Understanding Total Cost Reporting
Greater transparency, clearer value, better decisions
As an investor, it’s important to understand what you pay for advice, services and investment products, because costs can affect your overall investment performance. Until now, some investment costs haven't always been easy to see or understand. That’s changing.
What is Total Cost Reporting (TCR)?
Total Cost Reporting (TCR) is a new regulatory initiative by the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) and the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization, designed to give you a more comprehensive picture of the costs associated with your investments. The goal is simple: to help you better understand what you’re paying, so we can have clearer, more informed conversations together about your investments, costs and long-term plan.
What’s changing?
Starting in January 2027, your Annual Report on Charges and Other Compensation will include a new section that shows the total dollar amount you paid for the investment products you owned during the previous year, such as mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
This section may include:
- Management fees and operating expenses
- Fund trading costs
- Other investment-related expenses
- Compensation paid for advice and wealth management services
What this means for you
Rather than seeing some of these costs expressed only as percentages or embedded within investment products, you'll now see them reported in clear dollar amounts, giving you more transparency into the costs associated with your investments.
The costs associated with your investments are not changing because of TCR. What is changing is the level of detail provided, giving you a better understanding of what these costs are.
The value of working with us
While TCR helps you better understand the costs associated with investing, it's also important to understand the value of professional advice.
When you work with our team, our role extends far beyond helping you select investments. We provide personalized guidance and a full-service offering designed to help you make confident decisions and stay on track toward your long-term goals.
This may include:
- Tailored cash flow analysis to help you balance today’s needs with tomorrow’s goals
- Comprehensive financial planning, including retirement, tax, and estate planning strategies
- Portfolio construction and ongoing management
- Guidance to help you navigate changing market conditions and life events
- Coordination with your accountant, lawyer and other professional advisors when appropriate
- Regular reviews to help keep your plan aligned as your goals, family, career or retirement plans evolve
TCR helps answer the question, "What am I paying?" We help answer another important question, “What am I getting in return?”
Together, they give you a more complete picture of your investments, and the advice that supports them.
Have questions? Talk to us
If you have questions when you receive your report, we’d be happy to review it with you and explain how the information connects to your portfolio, your financial plan and the advice you receive.
We believe transparency is an important part of helping you make confident financial decisions. Total Cost Reporting is another way to support open conversations about the costs you pay, the advice you receive and the value your financial plan is designed to deliver.