Introduction
A high proportion of information technology graduates find themselves working for investment firms such as investment banks, fund managers, custodians and wealth managers. In their new jobs they very often feel overwhelmed by the complexity of what it is that their new employers are trying to do; the jargon that is used and the complexity of the application configurations that are involved in processing the transactions.
This book is aimed at information technologists who are employed in the investment industry in roles such as developers, business analysts and quality assurance analysts.
The book fulfils two functions. Part One provides the reader with an understanding of the financial instruments and transactions that their employer is concerned with. It introduces the concept of straight-through-processing (STP), explains the lifecycle of the common transactions in the relevant instruments and also deals with the events and actions that are the consequences of holding positions in the instruments concerned. It does not deal in detail with the valuation and analytical tools that are required to value and price complex instruments and transactions, as these topics are well covered by a number of other publications.
The instruments and transaction types that are included in the book’s scope are equities, debt instruments (including fixed rate bonds and floating rate notes), currencies (including money market loans and deposits and foreign exchange), listed futures ...
