The Best All-In-One ETFs to Buy in 2026

A big part of ETF Portfolio Blueprint is exactly that: providing a blueprint for how an ETF portfolio can be put together. The emphasis is on can, not should.

Some of the portfolios I sketch out are deliberately unconventional. Others are more practical. A few exist largely as intellectual exercises, driven by a genuine interest in ETF design and portfolio construction rather than as turnkey solutions for everyone.

That distinction matters. These portfolios are not universal, and they are not recommendations. They are examples of what is possible within the ETF ecosystem, for better or worse.

For some investors, though, ETF investing is a means to an end rather than a hobby, or in my case, an occupation. In Canada, asset allocation ETFs have filled that role for years, offering low-cost, diversified portfolios of stocks and bonds designed around different risk levels and time horizons.

In the U.S., these all-in-one ETFs have been slower to catch on. Target-date mutual funds have historically dominated that space. Even so, there are now several ETFs that bundle multiple asset classes into a single fund, effectively outsourcing portfolio construction.

Below are three all-in-one ETFs that take very different approaches to diversification, complexity, and risk, but are overall thoughtfully constructed and effective.

iShares Core 80/20 Aggressive Allocation ETF (AOA)

AOA is about as straightforward as an all-in-one ETF gets. It uses an ETF-of-ETFs structure to maintain an 80% allocation to equities and 20% to bonds.

On the equity side, AOA holds a mix of iShares ETFs tracking the S&P 500, MSCI developed international markets, and MSCI emerging markets, with smaller allocations to U.S. mid-cap and small-cap stocks via the S&P 400 and S&P 600.

The bond sleeve includes broad U.S. aggregate bond exposure, covering Treasuries, agency mortgage-backed securities, investment-grade corporate bonds, and high-yield bonds, along with an international aggregate bond allocation.

The result is a growth-oriented portfolio designed for investors who can tolerate equity volatility and have a long time horizon. The geographic exposure is dominated by the U.S., which makes up 62.8% of the portfolio, broadly in line with global market-cap weights.

Costs are one of AOA’s strongest features. The fund carries a 0.19% expense ratio, which iShares currently waives down to a net expense ratio of 0.15%, inclusive of underlying ETF fees.

Over the past 10 years, AOA has delivered a 9.84% annualized return before taxes with distributions reinvested. After accounting for taxes on distributions and capital gains, iShares estimates an average annual return of 7.82%.

That translates to roughly a 5% to 6% real return after inflation, which is broadly in line with long-term expectations for a portfolio of this risk profile.

Capital Group Core Balanced ETF (CGBL)

If an 80/20 stock-bond split feels too aggressive, iShares offers more conservative variations, including 60/40 and 40/60 options. All of those, however, rely entirely on passive index ETFs underneath.

For investors who prefer active management, CGBL offers a different approach. Rather than sticking to a fixed allocation, the fund has flexibility to invest between 50% and 70% in equities, with the remainder allocated to fixed income.

At present, the portfolio is roughly 55% U.S. equities, 8% non-U.S. equities, 31% U.S. bonds, 3% non-U.S. bonds, and about 2% cash. The fund has a pronounced U.S. home-country bias, which can be a feature or a drawback depending on market conditions.

Equity exposure skews heavily toward large-cap stocks, which account for roughly 78.7% of the portfolio. On the fixed income side, the portfolio carries an average coupon of about 4.9% and a duration of 5.8 years, both fairly standard for a balanced fund.

Despite being actively managed, CGBL remains reasonably priced. The 0.33% expense ratio is higher than AOA’s but competitive for an active balanced ETF. With $4.7 billion in assets under management, the fund is well established, and closure risk is not a concern.

SPDR Bridgewater All Weather ETF (ALLW)

ALLW represents a very different kind of all-in-one ETF. It is also the all-in-one fund I use in my girlfriend’s spousal RRSP account, precisely because it removes the need to think about asset allocation at all.

ALLW is based on Bridgewater’s All Weather strategy, which applies a risk-parity framework rather than a traditional stock-bond split. Risk parity focuses on balancing how much each asset class contributes to overall portfolio risk, rather than allocating based on expected returns.

Because bonds are less volatile than equities, a risk-parity portfolio often holds much larger bond allocations, then uses leverage to scale the portfolio efficiently to a higher return target.

That structure explains ALLW’s current allocations, which include roughly 70% global nominal bonds, 43% global equities, 40% inflation-linked bonds, and 34% commodities. These weights add up to more than 100% because the fund uses leverage.

But unlike daily reset leveraged ETFs, this leverage is primarily implemented through futures contracts backed by collateral, not swaps.

The objective is to hold assets that perform differently across economic regimes such as inflation, deflation, growth, and contraction, balance their risk contributions, and then apply modest leverage.

While ALLW has a limited live track record, Bridgewater’s All Weather strategy has historically delivered strong risk-adjusted returns, even if absolute returns have not always been eye-catching. For investors focused on capital preservation and smoother performance across cycles, the structure is appealing.

The main drawback is cost. ALLW carries a 0.85% expense ratio, reflecting both the licensing of Bridgewater’s strategy and the complexity involved in its construction.