7.4.6 Investment account statements

When you invest in stocks, bonds or investment funds, you will receive a statement showing the activity in your account. An investment account statement is similar to the monthly account statement you receive from a bank or other financial institution.

You should receive an investment account statement at least once a year, and every month in which a transaction occurs. Sometimes, you will receive a statement every three months.

As with a bank statement, you should check it when it arrives to make sure it is accurate and complete, and to be sure that your investments match your goals.

A typical investment account statement

Every account statement looks a little different, but they all have a few similar parts. Some are more detailed than others. Review the example below to see the kinds of information that you will see in an investment account statement.

1—Account information section. This section shows you the basic information about your account, such as your name, address and account number, and the period the statement covers.

2—Account summary section. This section summarizes the activity that took place in your account over the statement period.

3—Portfolio summary section. This section shows how your savings are spread over different types of investments (your asset mix).

4—Portfolio details section. This section lists your investments. It usually shows you their market value (what you might have sold them for) on the statement date. You can use this information to keep track of how each investment is doing. Some statements also show the book value of your investments (what you paid for them). If so, you can easily compare the book value with the market value of each investment.

5—Transactions section/Account activity. This section lists any buys or sells you made during the time period the statement covers. It will tell you the date of each buy or sell, what you bought or sold, how much you bought and the price. It also lists any dividends and interest you may have received.