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

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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

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 She was arrested on Thursday and charged with four felony counts of indecent liberties by a custodian and one felony count of use of a communication system for crimes against children, according to a charging affidavit viewed by PEOPLE. — Steve Helling, PEOPLE.com, "Virginia Biology Teacher, 34, Accused of Sex with Minor," 6 June 2018 The Slovenian keeper is widely regarded as one of the most accomplished custodians in the world since establishing himself at Ateltico. — SI.com, "Liverpool Fans React After Reds Reportedly Bid £79m for World Class Atletico Madrid Goalkeeper," 5 June 2018 Seth Abramovitch Octavia Spencer, The Shape of Water Spencer earned her second consecutive Oscar nomination, and third in six years, for her role as Zelda, a kind-hearted custodian in Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water. — Thr Staff, The Hollywood Reporter, "Diverse Performances Square Off in Oscar's Supporting Categories," 1 Mar. 2018 Treasury clarified Monday that U.S. companies or individuals could serve as custodians as another U.S. person or entity works to divest their holdings in Venezuelan bonds. — Samuel Rubenfeld, WSJ, "U.S. Guidance on Venezuela Sanctions Seeks to Clear up Confusion, Lawyers Say," 12 Feb. 2019

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.

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28 Apr 2019

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The first known use of custodian was in 1602

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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