What are the roles of an IRA custodian and administrator?

An IRA account custodian, often referred to as the “trust company”, will typically be a regulated bank, credit union, or non-depository bank. The custodian essentially “stores”, or holds the client’s investments, and makes sure that the investment account abides by IRS and government regulations at all times. The IRA account administrator, on the other hand, executes investment decisions according to the account owner’s instruction. IRA administrators are typically seen as the middleman between the account owner and the custodian.