S&P TSX: Index Guide, Companies, Returns & S&P 500 Comparison

After years of watching US equities leave them in the dust, Canadian investors got a rare win in 2025: the S&P/TSX Composite outran the S&P 500 by a wide margin, posting a 32% year-to-date gain compared to just 14% for US equities through December 19, 2025. The reasons why matter whether you’re choosing your first index fund or rebalancing a six-figure portfolio.

Current Level: 32,750.28 · YTD Change: +32% (S&P/TSX) vs +14% (S&P 500) · Symbol: ^GSPTSE · Exchange: Toronto Stock Exchange · Coverage: ~70% of TSX total cap

What is S&P TSX?

The S&P/TSX Composite Index is the headline gauge for Canada’s stock market. Managed by S&P Dow Jones Indices, it tracks the largest companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and serves as the benchmark Canadian portfolio managers reach for when measuring domestic equity performance (S&P Global). It is the broadest of the S&P/TSX index family, covering roughly 70% of total market capitalization on the TSX.

What is the S&P/TSX Composite Index?

The index launched under its current name on May 1, 2002, when it replaced the older TSE 300 Composite (Wikipedia). Since August 31, 1998, the aggregate market capitalization of all constituents has grown by CAD 2.75 trillion, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. The index delivered an annualized total return of over 8% (595% cumulative) from 1998 through August 31, 2023.

S&P/TSX Index Eligibility

A company must be listed on the TSX and meet liquidity and float requirements to qualify. As of September 20, 2021, the index held 237 companies out of 3,451 listed on the TSX—roughly 7% of listed names, but representing the lion’s share of market value (Wikipedia). Eligibility is reviewed quarterly by S&P Dow Jones Indices.

What companies are in the S&P TSX?

The index concentrates representation across sectors where Canada punches above its weight globally: financials, energy, and materials. Major constituents include the country’s largest banks (Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia), insurance conglomerates (Manulife, Sun Life), and resource majors (Suncor, Enbridge, Barrick Gold). The composition skews heavily toward raw materials and energy compared to the US benchmark, which is dominated by technology.

S&P/TSX Composite Index Constituents

A full list of current holdings appears on TMX Money, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s official data platform (TMX Datalinx). Sector weighting drives much of the return difference versus the S&P 500—where tech giants Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia account for a combined 20%+ weight, the TSX has no equivalent anchor in a single sector.

What is the difference between S&P TSX and S&P 500?

The S&P 500 tracks 500 of the largest US corporations and is weighted by float-adjusted market cap. The S&P/TSX Composite follows the same methodology but confines itself to the Toronto Stock Exchange. Both are managed by S&P Dow Jones Indices, but they track fundamentally different economies (ATB Financial). The US index skews toward technology, healthcare, and consumer discretionary; the Canadian index favors financials, energy, and materials.

Is S&P the same as TSX?

No. S&P refers to the index provider—S&P Dow Jones Indices—while TSX is the Toronto Stock Exchange itself. The S&P 500 is a US index; the S&P/TSX Composite is its Canadian counterpart. They share a brand name and calculation methodology, not a market.

S&P 500 vs. TSX Composite comparison

The performance gap between these two benchmarks has swung dramatically over decades. From 1970 through 2010, annualized returns were nearly identical: 11.3% for the S&P/TSX versus 11.4% for the S&P 500 in Canadian dollar terms (Provisus Wealth Management). But shorter windows tell a different story. From 2011 to 2014, the TSX managed just 5.5% annualized while the S&P 500 returned 20.9%—a chasm driven by the US tech boom and a resource sector slump.

The table below illustrates how returns have diverged across different time periods, highlighting the cyclical nature of Canadian versus US equity performance.

The implication: the S&P/TSX outperformed when resource demand surged (the 2000s commodity supercycle) and has lagged when US tech stocks roared. In 2025, Canadian resource stocks surged again after US tariff threats on industrial metals made Canadian producers relatively more attractive (ATB Financial).

What is the average return on the TSX last 20 years?

Measuring the TSX over 20 years means navigating through a resource boom, a financial crisis, and a decade of US outperformance. From November 30, 1971 through November 20, 2021, the S&P/TSX delivered an annualized return of 7.94% (Questrade). Over a 25-year window ending August 31, 2023, S&P Dow Jones Indices recorded an annualized total return of over 8% with 595% cumulative gains.

The catch: these figures are in Canadian dollar terms, and currency swings against the US dollar have amplified or erased portions of that return for investors converting back. The Canadian stock market showed positive monthly returns in over 85% of 3-, 5-, and 10-year periods since September 1998, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices—suggesting that patient investors were rarely punished for staying invested.

