Trade Idea Monitoring

Automatically detect when trade ideas are placed suspiciously close to internal research publications — and flag them for MNPI review before they become a regulatory problem.

What it does

The Trade Idea Monitoring app compares the timestamp of every trade idea submitted by research analysts or portfolio managers against the publication window of internal research reports. When a trade idea precedes, or immediately follows, a research report on the same security, the platform flags it for compliance review.

This workflow addresses one of the most common information-barrier failures at buy-side and sell-side firms: an individual with access to material non-public information (MNPI) — typically an unpublished research view — taking a position before the information is made public.

Key capabilities

• Automated timestamp matching. Trade ideas are matched against research reports by security identifier (ticker, ISIN, SEDOL) and submission time.
• Configurable look-back window. Set the number of hours before and after a research publication within which a coincident trade idea triggers a flag.
• MNPI risk scoring. Flags are scored by proximity, direction (same/opposite to research view), and the sensitivity classification of the research involved.
• Reviewer workflow. Flagged ideas are routed to the compliance officer responsible for information barrier oversight, with all relevant context in one view.
• Audit trail. Every flag, review note, and disposition is logged with timestamps — defensible evidence if questioned by a regulator.

Typical workflow

1. Research reports and trade ideas are ingested daily (via file upload or API).
2. The matching engine runs overnight and surfaces any coincidences within your configured window.
3. Flags appear in the review queue with the trade idea, the research report, the time delta, and the analyst involved.
4. The compliance officer reviews and either clears the flag with a note or escalates for investigation.
5. A monthly summary report is generated for the information-barrier section of your compliance committee pack.