New rules require your financial advisor or brokerage to state all fees paid to them directly by your or indirectly via commissions. It is called CRM2.
This disclosure change has been debated and in the works for over five years now, by the Canadian Securities Administration (CSA) — the umbrella organization that coordinates across our provincial Securities Commissions that governs investment dealers, salespersons and advisor industry.
Note that there are actually two places that disclosure of fees is made — one on commission fees upfront when a purchase is made, and a second disclosure on embedded and trailing fees received, noted on the monthly statement. BUT. What you see on your statement may not be everything.
The commissions disclosed on your statement are only those that are paid to your advisor, they do not include the MER or management fees paid to the company that has created the ETF or mutual fund, and runs it.
Not including MERs on this fee disclosure means that, you won’t have the full picture, and the MERs may be the largest part of the fees paid.
Your total fees shown include — account and direct charges paid by you to your financial advisor, MERs (a portion of which is paid out to your advisor as trailing commissions).
Find your fee disclosure on your December balance statement for CIBC and on your June statement for TD Canada Trust. Other institutions will choose any month between December and June to show this information, annually.
Sample comment here.