Money market ETFs in Canada
Money market and high-interest savings ETFs listed in Canada: what each one holds, how the yield is generated, the tax and account rules, and live prices from a real market feed.
A money market ETF is where Canadian investors park cash they do not want in the market and do not want sitting idle in a chequing account. The funds below hold either bank deposits or short-dated government and corporate paper, they trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange like any other ETF, and they pay out interest monthly. Unit prices barely move; the return arrives as distributions, not as capital gains.
Three practical things separate them. First, what they hold — bank deposits, treasury bills, or a blend of short-term paper. Second, what currency they settle in, since the US-dollar funds let you hold greenbacks without a US brokerage account. Third, the fee, which comes directly out of a yield that is measured in fractions of a percentage point.
Canadian money market and savings ETFs
| Ticker | Fund | What it holds | Price | Change | Watch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CASH | Global X High Interest Savings ETF | Holds deposits in Canadian-dollar high-interest savings accounts at Schedule I banks; priced near a stable unit value with income paid monthly. | 50.06 CAD | 0(0.00%)unchanged | |
| CBIL | Global X 0-3 Month T-Bill ETF | Holds Government of Canada treasury bills maturing within three months — sovereign credit rather than bank deposits. | 50.07 CAD | 0(0.00%)unchanged | |
| ZMMK | BMO Money Market Fund ETF Series | An exchange-traded series of a conventional Canadian money market fund holding short-term corporate and government paper. | 49.89 CAD | +0.01(+0.02%)up | |
| MNY | Purpose Cash Management Fund | A short-duration cash management vehicle holding treasury bills and high-quality short-term instruments. | 100.16 CAD | +0.03(+0.03%)up | |
| PSA | Purpose High Interest Savings ETF | One of the longest-running Canadian savings-account ETFs, holding deposits at large Canadian banks. | 50.07 CAD | 0(0.00%)unchanged | |
| CMR | iShares Premium Money Market ETF | Holds high-quality Canadian money market instruments with a very short weighted-average term. | 50.09 CAD | +0.02(+0.03%)up | |
| HISU.U | Global X USD High Interest Savings ETF | US-dollar savings deposits, listed in Toronto and settled in US dollars — US-dollar yield without a US brokerage account. | 100.25 CAD | +0.04(+0.03%)up | |
| UMNY.U | Purpose USD Cash Management Fund | A US-dollar cash management fund listed on the TSX, holding short-term US-dollar instruments. | 50.15 CAD | +0.03(+0.06%)up |
We show live price and daily change only. We do not publish yield or management expense figures here because we have no licensed source for them; take both from the fund provider's own fact sheet, which is updated daily.
Savings-deposit funds
CASH, PSA hold cash on deposit with Canadian banks. Yield follows the negotiated deposit rate, and the credit exposure is to those banks rather than to the government.
Treasury bill and paper funds
CBIL, ZMMK, MNY, CMR hold treasury bills and short-term instruments. The yield tracks auction rates and moves quickly when the Bank of Canada does.
US-dollar funds
HISU.U, UMNY.U are TSX-listed but settle in US dollars, so you earn a US-dollar rate without converting back to Canadian dollars or opening a US account.
How to choose one
- Decide the currency first. If the cash will eventually buy Canadian securities, a Canadian-dollar fund avoids two conversion spreads.
- Decide whose credit you want. Government treasury bills or Schedule I bank deposits — both are conservative, but they are not the same exposure.
- Compare the fee against the current gross yield on the provider's fact sheet. On a product yielding a few per cent, ten basis points is a real share of the return.
- Check the bid-ask spread and use limit orders. On a stable-price fund, a one-cent spread paid twice can cost more than a month of income.
- Prefer a registered account where possible. Distributions are interest income and are fully taxable outside one.
Common questions
- What is a money market ETF?
- A money market ETF is an exchange-traded fund that holds very short-term, high-quality debt — Government of Canada treasury bills, bankers' acceptances, commercial paper — or, in the case of a high-interest savings ETF, deposits held at Canadian banks. Its unit price is designed to stay close to a stable value while income accrues daily and is usually distributed monthly.
- What is the difference between a high-interest savings ETF and a T-bill ETF?
- A savings ETF (for example CASH or PSA) places cash on deposit with Schedule I banks, so its yield tracks the negotiated deposit rate and its credit exposure is to those banks. A T-bill ETF (for example CBIL) holds Government of Canada treasury bills, so its yield tracks the T-bill auction rate and its credit exposure is sovereign. Savings ETFs have historically paid slightly more; T-bill ETFs carry the lower credit risk.
- Are money market ETFs safe?
- They are among the lowest-volatility listed products available in Canada, but they are not deposits and they are not CDIC-insured. The unit price can drift slightly, distributions vary with the policy rate, and you are exposed to the underlying bank or government credit. In practice the meaningful risks are that yields fall when the Bank of Canada cuts, and that the ETF's trading price sits marginally away from net asset value in a stressed market.
- How is the yield taxed in Canada?
- Distributions are almost entirely interest income, taxed at your full marginal rate in a non-registered account. That is why these funds are commonly held inside a TFSA, RRSP or FHSA, where the income is sheltered. Confirm treatment with the fund's tax characteristics disclosure and your own adviser.
- Can I buy a US money market ETF from Canada?
- You can hold US-dollar cash in a TSX-listed, US-dollar-settled fund such as HISU.U or UMNY.U without needing a US brokerage account. Buying a US-domiciled money market fund directly is generally not available to Canadian retail brokerage clients, and US-domiciled funds can also raise estate-tax and reporting considerations.
- Money market ETF or money market mutual fund?
- The holdings are similar. The ETF trades on the exchange during market hours with a bid-ask spread and a brokerage commission; the mutual fund transacts once daily at net asset value with no spread but often a higher management fee. For a cash balance you might move quickly, the ETF is usually the cheaper and more flexible wrapper.
- What happened to the 2023 OSFI liquidity rules?
- Canada's banking regulator increased the liquidity requirements banks must hold against ETF deposits, which reduced the rate banks pay these funds. Savings ETF yields fell by roughly a fifth of a percentage point as a result, narrowing but not eliminating their advantage over treasury bill funds.
Related reading
- What happens when interest rates rise — why cash yields reset within weeks while bond prices reprice immediately.
- The full Canadian ETF list — equity, bond, sector and cash funds with live prices.
- Government of Canada 2-year yield — the cleanest read on where short-term rates are heading.
Source: Delayed public market feed · as of 15:59 ET. Quotes are delayed or previous-close, never real time. Nothing here is investment advice.