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Clearing

Features related to the netting, allocation, and management of obligations before the final settlement.

Automated margin calls: Generate and track margin call notifications based on clearing requirements.
Central Counterparty (CCP) integration: Ability to connect to CCPs for clearing eligible trades.
Clearing member management: Identify and administer relationships with different clearing members.
Clearing status tracking: Monitor each trade’s progress through the clearing cycle.
Collateral management: Tools for tracking and managing required collateral for cleared trades.
Real-time clearing updates: Receive immediate updates from CCPs on clearing status.
Risk checks pre-clearing: Run risk/capital requirement checks prior to clearing.
Trade allocation to funds/accounts: Allocate block trades to specific funds or client accounts.
Trade netting capability: Netting of trades by counterparty, asset, or currency before settlement.
Unsupported asset tracking: Flag trades/assets not eligible for central clearing.

Connectivity & Integration

Capabilities for integrating with upstream/downstream systems and external vendors.

Batch and real-time interface options: System can function in batch or real-time mode for data transfer.
Cloud deployment options: Support for deployment on public/private cloud environments.
Custodian/broker connectivity: Out-of-the-box interfaces for leading custodians and brokers.
FIX/FPML message support: Ability to consume and transmit messages in industry-standard protocols.
File import/export support: Support for standardized and custom file formats for data exchange.
High throughput capacity: Volume of transactions processed per minute/hour.
Market data feed integration: Connectivity for real-time or EOD reference and market pricing data.
Message transformation/mapping tools: Customizable adapters to transform data between formats.
OMS/PMS integration: Connects directly to Order Management and Portfolio Management Systems.
Open APIs: Availability of secure APIs for two-way connectivity with external systems.

Corporate Actions Processing

Automated handling of voluntary and mandatory corporate actions impacting settled trades.

Ad hoc report generation: Ability to generate reports on corporate actions, entitlements, and positions.
Automated entitlement calculation: System calculates entitlements (cash/shares) for each account/fund.
Corporate actions feed integration: Direct connections to data providers for corporate actions data.
Custodian liaison tools: Facilitates communication of election instructions to custodians.
Event type coverage: Supported corporate action event types (dividend, splits, mergers, etc.).
Exception tracking: Automatically detects and flags exceptions in event processing.
Historical event tracking: Maintains a log of past corporate actions and results.
Instruction capture for voluntary events: Enables capture and processing of user elections for voluntary events.
Multi-account allocation: Allocates entitlements accurately across multiple accounts/funds.
Notification workflows: Automatically notifies users and clients of impending actions.

Performance & Scalability

Ensures the platform operates efficiently under peak loads and scales with business volumes.

Auto-scaling: System can increase resources automatically to accommodate higher loads.
Concurrent user support: Maximum number of users supported in parallel.
Disaster recovery (RTO/RPO): System's recovery time objective (RTO) and recovery point objective (RPO).
Environment isolation: Supports separation of production, test, and development environments.
High availability: Redundancy for 24/7 uptime and minimal service interruptions.
Historical performance logging: Stores historical performance metrics for audit/troubleshooting.
Hot upgrade capability: Can upgrade software without taking the system offline.
Latency: Average end-to-end processing time of single trade.
Monitoring/alerting for bottlenecks: Real-time monitoring and alerts when exceeding resource thresholds.
Peak throughput: Maximum number of transactions processed per second.

Reconciliation

Ensuring positions, cash, and trades are consistent internally and with external records.

Audit logging: Detailed logging of all reconciliation and exception resolution activities.
Automated breaks identification: System flags and reports breaks/discrepancies instantly.
Automated notifications: Alerts are sent out when breaks/exceptions are detected.
Cash reconciliation: Automated matching of expected vs. actual cash movements.
Data normalization tools: Standardizes data from multiple sources/formats to enable matching.
Exception clearing workflow: Dedicated workflows for resolving reconciliation breaks.
Multi-frequency support: Can perform reconciliations intra-day, daily, weekly, or custom frequency.
Position reconciliation: Reconcile end-of-day positions across systems.
Reconciliation throughput: Volume of trades/cash/items reconciled per hour.
Trade-to-custodian reconciliation: Compare internal trades with those reported by the custodian.

Regulatory & Compliance Support

Facilitates adherence to financial regulations and supports audit requirements.

