Reference Data

Core Concepts

1. Security Master

The security master is the authoritative repository of instrument-level reference data, serving as the foundation for portfolio management, trading, performance, reporting, and compliance systems.

Core fields: Identifiers (CUSIP, ISIN, SEDOL, FIGI, ticker, internal ID), classification (asset class, sub-class, GICS sector, country, currency), issuer information (name, LEI, ratings), terms and conditions (asset-class-specific contractual attributes), and pricing factors (multiplier, day count, settlement convention).

Asset-class-specific attributes: Equity (shares outstanding, market cap, sector, exchange, dividend frequency). Fixed income (coupon, maturity, call schedule, credit rating, seniority, day count). Funds (NAV, expense ratio, share class, distribution frequency, load structure). ETFs (NAV, indicative value, expense ratio, underlying index). Options (underlying, strike, expiration, type, multiplier, exercise style). Alternatives (strategy type, vintage year, commitment, capital call schedule, valuation frequency).

Security lifecycle events: IPO/listing (new record creation with all required fields), corporate actions (splits, mergers, spin-offs, name/ticker/exchange changes — the single largest source of security master data quality issues), and delisting/maturity (flag as inactive, retain historical record for performance and audit).

Golden source designation: The security master should be the firm's golden source for instrument reference data. All downstream systems retrieve security attributes from it rather than maintaining independent copies.

2. Identifier Systems

Financial instruments carry multiple overlapping identifiers. No single scheme is universally sufficient.