FXC vs FXF

FXCCInvesco CurrencyShares Canadian Dollar Trust

FXFCInvesco CurrencyShares Swiss Franc Trust

In short

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.

FXF One of the original ways to own Swiss francs in a brokerage account. Running since 2006, this grantor trust simply tracks the dollar price of the franc, the currency markets reach for when the world gets loud.

Stated mandate

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.

FXF The Trust is designed to track the price of the Swiss franc. Its objective is to reflect the U.S.-dollar price of Swiss francs plus accrued interest, less applicable expenses.

Why people hold it

• 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.

• FXF Pure single-currency exposure: the trust's value reflects the dollar price of Swiss francs plus accrued interest, less expenses. No stocks, bonds or index underneath.invesco.com
• The franc is the market's classic safe haven, sought out when geopolitics or markets turn turbulent.cnbc.com
• Trading since 2006, it is one of the longest-running single-currency products and sits in the upper half of a small field.
• At 0.40% a year it matches the typical single-currency fund and its CurrencyShares siblings FXE, FXB and FXY. Same sticker, different currency.

Worth knowing

• 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

• FXF Thinly traded next to mainstream ETFs, so bid/ask spreads and order size carry more weight here.
• Swiss rates sat below zero from 2015 to 2022. When franc interest is minimal, the 0.40% fee comes straight out of the franc balance.cnbc.com
• One exchange rate drives everything. No company earnings or bond coupons sit underneath the shares.

Full FXC profile⁠

Full FXF profile⁠