Position: Senior Associate - Trade Operations
Job Overview:
The role requires deep knowledge of Charles River (CRIMS), custodial workflows, and prime brokerage settlement processes, along with a strong understanding of DTCC's confirmation/affirmation protocols. The position also plays a leadership role in driving operational readiness for T+1 settlement and other evolving industry initiatives.
Key Responsibilities and Duties
Trade Lifecycle Management
- Manage daily trade operations across equities, fixed income, and optionsfrom trade capture to final settlement.
- Ensure trades are entered correctly in Charles River, validated against compliance rules, and properly routed.
- Oversee allocations, confirmations, and affirmations in coordination with custodians and brokers.
Custodian & Prime Broker Coordination
- Act as the main point of contact for our custodians (Pershing, Fidelity, Schwab, Goldman Sachs).
- Coordinate prime brokerage and trade-away settlements, ensuring all trades are booked and reconciled accurately.
- Proactively investigate and resolve any failed trades, mismatched instructions, or settlement issues.
DTCC and Industry Process Oversight
- Manage the DTCC confirmation and affirmation process to make sure trades are affirmed and settled on schedule.
- Monitor exceptions and resolve trade discrepancies before settlement deadlines.
- Stay current on industry changes, such as T+1 settlement and other post-trade updates.
Process Improvement & Automation
- Identify areas where automation can streamline workflows or reduce manual touchpoints.
- Partner with technology and trading teams to implement smarter settlement and reconciliation tools.
- Keep our SOPs up to date to ensure consistency and clarity across processes.
Reconciliation & Risk Control
- Perform daily reconciliations of trades, cash, and positions between internal systems and custodians.
- Maintain the accuracy of trade blotters and custodial records.
- Resolve discrepancies quickly and document resolutions for audit and compliance purposes.
Team Collaboration
- Work closely with the trading desk, portfolio management, compliance, and finance to ensure seamless trade flow.
- Share your expertise during new custodian setups or system integrations.
- Mentor junior team members and help strengthen overall operational knowledge across the team.
Qualifications
Mandatory Qualifications
- Minimum of 5 - 7 years in trade operations within an RIA, asset manager, hedge fund, or broker-dealer.
- Hands-on experience with Charles River (CRIMS) and custodian platforms (Pershing, Fidelity, Schwab, Goldman Sachs).
- Deep understanding of trade settlement, clearing, and custody operations, including DTCC and Omgeo workflows.
- Strong working knowledge of equities, fixed income, and options trade lifecycles.
- Proven ability to troubleshoot settlement issues and reduce breaks through process improvements.
- Comfortable working with data and systemsadvanced Excel skills and familiarity with automation tools are a plus.
- A proactive mindset, strong attention to detail, and the ability to stay calm under tight deadlines.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience leading or supporting T+1 settlement readiness or other industry initiatives.
- Familiarity with SWIFT messaging, FIX trade flows, or other electronic trading protocols.
- Prior experience managing vendor relationships or system integrations.
- FINRA licenses (Series 7 or 99) are preferred but not required.
Performance Metrics
- Settlement accuracy and timeliness.
- Reduction in settlement breaks and operational exceptions.
- Successful implementation of process improvements and automation.
- Quality of internal documentation and SOPs.
- Effective collaboration across teams and external partners.
