By design, we do not have actual custody of client assets. Having a financial advisor who does not have custody of your assets gives you an extra layer of accountability and oversight. Fiduciaries review potential custodians to determine the best one to house their clients’ assets. They analyze the fees and expenses charged in exchange for the services offered. Then, fiduciaries keep an eye on the chosen custodian on behalf of their clients.

Although we provide quarterly reporting for our clients to show an accounting of portfolio performance, Schwab separately delivers monthly statements to show a real time accounting of your portfolio’s value, trade and transaction confirmation notices so you are aware of actions taken in your account, and tax forms to assist in tax reporting and filing.

In this electronic age, many people have elected to go paperless and receive electronic delivery for Schwab correspondence. However, once you do, you will likely want to know how to locate Schwab account statements and tax forms online. Luckily, the process is fairly simple.

After logging in to Schwab Alliance at https://www.schwab.com, click on the “Accounts” tab at the top and select “Statements.”

On the page that loads, you should see the following search box:

This feature allows you to filter the type of document you are looking for by:

• Account (specific account, Brokerage, or Bank)
• Date Range (Today through the Last 10 Years, along with a Custom feature that allows you to set a specific date range with a maximum of 10 years)
• Document Type
• Filter By Symbol (Available for Trade Confirms)

You can read a short description of each Document Type by clicking on the blue circle with a question mark next to each document type.

Once you have selected the filters, click the green “Search” button to apply your search criteria. The documents found will appear below the search box.

In addition to this search feature, the 1099 Dashboard is shown at the top of the Statements page. The 1099 Dashboard lists the most recent tax forms that are available for your Schwab Brokerage accounts. If the tax forms are not yet available, the Dashboard may show the expected availability dates for the forms. The 1099 Dashboard also provides quick links to easily manage paperless and security preferences and to Schwab’s Tax Frequently Asked Questions and Tax Guide for the most recent tax year.

My favorite feature of the 1099 Dashboard is that it provides links to download your 1099 tax forms in PDF, XML, or CSV file format. This simplifies the process of gathering your tax documents for yourself or your tax preparer when tax season rolls around.

To view a document found in your search results, click the name of the document in blue under the “Document Name” column, like this:

To download the document instead, click the blue “PDF” under the “Download” column, like this:

In this way, you should be able to easily download any account documents you want. If you run into any troubles or have questions regarding the content of a Schwab document, it is always best to call Schwab Alliance at 800-515-2157 and speak with them directly.

Photo by Avel Chuklanov on Unsplash