I had a client call me the other day to ask why she had not received her statements in the mail. It turns out she had electronic delivery but had never accessed her statements online. So I walked her through the process, and it got me thinking about the rest of you.
Almost all of my clients have signed up for e delivery, and I thank you for making my life a little easier. It is now the law that a fund purchase or switch requires pre disclosure. And fund fact documents must be updated every year so all future purchases or switches will also require pre disclosure. Having almost all my clients on electronic delivery cuts down on the amount of paper fund facts, which is good for the environment. It also makes the pre disclosure easier for me. If you have not yet signed up for electronic deliver and would like to please contact me.
Regulators have stipulated that dealers such as Portfolio Strategies must issue quarterly statements. Approximately 2 weeks after the end of the quarter, in January, March, June, and September, you will get an email with a link to access your statement. Once you are at the access portal you enter your user name and password. If you cannot remember either or both you can contact me. If you have never accessed your statement, then you have a temporary password. PLEASE change that password to something that is meaningful to you. If you get locked out I can help you change your password.
I encourage you to check out your information about your portfolios. I also welcome questions about any information you see there.
Most mutual fund companies typically issue statements twice a year. Some fund companies have been allowed to suppress the semi annual statement in June. However, all companies must issue an annual statement. They will also send confirmation of transactions. All fund companies allow e delivery, for those clients who do not want paper statements. You have to call the fund company to set that up. You will need to know pertinent information such as your SIN and account number.
Exempt market products and flow through limited partnership units do not issue regular statements. However, you can check the market value of your portfolio through PSC investor access. PSC only reports the market value, they are not responsible for exempt market valuation.
On your next quarterly statement in January 2017, you will see more information on your statement. This information is about your cost to invest. Fund companies will now have to disclose how much they pay dealers. As your financial planner I constantly strive to keep costs reasonable without compromising quality. I welcome discussion on my decision process.