CASH vs PSA vs CBIL: Canadian HISA and T-Bill ETFs Compared

Where a deposit still beats a fund is the cash management guide and the HISA comparison. The older structure piece, written before these yields, is HISA versus cash ETF. Brokerage costs around the trade are online brokerages and Wealthsimple versus Questrade.

What does each fund actually hold?

The ticker is not the holding. Global X says CASH invests primarily in high-interest deposit accounts with Canadian banks, and that it seeks monthly income while preserving capital and liquidity. The same manager says CBIL seeks interest income from Government of Canada treasury bills with remaining maturities generally under three months, and it describes those bills as backed by the full faith and credit of the Canadian government. That is a credit difference, not a marketing adjective. A bank deposit inside a fund is a claim on the bank, held by the fund. A treasury bill is a claim on the federal government, held by the fund. You own units either way.

Purpose’s description of PSA is both. The page says the fund allocates to high-interest deposit accounts with Schedule I Canadian banks and to short-term Bank of Canada treasury bills. Comparing PSA with CASH as if both were pure bank-deposit funds, or with CBIL as if both were pure T-bill funds, skips the sentence Purpose wrote. Read the holdings on the day you buy. They change.

What were the yields and fees on the day the pages were read?

Table as of 27 September 2026. Global X defines the annualized distribution yield as the most recent regular distribution, annualized, divided by current NAV. That is not the gross yield, and it is not a forecast. CASH’s August distribution of $0.08430 was lower than its July distribution of $0.10000 on the same distribution table. The yield you saw in July was not the yield the August payment produced.

Why can the “higher yield” still lose?

Three subtractions sit between the headline and the dollar you keep.

• The MER is already inside the net figure, or it is not. Global X’s gross yield on CASH, 2.16% effective 8 July 2026, is not the annualized distribution yield of 2.02%. Do not subtract the 0.11% MER from the 2.02% a second time unless the facts sheet tells you the yield is gross. Purpose’s page shows both 2.35% and a 2.18% net yield. Use the net line, and confirm the label, so you do not haircut it twice. How a fee compounds when the gap is real is the MER drag guide.
• Tax. Outside a registered account the distribution is interest. There is no dividend tax credit. A fund that leads a deposit by a fraction of a percent can lose that lead at your marginal rate. Brackets are the federal and provincial pages. Inside a TFSA the tax gap closes and the room cost remains. That trade is the TFSA guide.
• The day you need the money. Purpose’s T+1 line is about the fund. Your broker can hold the proceeds again before an EFT to your bank. A deposit you have already withdrawn from is the first layer in the emergency-fund guide. These ETFs are a second layer at best.

Who should not buy any of the three?

Do not buy them with the rent, with money that has to move this week, or with the belief that a unit is a savings account. Do not buy all three and call it diversification. They are three versions of short-term cash. Pick the credit you meant to own, bank deposits or treasury bills or Purpose’s mix, and hold one. If the dollar is a long-term investment you are nervous about, none of these is the portfolio. The portfolio is how to invest in Canada.

Frequently asked questions

Is CASH safer than CBIL?

They are safer against different things. CASH, on Global X’s description, holds bank deposit accounts, so the credit is bank credit inside a fund that is not itself CDIC-insured. CBIL holds short Government of Canada treasury bills. Federal bills are a different issuer than a bank. Neither fund promises a fixed NAV. Safer is the risk you wrote down, not a star rating.

Why does PSA show two percentages?

On 25 September 2026 Purpose’s page displayed 2.35% and, separately, a net yield of 2.18%. The static version of the page did not attach the word “gross” to 2.35% cleanly enough to repeat that label here. Use the net-yield line when you compare, and read the live page so you know which figure already has the fee removed. A 0.17% line dated 30 June 2026 also needs its label checked before you subtract it from the net yield.

Are the distributions eligible Canadian dividends?

No. These funds pay interest income. Eligible dividends and the dividend tax credit belong to Canadian equities, which are a different contract and can fall by more than a year of distributions. The distinction is tax-efficient investing. Do not park emergency money in a dividend ETF because the yield looks higher.

Can I hold them in a TFSA or FHSA?

Global X lists CASH and CBIL as eligible for all registered and non-registered accounts. Purpose lists PSA as registered-account eligible. Eligibility is not a reason. In a TFSA you give up room. In an FHSA you should match the purchase date, which is FHSA sequencing. In an RRSP you may be locking spending money behind a taxable withdrawal.

Does the MER make CASH and CBIL the same fund?

The posted management fee is 0.10% plus sales tax on both, and both show a 0.11% MER, dated differently (30 June 2026 for CASH, 31 December 2025 for CBIL). The fee is not the holding. One fund’s assets are bank deposits. The other’s are treasury bills. Buy the holding. The fee is the tie-breaker only after the holding is the one you wanted.

What yield should I compare with my HISA?

The net yield you would earn after the fee, on the same day, after tax if the account is taxable, minus the hassle of selling. For CASH, do not compare a July gross yield of 2.16% with a September HISA rate. Compare the 24 September annualized distribution yield of 2.02%, or whatever the page says the day you look, with the deposit rate you will still earn after any bonus hurdle. EQ’s conditional 2.75% and its 1.00% base are both in the HISA post. A fund does not win because a teaser has not been subtracted yet.

Sources

• Global X: High Interest Savings ETF (CASH)
• Global X: 0-3 Month T-Bill ETF (CBIL)
• Purpose: High Interest Savings Fund (PSA)
• CDIC: what’s covered, which lists ETFs as not eligible