Statements

Every product we’ve discussed so far is bought and sold in brokerage accounts. Maintained by broker-dealers, investors utilize these accounts to buy and sell securities. In this unit, we’ll learn about different types of brokerage accounts, plus their rules and regulations.

Account statements provide a historical view of account activity, security values, and overall balances. Broker-dealers are obligated to provide customers a transparent view of their assets. At a minimum, firms must send account statements to customers quarterly (every three months). However, monthly statements must be sent if a customer holds penny stocks in their account. Additionally, statements may be sent electronically (by email) if the customer requests.

Although the firm must send consistent statements by mail (unless the investor elects for email delivery), customers may request their mail be held for short periods. For up to three months, customers may request that statements be held for any reason. For the mail to be held longer than three months, the customer must submit a request in writing and demonstrate a legitimate reason for the request (e.g., military deployment, safety, and security-related issues).

FINRA’s rule on holding mail does not explicitly state how often mail can be held. For example, there is no rule against a customer requesting mail be held for three months, then taking a month break, then requesting another hold for three months. All that is required is for the firm to determine “reasonable intervals” for the mail hold instructions to apply. Additionally, firms must educate their customers on other ways to obtain their mail securely (e.g., by email).