What is a Custodian?

A custodian is like a safe…

A safe keeps your valuables secure, just like a custodian bank does with your electronic and physical investments. It protects your assets from theft, loss, and unauthorized access. You can get to your assets when you need to, but the custodian acts as an intermediary and keeps them safe in the meantime.

A custodian’s primary purpose is to house and protect your assets — kind of like a secure warehouse. These assets may include physical valuables (like gold), important papers (like loan documents or pension fund records), and electronic assets (like securities). The custodian should maintain careful records and send you a monthly or quarterly statement about your account.

Custodian banks can also process transactions. For example, the custodian can hold securities in the institution’s name, but on behalf of the real owners. In other words, it acts as a fiduciary (someone legally responsible for acting in the interest of his or her client). The custodian can then perform actions in the client’s name, such as buying and selling stock.

If one of your stocks is entitled to a dividend (a quarterly payment from a company’s profit), your custodian can help you receive your dividend and report it to the Internal Revenue Service if you need to. Similarly, if one of your bonds is eligible for an interest payment (also known as a coupon), your custodian will help gather all relevant tax-related documents. It’s important to note that custodian banks don’t offer tax advice — They just hand you the necessary tax documents.

Custodians can also keep track of company-specific activities, such as stock splits (where a company cuts the stock price while increasing the number of shares available). Some custodians even report corporate actions, such as corporate restructuring, that may impact the value of the company’s securities.

While a custodian bank manages investment funds within the United States, a sub-custodian bank (also called an agent bank) specializes in transactions abroad. For example, let’s say you have a global custodian account with the Bank of New York Mellon. As of November 2019, if you trade on the international stock market, and hold assets in Brazil, your shares would be held by the Bank of New York Mellon’s sub-custodian bank, Citibank N.A. The latter would be responsible for managing your assets in Brazil and foreign exchange.

Bank custodians charge fees for their services, which depend on what the customer needs. Some custodian banks charge fees based on the total value of assets under custody.

For example, according to the 2008 State Street Bank Fee Schedule, it charges 0.50 basis points (0.005%) for the first $10 billion under custody in U.S. accounts. They also have itemized charges, such as a $4,500 base price charge per fund and $8.25 for each unique security in the U.S. equities market.

Depositary services are popular in the European Union. Under the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD), each Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) must appoint a depositary.

Depositary services are similar to custodian banks – They safeguard a client’s portfolio assets. They also monitor cash flow and reconcile account balances.

On the other hand, many custodian banks have international services. They may offer other financial services that a depositary service does not, such as account opening services in investment markets and tax services.

Investment banks do more than simply house your investments. These financial institutions employ advisors who try to grow the assets in their custody. They also take part in complex business transactions and investment management, such as facilitating mergers and issuing new shares of a stock in an initial public offering (IPO). As a result, investment banks carry higher risks for investors than custodian banks or depositary services.

Custodians are typically large, reputable firms. The Internal Revenue Service has strict rules about what type of custodian can manage your individual retirement account. For example, the custodian must be a bank, savings and loan association, or federally insured credit union. Non-bank custodians – such as your financial advisory firm – must file a written application with the IRS.

The Securities and Exchange Commission, which regulates securities markets, has identified four types of financial institutions as qualified custodians to maintain your funds and securities: banks, savings associations, registered broker-dealers, and registered future-commission merchants. These conform to the SEC’s “custody rule,” which is designed to protect investors against theft and abuse by investment advisors.

Under the Advisers Act, the SEC’s “custody rule” regulates the custody practices of financial advisors. For example, the rule requires an independent public accountant to do a surprise examination of the client’s funds and securities every year.