Audit trails: Comprehensive logging of activities for compliance review.
Automated error notifications: Flags and alerts for potential breaches or errors.
Data retention policies: Configurable settings for retaining data for regulatory time periods.
Exception-based reporting: Supports generating compliance reports based on trade exceptions.
Integration with KYC/AML tools: Interoperability with Know-Your-Customer and Anti-Money-Laundering solutions.
Regulatory reporting modules: Built-in modules for regulatory reports (e.g. MiFID II, EMIR, SFTR, Dodd-Frank).
Rule-based compliance checks: Automated checks against firm and regulatory trade limits and restrictions.
Scheduled regulatory reporting: System can schedule and send regulatory reports automatically.
Secure data export: Exports data in a format and method compliant with privacy laws.
User access controls: Granular security roles and permissioning for users.

Security

Ensures robust protection of sensitive trade, client, and market data.

Automated session timeout: Users are logged out automatically after a period of inactivity.
End-to-end data encryption: Encrypts data both at rest and in transit.
Granular access control: Permissions assigned at user, group, or function level.
Incident response protocols: Predefined workflows for suspected or actual breaches.
Intrusion detection/prevention integration: System interfaces with existing IDP/IDS solutions.
Multi-factor authentication: Requires more than one method of authentication for login.
Patch management: Regular updates to address new vulnerabilities.
Regular security audits: System is subject to periodic internal/external security reviews.
Role-based data masking: Sensitive fields are masked based on user permissions.
User activity monitoring: Real-time logging and analysis of user activity.

Settlement

Processes for the transfer of securities and cash to fulfill trade obligations.

Affirmation workflows: Built-in processes for trade affirmation by counterparties or custodians.
Auto-generation of settlement instructions: System generates settlement instructions automatically based on trade data.
Custodian integration: Direct interfaces for communicating settlement instructions to custodians.
DVP/RVP support: Supports Delivery vs. Payment and Receipt vs. Payment settlement types.
Multi-market settlement: Settlement processing across various geographies and market infrastructures.
Partial settlements support: Ability to process partial settlements when full allocation/cash is not available.
Settlement cycle configuration: Ability to set T+2, T+1, T+0, or custom settlement periods.
Settlement exception handling: Workflows to identify and resolve fails, delays, or mismatches in settlement.
Settlement fails reporting: Monitoring and reporting of failed/delayed settlements.
Status tracking and reconciliation: Tracks each settlement’s status and facilitates reconciliation.

Trade Capture

Functionality enabling real-time and accurate recording of trade details immediately after execution.

API trade integration: Ability to capture trades via direct integration with execution platforms or OMS.
Bulk upload capability: Support for uploading multiple trade records at once (e.g., via CSV/XML).
Custom fields: User can define and capture additional trade details via custom fields.
Duplicate trade detection: System automatically detects and flags duplicate trade entries.
Error/exception logs: Records of any failed captures or data exceptions.
Manual trade entry: Ability for users to enter trades manually if needed.
Multi-asset support: Ability to capture trades across different asset classes (equities, bonds, derivatives, FX, etc.).
Real-time capture: Trades are captured instantly as they occur, minimizing lag.
Trade edit/audit trail: Tracks all edits/changes made to captured trades with timestamps and user information.
Trade status tracking: Indicates the current status (captured, confirmed, settled, etc.) for each trade.

Trade Confirmation & Matching

Processes for confirming trade details with counterparties and matching them before settlement.

Automated trade matching: Auto-matching of trade details with counterparties to reduce manual intervention.
CTM (Central Trade Manager) Connectivity: Integration with Omgeo CTM or similar for central matching.
Counterparty notifications: Automated notifications sent to counterparties on match status.
Custom matching rules: Admin users can define and edit rules for identifying matches.
Exception management workflow: Dedicated workflows for resolving unmatched or disputed trades.
Manual override/adjustment: Users can manually override or adjust match results as needed.
Matching latency: Average time taken to complete trade matching.
Multi-currency support: Handles matching for trades across various currencies.
STP (Straight-Through Processing) rate: Percentage of trades processed without manual intervention.
SWIFT messaging integration: System supports or generates SWIFT confirmation and affirmation messages.

User Experience & Reporting

Facilitates ease of use, error reduction, and the ability to extract actionable insights.

Ad hoc reporting: Users can build and generate custom reports on demand.
Advanced search/filtering: Robust search and filtering options for trade and settlement records.
Customizable dashboards: Users can configure dashboards to monitor relevant KPIs and statuses.
Drill-down analytics: Allows navigation from summary to detailed trade information.
Export to standard formats: Can output data/reports to CSV, Excel, PDF, etc.
Mobile/web accessibility: Platform can be accessed from web browsers or mobile devices.
Multi-language support: User interface available in multiple languages.
Real-time notifications and alerts: Prompts users immediately about errors, matches, exceptions, or deadlines.
Role-based UI customization: User interface adapts and shows relevant modules based on role.
Scheduled/automated reports: System can schedule and send reports regularly via email or portal.

Trade Processing & Settlement Systems features explained

for Fund Operations