“The past four years have not been kind to Canadian stocks when compared to U.S. stocks.”

— Provisus Wealth Management

Should I invest in TSX or S&P 500?

The answer depends on what you already hold and what you believe about commodities cycles. Both indices have delivered roughly similar long-run returns, but their paths diverge sharply over shorter periods—periods that correspond to the business cycle position of the resource sector. Canadian investors have an inherent home-country bias: Canadian equities make up a relatively small slice of global market cap, yet most Canadian portfolios are overweight them.

S&P 500 vs. TSX Composite: A 2025 comparison

In 2025, the divergence turned in Canada’s favor. The S&P/TSX gained 32% through December 19 while the S&P 500 returned 14%, according to Morningstar. The Canadian market held up better than the US amid tariff uncertainty and benefited from gold and industrial metals demand.

“Historically, the US S&P 500 index has outperformed the Canadian S&P TSX Composite, but investors have seen a shift in 2025,” noted Alek Sawchuk, CFA, an analyst at ATB Financial. The pattern has been consistent enough that ValueTrend observes the Canadian stock market “may take a turn for the better after 15 years of underperformance against the S&P 500.”

How to invest in the S&P/TSX Composite Index

Gaining broad exposure to the S&P/TSX Composite is straightforward through exchange-traded funds listed on Canadian and US exchanges. Several ETFs track the index directly or via a close variant.

• BMO S&P/TSX Capped Composite Index ETF (ZCN): Tracks the capped version of the index to prevent any single company from dominating weighting.
• iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF (XIU): Tracks the S&P/TSX 60—the blue-chip subset of the top 60 companies—which has outperformed the Composite over 25 years ending 2023 (S&P Dow Jones Indices).
• Vanguard FTSE Canada All Cap Index ETF (VCIT): Broader Canadian equity exposure including small- and mid-cap stocks.
• TD S&P/TSX Composite Capped ETF (TZX): Another capped option from TD Asset Management.

All of these trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange and can be purchased through any Canadian brokerage. US investors can access Canadian equities through ADRs or by opening a CAD-denominated brokerage account with Interactive Brokers or Questrade.

“The divergence remains just as pronounced in the S&P/TSX Composite Index’s 32% gain, compared with the S&P 500’s 14% return so far in 2025.”

— Morningstar (Market Analyst)

What if I invested $10,000 in the S&P 500 20 years ago?

At 10.33% annualized, a $10,000 investment in the S&P 500 from 2005 through 2025 would have grown to approximately $74,000 before taxes. The S&P/TSX version of the same calculation, using its 7.94% long-term return, yields roughly $46,000—a $28,000 difference over two decades. That gap illustrates why Canadian investors have increasingly tilted toward US equity ETFs despite the S&P/TSX’s strong 2025 showing.

Currency matters in practice. The Canadian dollar has fluctuated between roughly $0.63 and $0.85 USD over that span, meaning the gap in USD-adjusted returns could be wider or narrower depending on when an investor converted their returns. RRSP accounts held in Canada let investors hold US equities inside a registered plan without triggering withholding tax—a significant structural advantage for Canadian investors building a global portfolio.

What is S&P/TSX Index Eligibility?

For a stock to enter the S&P/TSX Composite, it must meet minimum float, liquidity, and listing requirements on the TSX. The index provider reviews the constituents quarterly, adding and removing companies as their market capitalizations shift. Companies in financial difficulty or with very low trading volumes get removed; growing companies with sufficient float get added. The full eligibility methodology is published by S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P Global).

Who owns 90% of the stock market?

This figure appears in various contexts—typically referring to the concentration of US equity ownership among retail investors versus institutional actors. In Canada specifically, institutional ownership in TSX-listed companies is high, with pension funds, insurance companies, and foreign investors holding substantial stakes. The S&P/TSX Composite itself is concentrated: the top 10 companies by weight account for a disproportionate share of index performance, which is why blue-chip subsets like the S&P/TSX 60 can deliver meaningfully different returns than the broader Composite over long periods.

For Canadian investors, the choice between the S&P/TSX Composite and the S&P 500 is not either/or—it is a question of portfolio weight and conviction. The S&P/TSX posted a remarkable 32% gain in 2025 while the S&P 500 managed 14%, but historical data from Questrade and Provisus Wealth Management shows the US index has accumulated roughly 2.4 percentage points more annually over the long run. For Canadian taxable accounts, holding both provides natural diversification and reduces currency conversion drag; for RRSP holders, the US withholding tax exemption makes a strong case for tilting toward S&P 500 funds.