Source: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/custodian

# Custodian
URL: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/custodian
Last modified: 2026-10-17

A custodian is the institution that holds securities or assets for a broker's clients, kept apart from the broker's own money. For any claim the question is who holds the real thing: [an issuer holds the gold, you hold a claim on it](https://mochatrade.com/learn), and the claim's price can drift until [the venue pulls it back](https://mochatrade.com/support/what-is-a-perpetual-contract-and-does-it-expire).

## Related terms

- Brokerage account: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/brokerage-account
- Fractional shares: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/fractional-shares
- Closing auction (official close): https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/closing-auction
- Overnight session (24-hour stock trading): https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/overnight-session
- Real-world asset (RWA): https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/real-world-asset
- Gold ETF: https://mochatrade.com/learn/glossary/gold-etf