Money Map Monday: How to Choose a Custodian (and Actually Read Your Statement)
When most people think about investing, they focus on the fun stuff: which hot stock to buy and how much it’s grown (or not). While you should also evaluate whether you are on track to meet your goals, almost no one talks about where your investments are held or how to read the statements you get every month or quarter.
That could be a problem.
Your custodian and your account statements are the plumbing of your financial life. If the plumbing isn’t solid, or you don’t understand what you’re looking at, it’s hard to design a personal wealth plan you actually trust.
This Money Map Monday is about two things:
How to choose a custodian you can feel confident about
How to read your investment statement without your eyes glazing over
All through the lens of my Personal Wealth Design pillar: building a coordinated, intentional plan around your goals, not just your investments.
What Is a Custodian (and Why Should You Care)?
A custodian is the company that actually holds your investment accounts and keeps your money and securities safe. Think of them as the “vault and recordkeeper” for your:
IRAs and Roth IRAs
Brokerage accounts
401(k)/403(b) rollovers
Trust and joint investment accounts
They:
Safeguard your assets
Process trades and transfers
Send you statements and tax forms
Provide online access and reporting
Your financial advisor (me, or someone like me) builds and manages your plan. Your custodian holds the accounts and keeps score.
You want both pieces working together.
Choosing a Custodian: What Actually Matters
You’ll see a lot of big brand names in this space, Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard, etc., but the logo alone isn’t enough. Here are the key things I look at when I’m building a Personal Wealth Design for a client.
1. Safety & Protections
You want to know: What happens if something goes wrong?
Look for:
Regulation & Oversight – Is the custodian properly regulated (e.g., SEC/FINRA for broker-dealers)?
Asset Segregation – Client assets should be held separate from the firm’s own assets.
SIPC Coverage – This helps protect against the failure of the brokerage firm (not market losses). Many custodians also carry excess coverage beyond SIPC.
You can’t eliminate investment risk, but you can avoid custodians that play fast and loose with client funds.
2. Transparency of Fees
Hidden fees eat into your returns. With custodians, watch for:
Trading commissions or ticket charges
Account maintenance or inactivity fees
High internal expenses in “house brand” funds or cash products
Transfer-out or closure fees
In a well-designed plan, you should be able to see what you’re paying, to whom, and for what, advisor fees, fund expenses, and any custodian-level charges.
3. Quality of Client Experience
This is your day-to-day interaction with your money:
Is the online portal clean and easy to navigate?
Can you see performance, contributions, and withdrawals clearly?
How responsive is client service if you need help with a login, wire, or RMD form?
If it’s a headache to log in or impossible to find basic information, you’re less likely to stay engaged with your plan. Friction = avoidance.
4. Cash Management & “Sweep” Programs
Custodians love to hold your idle cash, it’s often where they make a good chunk of profit.
Look at:
What interest rate are you getting on cash?
Are there reasonable alternatives like money market funds if you want your cash to work a bit harder (while staying liquid)?
Is it clear where your cash sits and how much you have?
In a Personal Wealth Design framework, cash has a job, such as an emergency fund, near-term goals, or “dry powder” for opportunities. Your custodian should make that easy to see and manage.
5. Investment Menu & Flexibility
Most high-quality custodians will offer:
Individual stocks and bonds
ETFs and mutual funds
Certain alternatives or structured products
The question is: does the menu support your plan?
If your strategy is low-cost, globally diversified indexing, do they offer strong ETF options?
If you work with an advisor, can that advisor implement your agreed-on strategy without jumping through hoops?
The custodian should enable your design, not force you into a one-size-fits-all model.
6. Integration with Your Overall Life
A custodian works best when it integrates with:
Your tax planning (easy access to 1099s, cost basis, gain/loss reports)
Your estate plan (beneficiary designations, TODs, trust titling)
Your business interests (SEP, Solo 401(k), or business retirement plan accounts)
Personal Wealth Design is about coordination. The custodian (and your advisor) should help you see the whole picture, not create silos.
How to Read Your Investment Statement (Without Going Cross-Eyed)
Now let’s talk about the paper (or PDF) you get monthly or quarterly.
