Looking beyond costs: helping clients understand the value behind their investments
Conversations about investment costs are forever evolving. With Total Cost Reporting (TCR) impacting 2026 year-end statements, clients will see more cost detail than ever before, prompting more frequent and focused questions. Yet, according to an April survey conducted by Equitable, only 10.3% of advisors feel they fully understand TCR and can explain it confidently to clients.
For advisors, this increased transparency creates an opportunity to break down costs clearly and connect them to their value. When clients understand what’s behind the numbers, conversations can shift from what they pay to what they receive. The sections below can help you to start articulating your value in a clear, structured way.
What investment costs cover
Investment costs are often presented as a single figure, but they reflect multiple layers of value. Breaking them down helps clients better understand how each component supports their financial outcomes.
a) Investment management services
Position this service as the foundation of the client’s portfolio.
Investment costs support the ongoing work required to build and manage a portfolio aligned to a client’s goals and risk tolerance. This includes asset allocation, investment selection, diversification, and continuous oversight.
They also reflect your active role in decision-making, monitoring markets, rebalancing assets, managing risk during periods of volatility, and adjusting strategies over time. In addition, they support tax-considerate strategies that can enhance long-term outcomes.
Example value statement: “Investment costs support the ongoing work behind your portfolio, like building the right strategy, managing risk, and making adjustments to keep you on track.”
b) Advisory and planning services
Expand the conversation beyond the portfolio.
Costs also reflect advice that connects investments to a client’s broader financial picture. This includes financial and estate planning, retirement and income modelling, tax integration, and ongoing strategy refinement.
Advisors can also help clients stay disciplined, particularly during uncertain markets, so short-term decisions don’t derail long-term goals.
Example value statement: “A significant part of what you’re paying for is advice, helping you make informed decisions and stay focused on long-term outcomes.”
c) Insurance guarantees
Frame insurance guarantees as added protection, not just added cost.
For insured investments, part of the cost supports guarantees and protections, such as capital preservation at maturity or death. These features can also support estate planning by enabling direct transfer to beneficiaries. Options like annual resets can help lock in gains while maintaining downside protection.
Example value statement: “With insured investments, part of the cost goes toward protection. Insurance guarantees can help preserve your investment and support estate planning, while still allowing for growth.”
d) Transaction and administrative services
Make the invisible visible.
Costs also cover active and efficient investment management. This includes trade execution, recordkeeping, reporting, and regulatory oversight that support accuracy, reliability, transparency, and a consistent client experience.
Example value statement: “Your costs also cover a behind-the-scenes layer of service, executing trades, keeping records accurate, and providing clear reporting, so everything runs smoothly and securely.”
e) Communication and education
Tie communication and education directly to TCR.
Investment costs support regular updates, insights, and conversations that help clients interpret what they see, including new disclosures like TCR. This helps clients understand not just the numbers, but what they mean and how they relate to their strategy.
Example value statement: “Costs also support the ongoing communication that helps you understand what you’re seeing, so you can stay informed and confident in your decisions.”
f) Optional and specialized services
Position as scalability of value.
In more complex situations, costs may reflect additional expertise, such as estate and trust planning, philanthropic strategies, or coordinating multiple accounts. The value lies in integration: ensuring all elements work together toward a unified plan.
Example value statement: “For more complex needs, costs can reflect additional specialized expertise, bringing different parts of your financial plan together into one cohesive strategy.”
Turning transparency into trust
How costs are explained matters more than ever.
By breaking costs into clear components and linking each to a specific benefit, you can help clients understand what they’re paying for. This makes conversations more constructive and shifts the focus toward outcomes, such as financial security, retirement readiness and legacy planning.
Instead of switching between general terms like costs, charges, and expenses, you can now leverage the definitions in the Equitable TCR playbook to ensure consistency across all client conversations. Here, we offer additional resources to help you to clearly distinguish between what each cost represents and what it supports, linking it back to your client’s strategy and outcomes.
