Customer Reviews

After the Trade Is Made: Processing Securities Transactions

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Consider yourself warned: this book is really, really boring. Astonishingly so. I do this stuff for a living, and it still put me to sleep.

The reason it is so dull, however, is that it explains securities processing with great clarity and precision, without any mistakes or digressions. It is slightly outdated, so if the advances of the last seven years are very important to you (they won't be, to most people--the back office doesn't change as quickly as one would think), get Michael Reddy's book "Securities Operations" instead.

Publisher New York Institute of Finance (former training arm of the NYSE) has another hit book here! This book steps you through a fictional stockbrokerage firm: "Stone, Forrest & Rivers" and leaves no department out except the one we know so well: Sales.

You find out about the business of the Purchase & Sales department, Margin Department, Reorg Dept. and several others. This is the easy way for a newcomer to the securities industry to find out how the firm actually runs.

When I was a student at NASD "Phase" classes--training designed to get new examiners (the NASD is the largest regulator of the securities industry, with more examiners than even the US SEC) up to speed quickly on the working details of the stock brokerage and investment banking industry--I noticed an earlier edition of this book in the bookshelf in the classroom. I asked about it because another, veteran examiner told me to get the book. The training instructor said "There is no other book like it. . ." "It is the best there is for covering the entire operations of the back office of a stockbroker".

It is no wonder this book is a hit with Lehman Bros. or with CPA firm Deloitte & Touche (they need to audit stockbrokerage firms). If you are only investing, you don't need this book, but if you are charged with running a broker-dealer or auditing it, then this is the book to get you up to speed quickly!

This book seems to be highly overrated. It deals with the long-gone days of paper processing in the securities industry with scant reference to computer technology.

It is also short on the detail that you would expect from someone that understood the subject in depth.

If you know of a book that covers this industry both currently and including its essential technology I would like to hear from you.

I have always been a fan of handbooks. They always provide practical information about a subject in concise articles that help practitioners (or, in my case, would-be practitioners) get oriented on the vast array of topics in their field. Most of us are expert in narrow areas of information, yet we cannot afford to be ignorant of the broader sweep of the fields in which we work. Handbooks and practical guides help us competently handle those activities that are relevant to our work, but only come up once in awhile or in areas we are just beginning work. This really cool book, `After the Trade is Made" by David Weiss, is ideal for investment professionals, investors, and anyone curious about how the back of the house processes and clears the trades made by the customers and the sales team. I like the way handbooks discuss things in practical and easy to implement language. Theory is great and appropriate for textbooks, but in doing a job you want to know what it is you should and have to do.

The book has fourteen chapters (all made up of smaller named and numbered articles so they can be easily found), but the first three chapters take up the first 199 pages. These three chapters would be great reading for anyone investing in securities and wanting to understand the scope of the industry and its products for themselves. I believe it is much better to be an active learner when placing your hard earned money rather than taking the word of someone whose interests aren't as aligned with yours as you might want to believe.

The first three chapters are: 1) Overview of the Industry, 2) Products that We Offer (this title shows the perspective of the book as investment professionals), and 3) The Marketplaces and Order Management. It is much better for investors to read the language and see things from the perspective of the people trying to sell them various financial instruments rather than sales literature that is designed to entice.

The last ten chapters provide information that people working in the investment industry need to know about the back of the investment house. 4) The Trade Processing System, 5) Margin (an interesting topic), 6) Settlement, 7) Custodial Services, 8) Role of the Banks, 9) Cash Accounting, 10) Brokerage Accounting, 11) Stock Record, 12) General Ledger, 13) Regulatory Reporting, and 14) Conclusion. There is also a very useful glossary and a helpful index.

The chapters get much shorter as the book goes on. In my theory of wanting to know what the guy sitting across the table from me knows when I do business with him (or her), this book is quite helpful. If you take the time to look up those aspects of the trading business that are relevant to your investments you will actually be better off knowing what the people you pay to perform these trades for you have to do. If nothing else, talking about some of these things in conversation with them might make them more attentive to your investments because they will think you know more than most investors (and you will).

Business students (especially in finance) will find the explanations here clear and helpful. I wish I had known about this book and had it available when I as studing for my MBA.

If you are an industry professional, you will instantly understand the utility of a handbook like this and will want this new and revised edition on your shelf in order to consult quickly as issues arise.

I was given this book to read when I started a contract assignment at a Securities Data-Processing service Company. I can't put it down, the world of finance and money trading is absolutely fascinating. I'm reviewing this book with absolutely no previous "money industry" experience. I'm just reviewing it based on it's "readability". The subject matter is very interesting, the author is very knowledgeable. For me, he explains things "just enough" so that I "get it" but I'm not overwhelmed. Very interesting book if you want to learn about the financial world or, if your involved, it doesn't hurt to refresh.

If you need to understand the nuts and bults process of what happens after a trade is made, this is the book for you. A must for those in the industry, in particular, IT developers designing securities software. When I was in the industry, it was my bible.

If you own the 2nd edition, or can get a copy of it second hand - that is a much better version. The 3rd edition is very bloated with text from David's other books. Overall, while the text is informative as a reference to the novice, this edition trades crispness for girth, seizing the opportunity to cash in on book sales through a new edition.

If you manage to stay awake then you too can learn about securities processing from start to finish. This is a great book about how the sell-side brokerage firm works, although much of the information here is outdated; electronic systems have streamlined the process and made it more efficient. Still, this book has a great wealth of information in it. This book impressed me in its clarity and at the same time, its magical ability to be so boring.

The topics suggested by the title (settlement, etc) are well addressed, but the first half of the book is dedicated to marketplaces and here the book comes up short. Many recent market developments, even those that were in place at the time of writing, appear to be inadequately or inaccurately addressed. Examples:

ATSes/ECNs are much more center stage than the book would suggest and are not sufficiently discussed

Hybrid market mechanics are not discussed much

Dark pool liquidity is not addressed

Options market making is not addressed beyond a single paragraph that sheds no light into how Citadel et al make continuous markets electronically

And unfortunately, given that the major development of Reg NMS took place after the book, this makes the marketplace info even less useful.

I am new to financial industry and I feel it is an excellent book to give a good overview of the concepts.