Self-Serve Portal

Understanding your Investment Performance

Each year, your investment firm is required to provide you with two annual reports that provide information about your investment performance and the charges and fees you paid to your investment firm during the past year – an investment performance report, and a charges and compensation report. These statements are important documents to help you know if you are on track to meet your investment goals.  

Investment Performance Report

The investment performance report will tell you how much you have made or lost over a specific period of time, and how these changes impact the overall value of your account. This information is tailored to you and the activity in your account during the reporting period. You’ll find information such as:

  • The market value of your account as of the report date. The market value tells you how much your investments are worth (in dollars) on the date of the report.
  • Deposits and withdrawals made during the reporting period. 
  • Your personal rates of return over time. 

Your personal rates of return are unique to you and they help you see how the activities in your account impact your potential earnings. In calculating your personal rates of return, several factors are considered including the amount and timing of deposits or withdrawals you made and changes in the market value of your investments. Your statement will include the percentage rates of return for the past one, three, five and 10 years, and since the account opening, as applicable.  

Charges and Compensation Report

Understanding the fees that you pay is important because these fees impact your investment returns. There are different fees that you may pay depending on the type of advice or products and services you receive. The charges and compensation report includes an itemized list of all the charges and fees that you have paid over the past year for the advice and services you’ve received. It also includes any compensation or incentives paid to your firm by others.  These fees and charges are listed as dollar amounts.  

The charges and compensation report only includes compensation that has been paid to the firm (not your advisor) and does not include any fees charged within an investment fund such as a management expense ratio.  This information is found in the Fund Facts document which your advisor must provide you before your first time purchasing units of the investment fund. Reading these documents together will give you a complete view of the total cost of your investments. 

Receiving and Reviewing your Reports 

Depending on the firm you use, the investment performance report and charges and compensation report may be delivered together or separately by the firm. They can be delivered through mail or online, depending how you have chosen to receive your statements. 

These statements can help you better understand how your investments are doing and whether they are meeting your investment goals. It’s important to speak with your financial professional if you have any questions about the fees you are paying or how your account performed over the reporting period.