SS&C Technologies : The new post trade world

With increasingly complex operational and regulatory pressures, the post trade world is evolving from a set of disorganized and tedious procedures into a refined and standardized process. Post trade services encompass all the processing that occur once a trade is complete including: allocations to client accounts, trade confirmations to compare the trade details, and trade affirmations to approve the transaction. Gone are the days of frantic phone calls, deciphering cryptic faxes, and late nights manually allocating orders. These old methods are being abandoned because they can no longer keep pace with the rigorous demands of today's trading environment where risk mitigation and cost reduction are crucial to success. Firms who recognize that the once unfashionable world of post trade services is now emerging as a powerful technology can position themselves strategically to save time and realize cost savings.

At the heart of these changes is FIX Protocol, the standardized electronic language that allows for lightning-fast communication and execution of client orders around the world. Maintaining FIX connectivity is a key component that SS&C FIXLink provides brokers and investment managers on a daily basis. Having a centralized network that can manage the constant communication between the buy-side and sell-side and monitor those connection endpoints is invaluable in today's fast paced trading environment.

'We use SS&C to outsource our FIX connectivity for a number of reasons.' said Stephen Lamendola, Chief Information Officer at Capital Institutional Services, Inc. (CAPIS). 'Having the ability to setup, maintain and work with our clients and partners from a connectivity standpoint is a huge asset. We use an array of tools provided by SS&C to monitor our day-to-day trading activity as well as leveraging their network to reach all of our endpoints.'

Despite the developments in trading and execution technology where trades are received and executed in milliseconds, the life cycle of a trade still takes days to complete due to cumbersome and antiquated post trade processing. Many in the industry are beginning to adopt FIX protocol to handle portions of the post trade process. FIX allocations are especially popular as they allow for instant distribution of block trades and bring information closer to the point of execution. By bringing FIX allocations along with the trade, firms are able to reap the same time and cost savings that the front office does from utilizing FIX protocol in the middle-office. Allocation errors can also be detected earlier in the post trade process resulting in fewer trade breaks overall.

SS&C's premier product SSCNET is ahead of the curve in terms of standardizing the use of FIX technology in post trade services. SSCNET allows all of our counterparties to communicate with each other regardless of whether those counterparties have adopted FIX. By standardizing communication between counterparties, SSCNET is able to support full allocation, confirmation and trade matching workflows. This uniquely flexible communication protocol allows FIX users to benefit immediately as SSCNet translates the post trade messages into a variety of formats, while simultaneously returning FIX messages to the original party.

While there are many clear advantages to moving the post trade process to FIX, firms are presented with significant hurdles in upgrading their existing trading infrastructure. Transitioning from manual post trade processing to FIX protocol requires a dedicated team with the foresight to invest in the post trade world. SS&C's SSCNET combines top of the line support with integrated technology to completely streamline the entire post trade process. By utilizing SS&C's FIX network FIXLink, SSCNet is able to securely communicate with parties all over the globe through a single point of access.

To learn more, contact me at mfrisaura@sscinc.com.

Asset Management

post trade , FIX , SSCNet , FIX Protocol , buy-side , sell-side