CACE ETF: what CACE.TO is, what it holds, and how it works

Short answer: CACE.TO is the Avantis CIBC Canadian Equity ETF. It listed on the TSX on February 20, 2026, at a 0.19% management fee, one of the cheapest in the Avantis CIBC lineup. CIBC manages the Canadian wrapper and Avantis Investors runs the strategy: broad Canadian equity exposure with deliberate tilts toward value, smaller, and profitable companies. The full MER isn’t published yet because of the first-year reporting rule.

CACE is the Canadian-equity sleeve of the Avantis CIBC lineup that launched in early 2026. It does one job: hold the Canadian stock market, but weighted by the Avantis factor methodology rather than pure market cap.

This is a plain-English walkthrough of what CACE is, what it holds, and how it works. This is not financial advice. I’m sharing what I’ve learned from my own research, and your situation might differ. Fund details change, so always check the latest disclosures before deciding.

What CACE actually is

CACE.TO is an ETF listed on the TSX in Canadian dollars. CIBC Asset Management handles the wrapper, listing, and disclosure. Avantis Investors, a unit of American Century, designs and runs the strategy.

It holds Canadian companies, but instead of weighting them purely by size the way a standard Canadian index fund does, it tilts toward companies that look cheap on fundamentals, are smaller than the megacaps, and are reliably profitable. It is a single-country building block, not a complete portfolio on its own.

What CACE holds

CACE holds a diversified basket of Canadian-listed companies, screened and weighted toward value and profitability rather than pure market cap. In practice that means less concentration in the handful of large banks and energy names that dominate a cap-weighted Canadian index, and more weight spread across cheaper, profitable companies further down the size curve.

CIBC hasn’t published a full top-holdings breakdown yet. That’s normal for a fund this new; the disclosures will fill in as CACE completes a reporting cycle. The mandate, though, is clear: Canadian equity, Avantis factor methodology.

The fee, and the first-year MER rule

CACE’s management fee is 0.19%. Alongside CAUS, it’s the cheapest fund in the Avantis CIBC lineup, and it’s competitive with the broad cap-weighted Canadian-equity ETFs most Canadians already know.

The full MER adds operating expenses on top of the management fee and hasn’t been published, because Canadian regulators don’t require it in a fund’s first year. Expect it to land a few basis points above 0.19% once disclosed.

How the factor tilt works

A standard Canadian index fund owns the market in proportion to company size, so the biggest banks and energy companies dominate. CACE deliberately weights differently:

• Value. Cheaper companies on fundamentals (book value, earnings, cash flow) get more weight than cap-weighting would give them.
• Size. Smaller companies get more weight than their market cap alone implies.
• Profitability. Reliably profitable companies are favoured; chronically unprofitable ones are reduced or filtered out.

The academic foundation goes back to Eugene Fama and Kenneth French, with Robert Novy-Marx adding profitability in 2013.

The Canadian market is already concentrated and relatively small, so the practical effect of the tilt is more about reducing single-name concentration than chasing a large size premium. That’s a feature for some investors and a non-event for others, depending on what they already hold.

How CACE fits with the rest of the lineup

CACE is the Canada sleeve. People generally use it one of two ways: as the Canadian slice of a self-built Avantis portfolio (paired with CAUS for the U.S., CADE for international, CAEM for emerging markets), or as a deliberate Canadian-equity tilt on top of a global core. If you just want one fund and no work, the all-in-one CAGE handles Canada internally and you don’t need CACE separately.

The full lineup and how each sleeve fits is covered in the Avantis CIBC ETFs guide.

Frequently asked questions

What is CACE.TO?

CACE.TO is the Avantis CIBC Canadian Equity ETF, managed by CIBC with Avantis Investors as sub-advisor. It listed on the TSX on February 20, 2026, trades in Canadian dollars, and holds Canadian companies weighted toward value, smaller size, and profitability rather than pure market cap.

What is CACE’s MER?

The management fee is 0.19%. The full MER hasn’t been published because Canadian regulators don’t require it in a fund’s first year. Expect it a few basis points above 0.19% once disclosed. It’s one of the cheapest funds in the Avantis CIBC lineup.

Do I need CACE if I hold CAGE?

Generally no. CAGE already includes Canadian equity internally as part of its global all-equity allocation. CACE is for people building their own portfolio sleeve by sleeve, or deliberately overweighting Canada, not for someone who already holds the all-in-one.

Can I hold CACE in a TFSA or RRSP?

Yes. CACE trades on the TSX in Canadian dollars and is eligible in any standard Canadian registered account (TFSA, RRSP, FHSA, RESP, RDSP, RRIF, LIRA) as well as non-registered accounts.

Bottom line

CACE is a cheap, well-built Canadian-equity sleeve with a factor tilt. It’s a building block, not a complete portfolio. If you want one fund and no maintenance, CAGE or a broad all-in-one is the simpler choice. If you’re deliberately constructing an Avantis portfolio or tilting Canada, CACE is the piece that does that job.