Custodian Bank - Self-directed Retirement Account Custodians

Self-directed Retirement Account Custodians

Not to be confused with securities safekeeping custodians, in the U.S., various retirement plan investment accounts require "custodians" which have only a notion of safekeeping or possession in the concrete sense that securities or assets are custodied, but, rather, this arrangement is more about recordkeeping and administration than holding of invested assets. True, a custodian bank could also happen to be a retirement account administrator/"custodian", though a commercial bank could also be such a "custodian" and not be a "custodian bank". Such financial institutions specialize in the administration and 'custody' of individual or self-directed retirement plan such as IRAs, Roth IRAs, SEP IRAs, Rollover IRAs and Solo 401(k)s. Such institutions provide required legal custody services for the assets associated with self-directed retirement plans and administrative services such as investment execution, recordkeeping, accounting, and IRS and client reporting, while the actual account investments are held or custodied in accounts elsewhere.