FXB vs FXC

FXBBInvesco CurrencyShares British Pound Sterling Trust

FXCCInvesco CurrencyShares Canadian Dollar Trust

In short

FXB One-ticker access to the pound. FXB is a grantor trust whose value aims to reflect the dollar price of sterling, plus any accrued interest, less expenses. Live since 2006, it's an original in a very small corner of the ETF market.

FXC The plain-vanilla loonie trade: FXC holds actual Canadian dollars in a London bank account, no futures, no swaps, and has done it that way since 2006. A foreign-currency account you can buy in a brokerage window.

Stated mandate

FXB The Trust seeks to reflect the U.S.-dollar price of British Pound Sterling, plus accrued interest if any, after deducting its expenses and liabilities.

FXC The Trust seeks to reflect the U.S.-dollar price of the Canadian Dollar, plus any accrued interest and after Trust expenses. It is intended to provide a direct, cost-effective way to obtain investment exposure similar to holding Canadian Dollars.

Why people hold it

• FXB One job, plainly stated: reflect the dollar price of the pound, plus any accrued interest, after expenses. A grantor trust tied to sterling, not a manager's macro call.invesco.com
• 0.40% a year, the standard rate across Invesco's CurrencyShares lineup (FXE, FXF and FXY all charge the same) and right at the single-currency median.
• Trading since 2006, one of the longest continuous runs among single-currency funds, and one of the stronger implementations in that small group.
• Whatever interest accrues on the trust's sterling above expenses goes out on a monthly schedule rather than piling up inside the wrapper.

• FXC Physically backed: real Canadian dollars sit in a JPMorgan Chase London deposit account, no derivatives involved, with the trust's holdings posted every business day.sec.gov
• Trading since 2006 and built for one job: exposure similar to holding Canadian dollars, without opening a separate currency account.
• The cash can earn interest. It accrues daily on the trust's primary deposit account, and the trust distributes monthly.sec.gov
• Fee sits at 0.40% a year, even with the median single-currency fund. Nobody in this corner is undercutting anybody.

Worth knowing

• FXB Thinly traded next to mainstream ETFs, so spreads and order size matter more here than in a big index fund.
• One currency, one exposure. Sterling versus the dollar drives the entire result, and the 0.40% fee comes off the top each year.
• Interest is conditional, not fixed: payouts depend on what accrues on the trust's sterling after expenses, so the cadence is monthly but the amounts are not set.

• FXC Thinly traded, so what you pay to get in and out can matter more than the 0.40% fee.
• The depository sets the interest rate and can move it to zero or below zero, which would shrink or halt what flows through to shareholders.sec.gov
• One currency, no cushion: the whole ride is the Canadian dollar against the US dollar, and the money sits in deposit accounts at a single bank.sec.gov

Full FXB profile⁠

Full FXC profile⁠