The Importance of managing the reconciliation process

*Markit wins Best Pricing and Valuation Service Award – Buy-Side Technology Magazine

"It is very rewarding to see our efforts to provide the buy-side with an all-compassing service acknowledged. Recent market volatility has highlighted the importance of independent portfolio valuations, and Markit’s service stands out for the quality of its data and the thorough tolerance checks on results by expert analysts.”
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Jeff Gooch, EVP and Head of Portfolio Valuations and Trade Processing at Markit

1,000,000 Trades Processed and still growing strong…

Markit Trade Processing (MTP) processed its one millionth trade in Q3 2007. This is a major milestone in the short history of MTP.

• Over 80,000 trades are being processed each month on MTP
• Over 35,000 trades per month are sent to DTCC on behalf of clients

What's new on MTP?

Dealer Update - Affirmations
New Reporting - Confirmations
New Reporting Dashboard – Portfolio Reconciliation
New Markit Trade Processing Clients

This Edition Features: The Importance of Managing the Reconciliation Process

MTP Portfolio Reconciliation

In uncertain times, an increasing amount of pressure is added to already taxed collateral operations teams. Sound sadly familiar? With greater volatility, margin calls increase - as do disputes. The larger your portfolio, the more likely this process feels like finding a needle in a haystack.

Portfolio Reconciliation is, however, a critical part in the operations chain - not only isolating risk (misbooked trades, P&L challenges) but also introducing liquidity. Firms can withhold collateral exchanges until disputes are settled. Firms not fully reconciled may truly have more free cash or securities at their disposal - and just aren't aware. Better identification and resolution of disputes may free up current collateral for other transactions or perhaps even for trading purposes. But, firms need tools to help them manage the process - not just the collateral.

Markit can help. We offer:

• Auto-reconciliation tools
• Identification & alerting of economic breaks
• Side-by-side mark-to-market comparison
• Drill-down to transaction details & confirmation status

MTP’s Portfolio Reconciliation service also incorporates Portfolio Valuations directly into its valuations review tools to place this critical information where it is needed most. For information on MTP's Portfolio Reconciliation service or how Markit's award-winning Portfolio Valuations service can be integrated into your workflow, contact Markit Sales for a quick demonstration.

Dealer Update - Affirmations

Bear Stearns, Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers have established real-time connectivity with MTP that will improve the efficiency of Affirmations and Confirmations processing for MTP clients. For more information, please contact Markit Sales.

New Reporting - Confirmations

MTP introduces a new user-level productivity report to its Confirmation service. It enables managers to view and improve workflow distribution. The new reporting allows managers to:

• View a summary of outstanding confirmations split by team members
• View a summary of outstanding confirmations at any stage of the workflow
• Drill down to see specific trade details in a member name or queue

Other new features of the Confirmation service include Expanded Search Capabilities.
Search on:

• Markit RED ID
• DTCC Warehouse TRI
• Comments/Notes
• Last Activity Date
• Posted Date

To request more information about the enhanced Confirmation Reporting click here

New Reporting Dashboard – Portfolio Reconciliation

MTP introduces a NEW dashboard for its Portfolio Reconciliation service. It provides collateral managers and professionals critical insights into their productivity levels and exposure. Highlights of the dashboard include:

• Quick view of reconciliation status
• Highlighting of top 10 breaks, exceptions and suggestions
• Daily Trend Analysis

To request more information about the enhanced Portfolio Reconciliation Reporting click here

New Clients to Markit Trade Processing:

Deutsche Bank – Affirmations and Confirmations
Merrill Lynch – Affirmations and Confirmations
Schroders Investment Management – Portfolio Reconciliation
Och Ziff Capital Management – Portfolio Reconciliation
Sandelman Partners, L.P - Affirmations, Confirmations, Portfolio Reconciliation

Want to learn more about how our solutions can help you to reduce risk and improve efficiency? To request a demonstration or more information on this service, contact a Markit Sales Representative.