A brokerage statement is the periodic report your brokerage firm sends to summarize what’s happening in your investment account: what you own, what it’s worth, what you bought and sold, and what fees or interest you were charged. Under FINRA Rule 2231, firms must send one at least once per calendar quarter for any account holding a security position, a cash balance, or recent activity. You use it to confirm your holdings and transactions are correct, to track performance, and to back up what shows up later on your tax forms.
What’s Inside a Brokerage Statement
Formatting varies by firm, but the core sections are consistent.
Account Summary and Balances
The first page shows your opening balance at the start of the period and your closing balance at the end. FINRA Rule 2231 requires both figures on every statement. The difference between them reflects deposits, withdrawals, dividends, interest, and market gains or losses during the period. Most firms add an asset allocation breakdown showing how your money splits across stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and cash. That breakdown is the fastest way to see whether your portfolio has drifted from your intended mix.
Portfolio Holdings
This is the line-by-line inventory of every security in the account. Each entry shows the ticker, the number of shares or units, the current market price, and the total market value. Many firms also show unrealized gain or loss for each position, which is the difference between what you paid and what the holding is worth now. Those gains and losses are called “unrealized” because you haven’t sold. Once you sell, they become realized and have tax consequences.
Transaction Activity
The activity section lists every buy, sell, dividend, interest credit, and fee during the period. Each entry includes the trade date, the security, the number of shares, and the price. Fees for trade execution or account maintenance show up here too, so it’s worth scanning this section even in months when you didn’t place any orders. Dividend reinvestments and automatic contributions appear as individual line items.
Most transactions carry two dates. The trade date is when your order was executed. The settlement date is when cash and securities actually change hands. Since May 2024, the standard settlement cycle for most securities is T+1, meaning settlement happens one business day after the trade. Sell shares on a Tuesday and settlement is Wednesday.
Margin Balances
If you borrow from your broker to buy securities, your statement shows the outstanding margin balance, the interest rate on the debt, and your current maintenance requirement. FINRA Rule 2264 separately requires firms to deliver a margin disclosure statement before or when you open a margin account, and then at least once a year. That disclosure spells out that the firm can sell securities in your account without notice if your equity drops below maintenance requirements, and that the firm can raise those requirements at any time.
How Often You Get One and in What Format
Quarterly is the floor. FINRA Rule 2231 requires a statement at least once per calendar quarter for any account that held a security position, cash balance, or had activity since the last one was sent. Many firms voluntarily send statements monthly, especially when there’s activity, but that’s a business choice rather than a regulatory requirement.
Statements come either on paper or electronically. Before a firm can switch you to electronic-only delivery, it has to obtain your informed consent that specifies which documents will be delivered electronically, the medium you’ll receive them through, and how long the consent lasts. You can typically revoke that consent and go back to paper, though some firms charge for paper delivery.
What Your Statement Means for Your Taxes
The data on your statements feeds directly into the tax forms your broker files at year-end. Capital gains and losses from sales are reported on Form 1099-B. Dividend income goes on Form 1099-DIV, and interest income on Form 1099-INT. Your broker sends copies to you and to the IRS, so the numbers on your return need to match.
Covered vs. Non-Covered Securities
Whether your broker reports cost basis to the IRS depends on when you acquired the security. Stock purchased for cash in a brokerage account after 2010 is generally a “covered” security, meaning the broker must report your cost basis to you and the IRS on Form 1099-B. Stock acquired before 2011, plus certain other legacy holdings, is “non-covered.” For non-covered securities, your broker may show cost basis on your statement for reference, but you’re responsible for calculating and reporting the correct basis on your return. If you hold older positions, treat your own records as the authoritative source.
Wash Sales
If you sell a security at a loss and buy a substantially identical one within 30 days before or after the sale, the IRS treats it as a wash sale and disallows the loss. For covered securities bought and sold in the same account with the same CUSIP, your broker is required to flag the disallowed loss in box 1g of Form 1099-B. Brokers aren’t required to track wash sales across different accounts or between your brokerage account and your IRA. A wash sale triggered across accounts won’t show up on your statement, and the disallowed loss still applies even if no form reports it. That’s one you have to catch yourself.
Checking Your Statement and Disputing Errors
Every statement carries a notice telling you to report any inaccuracies promptly. FINRA Rule 2231 also advises that any oral complaint should be put in writing to protect your rights, including rights under the Securities Investor Protection Act. There’s no fixed day count attached to “promptly,” but waiting months to flag an unauthorized trade or an incorrect balance weakens your position.
Start with your firm’s customer service department. Put your complaint in writing with your account number, the specific discrepancy, and what you believe the correct information should be. If the firm doesn’t resolve it, you can escalate two ways. You can file an investor complaint with the SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, which will typically forward it to the firm and request a written response; the SEC’s investor assistance line is (800) 732-0330. You can also pursue FINRA arbitration or mediation, which is often faster than litigation for disputes with a financial services firm.
How Long to Keep Them
The IRS generally wants you to keep records supporting any income, deduction, or credit until the statute of limitations on that return expires, which is usually three years after you file. Investment records need to stick around longer. The IRS requires you to keep records related to the cost basis of property until the statute of limitations expires for the year you sell or otherwise dispose of it. Buy stock in 2015 and sell it in 2030, and you’ll need the original purchase records through at least 2033.
Brokerage firms typically make past statements available in their online portals for several years, but they aren’t required to keep them accessible forever. Download and save your own copies, especially year-end summaries and any statement showing the original purchase of a security you still hold. Digital copies stored securely are fine for IRS purposes.
What SIPC Protection on Your Statement Actually Covers
Your statement may reference SIPC, the Securities Investor Protection Corporation. SIPC steps in when a brokerage firm fails financially and customer assets go missing. Coverage runs up to $500,000 per customer, including a $250,000 limit for cash. SIPC does not cover market losses, promises of investment performance, or holdings in commodities and futures contracts. If a stock you own drops 40%, SIPC won’t reimburse you. If your firm goes under and your shares vanish from the books, SIPC may.
Many accounts also use a bank sweep program that moves uninvested cash into an FDIC-insured bank deposit account. Your statement should disclose whether swept funds qualify as FDIC-insured deposits, and if they don’t, what status those funds would have if the institution failed.