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Our response:

New account statements include reporting on how much you’ve made or lost in your account over specific periods of time using a “personal rate of return”. Your personal rate of return is calculated using a “money-weighted” formula, which reflects any deposits or withdrawals you made to or from your account, the income you earned (such as dividends or interest), and changes in the market value of the investments that you’re holding in the account.

This is different from a “time-weighted” calculation of your account’s performance, which only shows the rate of return for money that is invested and left in the same investment until the end of a certain time period (such as one year). A time-weighted rate of return doesn’t reflect any deposits or withdrawals you make into or out of your account, meaning that it doesn’t consider how your account’s performance is affected by its cash-flows.

If you have questions about the information in your account statements, speak to your registered financial advisor. You can learn more about the account statements you receive on InvestmentReporting.ca.