Much has been made about the Canadian dollar lately. The currency weakened considerably in 2024, and it now sits at its lowest level against the US dollar since the trough of February 2020 (and before that, December 2015). Currency fluctuations can heavily impact the short-term returns of funds. The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF Hedged Fund VSP returned 23.5% in 2024, while the unhedged version returned 35.2%. Canadian investors should be aware of how hedging can affect their portfolios.
What Is Currency Hedging?
Currency hedging removes the effects exchange rates have on returns, canceling out the gains and losses from currency fluctuations with a matching and opposite exposure, usually through a derivatives contract. Dan Sotiroff wrote more about this practice and its pros and cons from a US perspective in 2018.
In short, hedging’s practical effects are rather counterintuitive. An unhedged foreign security gains more than a hedged one when the Canadian dollar weakens, and vice versa. Investment managers typically hedge to reduce risk.
How to Hedge Currency
Canadian investors have the benefit of certain share classes on many passive ETFs that aim to hedge their currency exposure to the Canadian dollar. Many firms, like Vanguard, iShares, and BMO, offer such versions on their popular index-tracking funds. These hedged share classes are most easily identified in their names—iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (CAD-Hedged) XSP, for example—but can also be stated in a fund’s prospectus.
Does Currency Hedging Even Matter?
It did in the past 25 years. The Morningstar Global Core Bond category benefitted from lower risk and higher returns when the effect of currency is removed. That was not the case with High Yield or US Equity, which were more volatile when hedged. (The Global Markets Hedged version only goes back to August 2015, but we observed much of the same.)
There was a stark difference between those who hedged and those who didn’t. Special share classes and ETFs offer to remove the effects of the Canadian dollar on foreign investments. It is an option that investors should understand when assessing their portfolios and fund performances.
The author or authors do not own shares in any securities mentioned in this article. Find out about Morningstar's editorial policies.