custodian

noun

cus·to·di·an | \ ˌkə-ˈstō-dē-ən

Definition of custodian

: one that guards and protects or maintains especially : one entrusted with guarding and keeping property or records or with custody or guardianship of prisoners or inmates

Other Words from custodian Synonyms Example Sentences Learn More about custodian

Keep scrolling for more

Examples of custodian in a Sentence

the custodian made his usual rounds of the building to make sure that everything was OK served as custodian of the prisoner until he could be turned over to federal authorities

Recent Examples on the Web

Under a law passed after the shooting, districts can arm non-classroom employees such as principals, other administrators, custodians and librarians who undergo training. — Terry Spencer, The Seattle Times, "Education unions oppose calls to arm teachers," 11 Feb. 2019 The National Park Service is the plane’s only custodian and the wreck site is under consideration for National Historic Landmark designation. — Andrew Craft, Fox News, "70 years after B-29 crash in Vegas, new footage of wreckage is released," 24 July 2018 Here's what patients need to know about UC Davis strike AFSCME 3299 represents 24,000 workers across the UC system, including medical assistants, respiratory therapists, health care unit workers, custodians and groundskeepers in its service unit. — Molly Sullivan, sacbee, "'You can feel it when the workers aren’t there.' Nurses strike with hospital workers | The Sacramento Bee," 9 May 2018 The district has no African-American administrators, teachers, coaches, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, or custodians. — Byron Mccauley, Cincinnati.com, "Byron McCauley: After racist jersey scandal, Kings schools needs a black board member. And these two men have volunteered.," 23 Jan. 2018 Teachers would still be paid but support personnel and hourly employees such as aides and custodians would not be. — Ricardo Cano, azcentral, "Results of #RedForEd teacher walkout vote to be announced Thursday," 18 Apr. 2018 The scores were level at 1-1 moments into the second half as Corentin Tolisso, under pressure from Toni Kroos, played a short back pass to the 29-year-old custodian. — SI.com, "Sven Ulreich Opens Up About Costly Bayern Munich Champions League Semi-Final Error," 5 May 2018 Both Koulouris and Farid Jubran, a legal adviser to the Roman Catholic Church’s custodian of holy sites, said the churches were never formally notified of Barkat’s decision and learned of it through the media. — Washington Post, "Church officials: Holy Sepulchre to remain closed," 26 Feb. 2018 Brokers who sell or transfer ADRs are typically responsible for ensuring that a matching number of foreign shares have been deposited with a custodian. — Samuel Rubenfeld, WSJ, "JPMorgan to Settle SEC Claims Related to Its Handling of ADRs," 26 Dec. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'custodian.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about custodian

Dictionary Entries near custodian

Statistics for custodian

Last Updated

9 Jun 2019

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for custodian

The first known use of custodian was in 1602

See more words from the same year

Keep scrolling for more

More Definitions for custodian

custodian

noun

Financial Definition of custodian

What It Is

A custodian is an institution or individual that can act as an agent and exercise legal authority over the financial assets of another individual or company.

How It Works

A custodian typically handles a variety of activities, including physically holding equities and bonds, settling purchases and sales, reporting the status of assets, tax compliance and reporting, and management of the client's accounts and transactions.

For example, a bank may act as a custodian for a customer's investment activities, moving funds into brokerage accounts, researching investment alternatives such as companies and funds which might be appropriate investment targets, instructing brokers to buy or sell securities, monitoring the investment activities within the account, and reporting account activity to the owner. The custodian may also prepare the necessary tax filings on behalf of the owner, based on the activities within the account.

Custodians may be appointed to hold control of assets of a minor or an incapacitated adult. An adult with legal status may act as the custodian for the accounts of a minor. For example, a common tax strategy is to give a financial gift to a minor when their tax rate is lowest. Under the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (UTMA), an adult or parent establishes the account on behalf of the minor and serves as custodian, maintaining the legal authority and direction over the custodial account. When the minor becomes an adult, the custodian relinquishes his or her authority over the account.

The custodian role is often held by banks, law firms, or accounting firms which usually carry additional fees for the services.

Why It Matters

Custodian services are generally useful for absentee owners (i.e. owners who are not interested or able to be involved in the day-to-day management activities of their accounts), as well as complex transactions, management of substantial assets, timely reporting and compliance, and tax management strategies.

Source: Investing Answers

custodian

noun