This is designed to track the performance of the MSCI World Index, net of fees, in Canadian dollar terms. The index is largely regarded as the global equity benchmark. It provides exposure to large and mid-cap equity exposure across 23 developed market countries. It covers approximately 85% of the free float adjusted market capitalization in each, making it a decent proxy.
Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of Canadian traded ETFs that cover a global index. Still, even if there were more index options, this would still be my pick, given its place as the global equity benchmark. Costs are a little higher than I’d like to see, with an MER of 0.46%. Even at this price, it is an excellent pick for do it yourself investors with modest portfolio sizes. However, if you are investing a larger amount, you may want to buy 60% XUS and 40% ZEA, which will give you the same investment exposure for a combined MER of 0.17%. This only makes sense if the cost savings from the lower MER will offset the additional trading costs of having to buy 2 ETFs.