firm.
Comments: The portfolio was up 7.4% in the latest six months. Every security except XSTP showed a profit. The biggest gains were posted by Manulife and the BMO S&P/TSX Banks Equal Weight Index ETF.
Over the 14 years since the portfolio was launched, we have a total return of 250.6%. That’s an average annual growth rate of 9.37%, well ahead of our target.
Comments: The portfolio was up 4.25% in the latest period. The biggest gains were posted by the BMO S&P/TSX Banks Equal Weight Index ETF (ZEB) and Manulife (MFC). Brookfield (BN) was the weakest component.
Over the 14-1/2 years since the portfolio was launched, we have a total return of 265.5%. That’s an average annual growth rate of 9.35%, well ahead of our target.
Changes: The portfolio is performing well and has significant downside protection through its holdings in XCB and CSAV. Brookfield hit a rough patch, but I expect it will recover. The result is that we won’t make any changes to the portfolio composition, but we will reinvest some of our retained earnings as follows.
CSAV – We’ll buy another 10 units at $50.01 for a cost of $500.01. That gives us 240 units and reduces retained earnings to $96.69.
ENB – We’ll spend $698 to buy 10 more shares. That increases our holding to 120 shares while lowering retained earnings to $33.83.
The new cash balance (including retained income) is $2,911.12. We will keep it in the Kawartha Credit Union High Interest eSavings Account which is paying 2.25% on RRSP accounts.
These are the securities we currently hold, with comments on how they have performed since the last review in February. Results are as of the close on Aug. 26.