The GFMI U.S. Brokerage Operations Program
Our two-day United States Brokerage Operations Program provides an intensive overview of Brokerage Operations in the U.S. securities industry. A detailed picture of operations encompasses the trade lifecycle process for both equity and fixed income products from order and trade execution through settlement and clearance. Custody and control topics include a description of stock record, margin, stock loan, and asset services.
This Brokerage Operations Program promotes the discussion of real-life “war stories” that involve operational risk indicators, such as trade breaks, fails, suspense entries, DK’s, and cancels/corrects. Participants in this course will gain an understanding of the way a typical broker and dealer firm organizes its operation within functional areas. Process flows that support these functional areas are a major focus of the program, but attention is also given to potential gaps and exposures that present operational risk. Course participants will also learn how these events, if not properly managed and reported, can have a negative impact of firms, customers, counterparties, and marketplaces. Highlighted interdependencies in brokerage operations among entities such as investment managers, custodians, clearinghouses, and depositories will also be included.
Brokerage Operations Course Objectives
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Identify mission-critical functions within the lifecycle of a trade, from the inception of an order through settlement, as well as the follow-up required for the effective management of failed trades
- Explain the critical functions of new account and product reference or (static) data set-up
- Gain perspective on the interactions between the operation of a brokerage firm and the industry infrastructure, including confirmation/affirmation service providers, clearing houses and the depository
- Analyze metrics related to the control of trade activity, including fails, breaks, cancels/corrects, STP levels, and the cost per trade
- Compare the roles of broker/dealers, clearing firms, prime brokers and custodians
- Describe the impact of operational risk on Corporate Action processing
- Evaluate the importance of books and records, including how a stock record is used to demonstrate possession and control of both firm and client assets
- Distinguish the areas of operational support for margin and stock loan businesses within broker/dealers
Course Requirements:
Prerequisites: Fundamental Understanding of Capital Markets
Program Level: Foundation
Advanced Preparation: None
Recommended CPE Credits: 14
Brokerage Operations Course Topics
Broken down into eleven sessions spanning the two-day course, participants will be fully educated in the topic of U.S. Brokerage Operations.
- Session 1: Introduction to the Brokerage Firm
- Session 2: Pre-Trade Set-Up Requirements
- Session 3: Marketplaces for Securities
- Session 4: Order and Trade Management
- Session 5: Trade Confirmation and Affirmation
- Session 6: Street-Side Trade Reporting, Comparison, and Clearance
- Session 7: Settlement and Cashiering
- Session 8: Stock Record
- Session 9: Stock Loan and Repo
- Session 10: Customer Margin
- Session 11: Corporate Actions
For additional information on this course and for our full course catalog, contact us at +1-516-935-0923 or [email protected]!