How to Read an Investment Account Statement

The best way to read an investment account statement is to read it from top to bottom. After reading it, give yourself a break, then read it again; keep reading it, and then it’ll start making sense. An investment account statement is organized by the types of activities taking place in your account. This article takes an investment account statement for a ScotiaMcLeod investor, and goes through the statement’s parts.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Obtain a copy of the book, Dictionary of Finance & Investment Terms, from your library. Purchase one if you want to have it as a permanent reference. When you read your investment account statement, refer to this book if something confuses you. This book has over 5,000 investment related terms. You can search for your term alphabetically.

2. Check to make sure that your personal information on the investment account statement is correct. Then proceed to the first part of the statement, which should be a general summary of your account. Make sure that the money you have in the statement reflects reality; then review the interest that you received. Go over all the assets you have under the asset summary.

3. Move on to the next part of the investment account statement to read about new activity. Look at the times that investment activity took place, the kind of investment you had and the effects this transaction had on your account. Read this section to get the adjusted value of your securities.

4. Continue on to the next section, which gives you the summary of what you’ve contributed to your account. Read how your asset’s values have changed since you started your account. Go down to the section listing how much money you withdrew, and how much foreign investment you have in your account.

5. Go back and look at previous investment account statements after you read the current one. Past statements, plus your current statement, provide a track record of your investment performance; this means you can “project” your investment performance into the near future. Store your current investment account statement with the prior statements in a folder in a secure location.

Tips & Warnings

• Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you had to wait, but didn’t have reading material? Have your investment accounts with you in case you’re waiting for something. Read it from top to bottom, and dwell on the “hard” sections if you still have to wait. Use this tactic if you can readily secure your statements, so as not to compromise personal information.
• Always take the time to read your investment account statement. Clerical errors sometimes find their way into these statements. Hackers are constantly attempting to break into financial institution computer networks, so you should know what your statement is saying. If your statement doesn’t reflect what you think it should reflect, contact your institution to resolve this discrepancy. This is one of the many reasons why you should know your investment account statement very well.

Resources

• Dictionary of Finance & Investment Terms
• How to read your investment account statement
• Basic glossary of investment account statement terms and a Q&A
• Wells Fargo Investment Account Statement, including section explanations