Canadian Stock Investing Options

Here's a structured breakdown to help you decide:

Performance Snapshot (in USD)

The Core Trade-off

Option A — Individual Stocks (NVDA/AAPL/GOOGL)

Pros:

• Higher upside potential (NVDA's 5Y return dwarfs any ETF)
• You own what you understand and believe in

Cons:

• 3 stocks is not diversification — it's concentration
• All three are US mega-cap tech, so they're highly correlated (they move together)
• Single-stock risk: one bad earnings, one regulatory hit, one CEO scandal = real pain
• Requires ongoing monitoring

Option B — S&P 500 (SPY or VOO)

Pros:

• 504 companies, instant diversification
• Expense ratio: 0.09% (SPY) — very cheap
• Historically ~10% annualized long-term
• Zero maintenance

Cons:

• ~33% tech concentration anyway (you still get NVDA/AAPL/GOOGL inside it)
• US-only exposure

Option C — VTI + VXUS or VT

Pros:

• VT = ~9,773 stocks across the entire world in one fund, 0.06% fee
• VTI + VXUS = same global coverage, slightly cheaper (0.03% + 0.05%), more control over US/international split
• VXUS is actually outperforming US this year (+8.1% YTD) — international diversification is paying off right now
• Maximum diversification for minimum cost

Cons:

• Lower ceiling than concentrated bets
• International exposure adds currency risk (though you're already in CAD, so this is nuanced)

CAD Consideration

Since you're investing in USD-denominated ETFs from Canada, you're taking on CAD/USD currency risk. Worth knowing:

• If CAD strengthens vs USD, your returns are reduced when converting back
• Some Canadians prefer XEQT or VEQT (Canadian-listed all-equity ETFs) to avoid this, and they're eligible for TFSA/RRSP without foreign withholding tax complications

A Practical Framework

The "best of both worlds" most people land on: a broad ETF as the core (70-80%) + a small satellite position in 1-2 high-conviction stocks (20-30%). That way you don't miss out if NVDA doubles again, but you're not wrecked if it halves.

This is not financial advice — just a data-driven breakdown of the trade-offs. Consider your time horizon, tax account type (TFSA/RRSP?), and risk tolerance before deciding.