How to support more confident conversations
As transparency evolves, having the right tools can help.
Our TCR Resource Hub provides resources to support conversations around TCR, helping you simplify complex topics and clearly articulate the value behind your client’s investments.
For advisors, this increased transparency creates an opportunity to break down costs clearly and connect them to their value. When clients understand what’s behind the numbers, conversations can shift from what they pay to what they receive. The sections below can help you to start articulating your value in a clear, structured way.
What investment costs cover
Investment costs are often presented as a single figure, but they reflect multiple layers of value. Breaking them down helps clients better understand how each component supports their financial outcomes.
a) Investment management services
Position this service as the foundation of the client’s portfolio.
Investment costs support the ongoing work required to build and manage a portfolio aligned to a client’s goals and risk tolerance. This includes asset allocation, investment selection, diversification, and continuous oversight.
They also reflect your active role in decision-making, monitoring markets, rebalancing assets, managing risk during periods of volatility, and adjusting strategies over time. In addition, they support tax-considerate strategies that can enhance long-term outcomes.
Example value statement: “Investment costs support the ongoing work behind your portfolio, like building the right strategy, managing risk, and making adjustments to keep you on track.”
b) Advisory and planning services
Expand the conversation beyond the portfolio.
Costs also reflect advice that connects investments to a client’s broader financial picture. This includes financial and estate planning, retirement and income modelling, tax integration, and ongoing strategy refinement.
Advisors can also help clients stay disciplined, particularly during uncertain markets, so short-term decisions don’t derail long-term goals.
Example value statement: “A significant part of what you’re paying for is advice, helping you make informed decisions and stay focused on long-term outcomes.”
c) Insurance guarantees
Frame insurance guarantees as added protection, not just added cost.
For insured investments, part of the cost supports guarantees and protections, such as capital preservation at maturity or death. These features can also support estate planning by enabling direct transfer to beneficiaries. Options like annual resets can help lock in gains while maintaining downside protection.
Example value statement: “With insured investments, part of the cost goes toward protection. Insurance guarantees can help preserve your investment and support estate planning, while still allowing for growth.”
d) Transaction and administrative services
Make the invisible visible.
Costs also cover active and efficient investment management. This includes trade execution, recordkeeping, reporting, and regulatory oversight that support accuracy, reliability, transparency, and a consistent client experience.
Example value statement: “Your costs also cover a behind-the-scenes layer of service, executing trades, keeping records accurate, and providing clear reporting, so everything runs smoothly and securely.”
e) Communication and education
Tie communication and education directly to TCR.
Investment costs support regular updates, insights, and conversations that help clients interpret what they see, including new disclosures like TCR. This helps clients understand not just the numbers, but what they mean and how they relate to their strategy.
Example value statement: “Costs also support the ongoing communication that helps you understand what you’re seeing, so you can stay informed and confident in your decisions.”
f) Optional and specialized services
Position as scalability of value.
In more complex situations, costs may reflect additional expertise, such as estate and trust planning, philanthropic strategies, or coordinating multiple accounts. The value lies in integration: ensuring all elements work together toward a unified plan.
Example value statement: “For more complex needs, costs can reflect additional specialized expertise, bringing different parts of your financial plan together into one cohesive strategy.”
Turning transparency into trust
How costs are explained matters more than ever.
By breaking costs into clear components and linking each to a specific benefit, you can help clients understand what they’re paying for. This makes conversations more constructive and shifts the focus toward outcomes, such as financial security, retirement readiness and legacy planning.
Instead of switching between general terms like costs, charges, and expenses, you can now leverage the definitions in the Equitable TCR playbook to ensure consistency across all client conversations. Here, we offer additional resources to help you to clearly distinguish between what each cost represents and what it supports, linking it back to your client’s strategy and outcomes.
How to support more confident conversations
As transparency evolves, having the right tools can help.
Our TCR Resource Hub provides resources to support conversations around TCR, helping you simplify complex topics and clearly articulate the value behind your client’s investments.