While both U.S. and European-domiciled funds fully replicate the index, the Canadian fund invests its assets in its U.S.-listed counterpart Vanguard S&P 500 ETF in place of individual stocks.

The fund also excludes high-yield debt. Some peers allocate as much as 5% of their portfolios to below-investment-grade bonds, further accentuating the fund's conservative bend relative to ...