Under the Hood: A Simplified Look at the Post-Trade Process

By DTCC Connection Staff

While investors are very familiar with the mechanics of buying and selling stocks or bonds, the world of post-trade processing remains a mystery to most people — if they think about it at all. But what happens after a transaction is executed on an exchange or electronic platform is essential to safeguarding investors and, more broadly, protecting the integrity of the global capital markets.

To help the public better understand the important role of clearinghouses, DTCC has partnered with Lightbulb Press to republish Guide to Clearance & Settlement — an engaging and informative book that explains the “how’s” and “whys” of post-trade processing in layman’s terms, along with easy-to-understand images and graphics that, like DTCC itself, simplifies the complexities of what occurs after a trade is executed.

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With chapters devoted to each area of DTCC’s business, as well as risk management, IT and digital innovation initiatives, the guide helps bring to life the journey of clearance and settlement. In doing so, it tells the story of how powerful digital networks and interconnected systems seamlessly orchestrate the complex processes that support the flow of billions of transactions valued at more than $2 quadrillion each year — and DTCC’s role at the center of all this activity.

The guide, which was originally published in 2009, has been completely redesigned and updated with new information and images to educate and inform readers. In addition to the digital version, it is available as an enhanced PDF and hardcopies are available for sale via Amazon and from Lightbulb Press.