CISI Technology in Investment Management flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Straight-through processing rate

The proportion of trades processed end-to-end without manual intervention, calculated as trades with no manual touch divided by total trades. It is a standard operational efficiency measure.

FIX protocol

A messaging standard used for electronic order flow between buy-side, sell-side and venues. Sessions use sequence numbers, heartbeats and resend logic to guarantee message delivery.

ISO 20022

A global messaging standard using XML syntax for payments and securities. It replaces SWIFT MT messages, and firms must map fields carefully during the coexistence period.

Golden source

The single authoritative system designated as the definitive source for a data element. Downstream systems consume it rather than maintaining conflicting copies.

Data lineage

A record of the origin, transformation and movement of a data element from source system to final report. It supports impact analysis and regulatory traceability.

BCBS 239

Principles requiring banks to aggregate risk data accurately and report it promptly. It covers governance, data architecture, accuracy, completeness and timeliness.

Security master

A central repository holding reference data for instruments, including identifiers, classifications, currencies and corporate action links. Errors here propagate across the whole estate.

Pre-trade compliance check

An automated validation performed before an order is released, testing restricted lists, mandate limits, concentration and cash availability. Failures block or flag the order.

Transaction cost analysis

Analysis comparing execution prices against benchmarks such as arrival price or VWAP, used as evidence of best execution and to improve trading tactics.

Smart order router

Logic that splits and routes child orders across venues according to price, liquidity, fees and latency rules. Routing decisions must be documented and periodically tested.

Investment book of record

A front-office position and cash record held on trade date and updated intraday. It supports order generation and must reconcile to the accounting book.

Accounting book of record

The official accounting record holding positions on settlement date with accounting rules applied. It produces the NAV and financial statements.

Time-weighted return

A performance measure that removes the effect of external cash flows by linking sub-period returns. It is the standard basis for reporting manager performance.

Corporate action entitlement

The calculated quantity of shares, cash or securities a holder is due for an event such as a dividend or split. Errors create position and cash breaks.

Central counterparty

An entity that interposes itself between trade counterparties, becoming buyer to every seller and seller to every buyer. It reduces counterparty risk through novation and margin.

Settlement fail

A trade not delivered against payment by the intended settlement date. Failures trigger buy-in procedures, penalties and additional operational monitoring.

Standing settlement instructions

Pre-agreed cash and securities account details for a counterparty, used to enrich trades automatically. Missing or stale instructions are a common cause of fails.

Value at risk

A statistical estimate of the maximum expected loss over a set horizon at a given confidence level. It understates tail risk and depends on historical correlations.

Stress testing

Applying hypothetical or historical severe scenarios to portfolios to estimate losses beyond normal statistical assumptions. Results inform limits and capital planning.

Model risk management

A governance framework including model inventory, independent validation, performance monitoring and documented ownership. It applies to pricing, risk and AI models alike.

Suspicious activity report

A filing made to the financial intelligence unit when transaction monitoring or investigation identifies activity suggesting money laundering or terrorist financing.

GIPS composites

Groups of portfolios managed to the same strategy, used for performance presentation under Global Investment Performance Standards. All eligible discretionary portfolios must be included.

Performance attribution

Decomposition of portfolio return versus benchmark into sources such as allocation and selection effects. It explains why relative performance occurred.

Investor portal

A client-facing digital channel showing holdings, performance and documents. It depends on governed data feeds and strong authentication and entitlement controls.

Robotic process automation

Software that replicates user interface actions to complete repetitive rule-based tasks. It is fast to deploy but brittle when screens or processes change.

Model drift

Degradation of a model's predictive accuracy as live data diverges from the training distribution. It is detected by ongoing performance monitoring and periodic retraining.

Human in the loop

A control design where a person reviews or approves automated or AI-generated outputs before they affect clients or regulatory records.

Multi-factor authentication

Authentication requiring two or more independent evidence types, such as a password plus a token. It reduces the impact of stolen credentials.

Operational resilience

The ability to prevent, adapt to and recover from disruption to important business services within defined impact tolerances. It extends beyond traditional disaster recovery planning.

Recovery time objective

The maximum acceptable time to restore a service after disruption. It must be tested, not merely documented, to provide evidence of resilience.

User acceptance testing

Business-led testing confirming that a system meets documented requirements before go-live. It is a key control gate in regulated technology change.

Service level agreement

A contract defining measurable performance targets, responsibilities and remedies between a firm and its vendor. Service credits may apply when targets are missed.