Starting in January 2027, you'll notice some changes to the annual charges and compensation report you receive about your investment costs. It's part of an initiative called Total Cost Reporting (TCR), designed to give you a clearer, more complete picture of what you're paying for your investment funds and the advice you receive.
To be clear, there are no new fees. This is simply a more transparent way of showing you the total costs you pay now in dollars rather than percentages so you can better understand the full value of investing with managed money.
In the video below, David Richardson, Managing Director and Head, Enterprise Strategy, walks you through what's changing, and explains what these updates mean for you.
View transcript
Dave Richardson
Hi, I'm Dave Richardson from RBC Global Asset Management. I'm here to give you a heads-up on some changes coming to the annual charges and compensation report you receive on your investment costs. You'll see these changes starting in January 2027. It's called Total Cost Reporting, also known as TCR. It's designed to give you a clearer, more complete picture of what you're paying for, your investment funds, and the advice you receive
These are not new fees. You'll simply be seeing them reported in a new way. It's all about making it easier to understand the full value of investing with RBC Global Asset Management. So let me walk you through the key changes you're going to see next January. Before, your cost report showed the trailing commissions paid your advisor for ongoing advice and services.
Everything else, including the cost of managing your funds, was listed in a separate document for each fund called the “Fund Facts”. They were listed as a percentage of the total you had invested in the fund, like this. If that percentage feels a little abstract, or you've ever wondered exactly what you were paying in real dollars, that is precisely what Total Cost Reporting is designed to clear up for you.
Starting in January, your Total Cost Report will bring all this information together, and you'll see the total cost of your investments in dollars. It will look something like this. One, you'll see your total investment cost in dollars, not a percentage. Two, you'll see the fund expense ratio or fair for each investment fund you own. This number represents the total fund cost of owning an investment fund.
It's shown as a percentage, that makes it easier to compare different funds, no matter how little or how much you own. Three, you'll also see any direct fund charges if they apply to you. For example, you may pay a short-term trading fee if you bought a fund and sold it within a few weeks, so you'll get more information all in one place, but no new fees, just greater transparency on what you pay for your investment funds and the value you receive.
And that's a good thing. The more you understand what you own and why, the more confident you can feel about your financial future. And if you have any questions about your new cost reports or the value of the advice and services you receive - talk to your advisor. They're here to help you understand your investments, the value they offer, and why it all adds up in your favor.
For more information, talk to your financial advisor today.