Here’s a simple framework for a 5-minute statement review that aligns with your goals.
1. Start with the Cover Summary
Most statements begin with a one-page overview. Focus on:
Beginning Value
Net Contributions/Withdrawals
Investment Gain/Loss
Ending Value
The key question:
Did my account go up because I added money, because markets went up, or both?
This matters for your mindset. If you see a big jump but it’s all contributions, that’s different from strong investment performance, and vice versa.
2. Check Your Account Titles & Beneficiaries
Make sure the account type and ownership match your plan:
Is this a Roth IRA, Traditional IRA, or Taxable Brokerage?
Is the account titled as individual, joint, or trust?
Are the beneficiaries up to date (this may show on the statement or in online settings)?
This is where Personal Wealth Design really shows up: Each account type should be chosen on purpose for tax and estate reasons, not by accident.
3. Review Holdings: What You Actually Own
You’ll see a list of securities (funds, ETFs, stocks, bonds) along with:
Quantity (how many shares you own)
Price per share
Market value
Cost basis (what you paid)
Unrealized gain/loss
Look for:
Diversification – Are you concentrated in one company, one sector, or one country?
Drift from your target allocation – Has your stock vs. bond mix wandered too far from your plan because markets moved?
The question here: Does this mix of investments still match my risk tolerance and timeline?
If your personal design calls for, say, 70% stocks / 30% bonds, and you’re now at 85% stocks after a big run-up, it may be time to rebalance (strategically, and tax-aware).
4. Look at Fees (Don’t Ignore This)
Some statements show advisor fees, trading costs, or account-level fees. These may appear in:
The activity/transactions section
A fee summary
You’re looking for:
How much was charged during the period
Who it was paid to (advisor, custodian, funds)
Whether that aligns with what you thought you were paying
Fees aren’t inherently bad, good planning and advice are worth paying for, but surprise fees are.
5. Scan the Activity Section
This is the running log of everything that happened in your account:
Contributions and deposits
Withdrawals and distributions
Dividends and interest
Trades (buys and sells)
Fees and charges
You want to confirm:
Contributions match what you planned to save
Withdrawals are intentional and fit your spending plan
No unexpected trades or transactions show up
Think of this as reviewing your “financial security camera footage.” It should be boring and predictable.
6. Tie It Back to Your Goals
A statement is just numbers unless you connect it to your Personal Wealth Design. Ask yourself:
Am I on track for my target savings rate this year?
Are these accounts aligned with specific goals (retirement, home purchase, college, early financial independence)?
Does my risk level still feel appropriate, or have life changes made it too aggressive or too conservative?
If your life has changed, career moves, marriage, kids, business growth, but your accounts haven’t, that’s a red flag.
Putting It Together: Custodian + Statement + Design
When you choose a custodian thoughtfully and actually understand your statement, something big changes:
You stop feeling intimidated by your investments
You catch issues early (fees, drift, bad account titling)
You’re able to make adjustments with confidence instead of guessing
That’s the heart of Personal Wealth Design, not just having investments, but having a coordinated system that supports your life.
A Simple Monthly Checklist
Once a month or quarter, set a 15-minute calendar reminder and run through this:
Log into your custodian’s portal
Open your most recent statement
Review:
Beginning vs. ending value
Contributions/withdrawals
Holdings and allocation
Fees and activity
Alignment with your goals
If there’s anything you don’t understand or that doesn’t look right, write it down as a question. That list becomes your agenda with your advisor or CPA/CFP.
Final Note & Disclaimer
This post is for educational purposes only and is not individualized investment advice, tax advice, or a recommendation to use any specific custodian or investment. Your situation is unique, and your choices should reflect your goals, risk tolerance, and tax picture.
If you want help:
Selecting an appropriate custodian
Designing a coordinated tax + investment strategy
Or simply having someone walk through your statement with you and translate it into plain English
That’s exactly the kind of work that falls under my Personal Wealth Design plans.
For now, your Money Map Monday action step: Pick one account, pull up the latest statement, and walk through the checklist above. Getting familiar with the plumbing is a big step toward real financial control.
