Beginning in early 2027, Canadians — for the first time — will gain a clearer picture of the costs associated with their investments.
Total Cost Reporting came into effect on January 1, 2026. It requires financial institutions to provide an annual report to their clients outlining the ongoing costs of owning mutual funds, ETFs, scholarships plans, and segregated funds. The first enhanced annual reports will cover the year ending December 31, 2026, meaning client conversations may have a different ring come the new year.
The Challenge
Greater transparency gives clients more information, but it does not automatically give them more confidence. So, when clients see the cost more clearly, advisors must be ready to make the value of their advice just as clear.
The Opportunity
Financial institutions that prepare their advisors now can use greater transparency to:
- Build stronger client relationships
- Lead more confident cost-and-value conversations
- Make previously invisible advice more visible
- Reduce defensive or overly technical responses
- Strengthen trust at a moment when clients may be questioning value
Total Cost Reporting does not create a fee problem. It creates a communication opportunity. This is where our roster of communication experts come in.
The Solution
The future of financial advice will not be defined by disclosure alone. It will be defined by communication. Discover how our speakers help advisors better communicate their value, demonstrate meaningful outcomes, and build trust without becoming too technical, apologetic, or defensive.
Communicating the Value of Advice
Ron Tite
Purpose-Driven Leadership and Marketing Expert
Ron Tite is an entrepreneur, bestselling author, and an award-winning advertising writer and creative director. Throughout his career, he has worked at the intersection of business, creativity, and communication, advising and addressed some of the world’s most respected brands, including Google, Volvo, Microsoft, and Walmart, along with TD Wealth, Manulife, RBC Dominion Securities, Canada Life, and other financial institutions.
In the era of total cost reporting, Ron brings a valuable perspective to financial institutions. Change itself is rarely the greatest challenge. The greater challenge is helping people understand what the change means, why it matters, and how they should respond.
He helps financial advisors understand what happens when a client opens their annual report, circles one number and asks: “Wait … I’ve paid this much?” That question may sound financial, but the underlying concern is often about meaning, confidence and trust.
With his signature humour, business insight and storytelling, Ron shows advisors how to move beyond explaining fees and begin communicating the purpose, outcomes, and value of the advisory relationship. Advisors will learn how to lead the conversation proactively, make their work more visible and turn greater transparency into an opportunity to strengthen client trust
The Real Value of Human Insight and Advice in a Digital World
Dr. Preet Banerjee
Behavioural Finance Expert
Originally trained as a neuroscientist, Dr. Preet Banerjee is one of Canada’s most recognized voices in the world of finance. He spent 10 years as a financial panelist on CBC’s The National, before earning a Doctor of Business Administration from Henley Business School in the United Kingdom where his research focused on the value of financial advice.
Using insights from his doctoral research, Preet helps financial advisors prove that there is real value in real advice, whether it’s tackling AI robo-advisors and automated investment portfolios or demonstrating the “why” behind fund expenses that are now detailed on annual reports.
Preet takes a full picture view in his thought-provoking keynotes, exploring the industry’s evolution — challenges and crises it’s faced before, how it’s adapted, and what the future looks like — while illustrating the two core pillars of value that financial advisors provide — behavioural management and comprehensive wealth management — and how to demonstrate that value to their clients.
Sell With Trust and Credibility
Mark Bowden
Expert in Communication, Body Language, and Human Behavior
The founder of TRUTHPLANE®, a leading communication skills training company, Mark Bowden is a world-renowned thought leader in body language and communication. He’s worked with such leading organizations as Zoom, Shopify, Toyota, KPMG, Manulife, Morgan Stanley, RBC, American Express, REMAX International, among many others.
Known for his inspiring, energetic, engaging, and entirely entertaining keynotes, Mark draws from his bestselling book Winning Body Language for Sales Professionals to help audiences stand out, win trust, and gain credibility every time they speak through his unique GesturePlane system of nonverbal communication.
He breaks down his most accessible techniques to help individuals build strong and lasting relationships; add impact, power, and presence to their sales communication; and become a trusted advisor to their clients, especially as Total Cost Reporting prompts new conversations about fees and value.
Prepare Your Advisors for the Conversations Ahead
Total Cost Reporting, introduced by the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) and the Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators (CCIR), provide investors with greater transparency. With it comes both challenges and opportunities for financial advisors. Equip your team with the tools and strategies needed to capitalize on this change and transform it into stronger client relationships that are built on trust and a clear understanding of the value they provide.
Contact us today to learn more about our roster of experts and how they can help your advisors better navigate this new era of transparency.
