If you would like, you may add an emerging markets fund to your portfolio to realize exposure to countries like China, India and Brazil. However, consider that multinational corporations from Europe, Japan and North America also operate in developing countries. You won’t miss out on the expansion in these regions simply because you have not invested specifically in corporations based there.
Our pick of one of the best international equity ETFs for 2026
This yr our panel included three international funds limited to developed economies. The top vote-getter was Vanguard’s FTSE Developed All-Cap ex-North America Index ETF (VIU). It has one in all the bottom MERs within the category, holds 3,600 stocks and, more importantly, includes exposure to South Korean industrial giants like Samsung and Hyundai. (Funds that track other indices classify the country as an emerging market.)
Our judges also liked the TD International Equity Index ETF (TPE), which has perhaps the bottom fees of any fund of its kind traded in Canada. Panelist Tony Dong described it as having “all the benefits of an EAFE strategy with a lower cost benchmark in the form of the Solactive GBS Developed Markets ex-North America Large & Mid Cap CAD Index.”
In third place was Vanguard’s Canadian dollar-hedged version of the aforementioned FTSE Developed All-Cap ex-North America Fund VI, which eliminates currency risk for Canadians and likewise has a rather lower MER.
Honorable mention goes to the iShares Core MSCI EAFE IMI Index ETF (XEF) and the Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS), that are traded within the US (for more information on the implications of shopping for ETFs within the US, see Best US Stock ETFs). Both landed just outside the highest three funds.
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