Open an account

Qtrade Direct Investing

Total Cost Reporting

A clearer view of your investment fund costs

Your Qtrade Direct Investing annual cost report is changing to give you greater visibility into the costs associated with the investment funds you hold.

Starting with the 2026 reporting year, you’ll see additional information about certain fund expenses, including costs expressed in dollars. These aren’t new fees or charges; they’re costs that already exist within applicable investment funds and are reflected in fund performance. What’s changing is how clearly they’re reported to you.

With more of this information in one place, you’ll have a more complete view of your investment fund costs and can better understand what it costs to hold the funds in your portfolio.

What is Total Cost Reporting?

Total Cost Reporting (TCR) expands Canada’s investment cost-reporting requirements to provide investors with greater visibility into the ongoing expenses associated with owning investment funds.

Under TCR, your annual cost report will include additional information for applicable investment funds you held during the year, alongside the charges and compensation already reported today.

What will change on your annual cost report

For applicable investment funds, you’ll see two additional pieces of information:

Fund Expense Ratio (FER) for each fund
The FER represents the annual cost of owning a fund, expressed as a percentage. It combines:

  • Management Expense Ratio (MER): includes management fees, operating expenses and taxes.
  • Trading Expense Ratio (TER): reflects trading-related costs within the fund.

Fund expenses shown in dollars
You’ll also see the dollar amount of fund expenses associated with the applicable investment funds you held during the year.

This amount is generally calculated using each fund’s FER, the value of your holdings and the period of time you held the fund during the year.

Together with the charges and compensation already included in your annual cost report, this information will give you a more complete view of your reported investment costs.

 

2009

CRM1

Basic suitability & conflict disclosure

2016

CRM2

Dealer compensation shown in $ on client statements + Performance Report

2026

CRM3 / TCR

Embedded fund costs now shown in $ on client statement

These are NOT new fees. Fund expenses (MER, TER) have always been deducted from the fund value and already reflected in returns. TCR does not introduce any new costs, it requires embedded costs be calculated and shown as a dollar amount.

 

 

THE KEY NEW METRIC : FUND EXPENSE RATIO (FER)

FER = MER + TER

Management Expense Ratio
management fees, operating costs, taxes

Trading Expense Ratio
cost of buying/selling inside the fund

 

Key dates for Total Cost Reporting

January 1, 2026

TCR requirements took effect and cost information began being collected for applicable investment funds.

December 31, 2026

The first full TCR reporting year ends.

Early 2027

You’ll receive your first annual cost report containing the new TCR information, including dollar-based fund expenses.

No action is required from you. The new information will automatically appear on your annual cost report.

 

 

Frequently asked questions

  • Total Cost Reporting (TCR), also known as CRM3, is the next phase of Canada’s Client Relationship Model reforms. It is designed to give you a clearer, more complete view of the costs associated with owning investment funds.

    Starting with the 2026 reporting year, annual statements will include embedded fund costs in dollar terms, in addition to the charges and compensation already disclosed today.

  • No. TCR does not introduce any new fees or charges.

    Fund expenses such as management fees, operating expenses and trading costs have always existed and are already reflected in fund performance. What is changing is how these costs are disclosed. TCR makes them more visible by showing them in dollar amounts on your annual statement.

  • TCR generally applies to prospectus-qualified investment funds, including mutual funds, ETFs, segregated funds, scholarship plans and closed-end funds under prospectus.

    It does not generally apply to individual securities such as stocks and bonds, structured notes and structured products, prospectus-exempt or pooled funds, or labour-sponsored investment funds.

    Where applicable, your statement may note when cost information is not available for holdings that are outside the scope of TCR.

  • TCR requirements took effect on January 1, 2026.

    Because the disclosures are based on a full calendar year of cost data, your first TCR-enhanced annual statement covering the 2026 reporting year will be delivered in early 2027.

  • The Fund Expense Ratio (FER) is the annual cost of owning a fund, expressed as a percentage.

    It combines:

    • MER (Management Expense Ratio), which includes management fees, operating expenses and taxes.
    • TER (Trading Expense Ratio), which reflects trading-related costs within the fund.

    Under TCR, the FER will appear on your annual statement for each applicable fund you held during the year.

  • Fund expenses in dollars are calculated based on the FER and the value of your holdings over the time you held the fund during the year.

    This means the amount shown reflects the costs associated with the funds you actually held during the reporting period, rather than a generic estimate.

  • The main change is that your annual statement will provide a more complete view of your investment costs.

    In addition to the charges and compensation already disclosed today, you’ll also see:

    • the Fund Expense Ratio (FER) for each applicable fund you held during the year
    • the total fund expenses in dollars associated with those holdings

    This additional information is intended to help you better understand the costs associated with the investment funds in your Qtrade portfolio.

 

See what your updated annual cost report will look like

View a sample TCR report to see how the new investment fund cost information, including the Fund Expense Ratio (FER) and fund expenses in dollars, will appear on your annual cost report.

View sample TCR report (coming soon!)

 

 



Online brokerage services are offered through Qtrade Direct Investing, a division of Aviso Financial Inc. Qtrade and Qtrade Direct Investing are trade names or trademarks of Aviso Wealth Inc. and/or its affiliates.