What you pay, what you get: making sense of financial advisor fees
You deserve clarity with your money—plain language, no surprises.
Our industry has been opening the books for a while, and in 2026 financial advisor fee disclosure takes another big step. You’ll see, in plain language, what you’re paying for investment products and what you’re paying for advice. That’s a good thing. But the most important part is what comes next: understanding the value you’re receiving—or the lack of it.
What an advisory fee should actually buy you
If you’re paying an advisory fee, you should be getting financial planning—not a once-a-year “looks fine” call
In April 2025, markets fell more than 20 per cent at one point. One day, two newly retired clients of mine gave me a call. They were nervous. “What if this is 2008 all over again? What if we lose everything?” They were seriously on the verge of making an emotional knee-jerk reaction.
That would have been a huge mistake.
We opened up their plan. We reviewed their investment strategy and mapped a slower-than-expected market recovery: the spending guardrails we’d set, RRSP/RRIF–non-registered–TFSA withdrawal sequencing to keep taxes even, and the purpose of each holding. We gave them time to talk through their emotions and permission to feel the fear. But, we were able to guide them through this emotional event and stay focused on what mattered, and they stayed invested. By early summer, their plan was back on track. That calm wasn’t luck—it was behavioural coaching plus a strategic plan they understood. That’s a core thing your advisory fee should buy: steady hands when the waters get rough and continual planning that improves your financial well-being and confidence over time.
At McInroy & Associates, the fee covers:
- A planning first approach: portfolio design matched to risk and goals—not performance-chasing.
- Advanced planning bench strength: when a question needs technical firepower, we bring in our advanced financial planning team of specialists—accountants, lawyers and other experts to give you the right answer tailored specific to your situation
- Compliance and care: a system that keeps your best interests front and centre.
- A living plan and a real person: you can call, meet, and adjust as life changes.
- Family meetings: executors and POAs understand their roles before they’re needed.
- Retirement income design: CPP/OAS timing, RRSP/RRIF drawdown, TFSAs—sequenced for taxes today and longevity tomorrow.
- Estate and tax work: beneficiary reviews, probate-aware structures, and clear documentation.
- Infrastructure: secure portals, statements, and CRA-matched tax reporting that reduce hassle and errors.
From stock picking to a real plan
A year ago, a new client reached out with three worries: too much of his wealth tied to his former employer’s stock, a tax bill he couldn’t understand or know how to address, and TFSA room sitting idle. He’d only ever received a yearly check-in and the occasional trade from his previous financial advisors.
We built something different: a written roadmap that diversified his holdings without detonating his tax year, a multi-year TFSA funding schedule tied to cash flow, and a 40-year income plan that showed what to draw, when, and why—complete with tax projections, rebalancing rules, and “what-if” scenarios for market dips.
We coordinated with his accountant, updated beneficiaries, and set a simple cadence—working meetings with strategic meetings to enable us to focus on the various components over a period of time to ensure accuracy and continuity of planning with life and tax changes.
At our latest review he laughed and said, “I didn’t realize what I was missing out on. This is night-and-day from stock picking.”
2026 fee disclosure: questions worth asking now
New statements will make costs obvious. Use that clarity to evaluate value:
- Are my returns shown after all fees? Unfortunately, not all institutions are showing your return, after fees, making it complex for you to understand if that is your NET rate of return, or if you still need to subtract your fees from that rate of return. (They should be.)
- Has anyone asked for—and read—my tax return? How can they be doing financial planning and building out income streams or discussing investment strategy without understanding your income tax situation?
- Do we have a decumulation plan (what to sell, when, and why)?
- Are my TFSA, RRSP/RRIF, and non-registered accounts coordinated to lower lifetime tax (not just this year’s tax bill)?
- Have we reviewed beneficiaries, POAs, executors, and whether they’re prepared?
- Do I have a clear plan for concentrated positions, stock options, or corporate assets?
- Are my meetings with my financial planner, geared towards continuous improvement and strategic thinking or based on the mood of the market? I see our role as a high-performance coach: constantly spotting opportunities—big and small—so you can keep improving your financial life.
- When markets wobble, can I reach a real person who knows my whole picture?
If the honest answer is “no” to most of these, you may be paying an advisory fee for portfolio maintenance alone. That’s like paying a dentist for a polish while skipping the X-rays and exam.
A warm nudge before the new rules land
Full disclosure in 2026 won’t tell you whether you’re getting value—only what you’re paying. The value shows up in fewer tax surprises, calmer decisions in bad weeks, confident income in retirement, and a family that knows the plan.
If you’ve been wondering whether your fee matches your experience, let’s put everything on one page—costs, returns (net of fees), planning work done, and what’s next.
