Securities Operations Management Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Securities Operations Analyst, Custody Operations Officer and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-BI-105

Before you join: Participants should have basic familiarity with financial instruments, including equities, bonds and investment funds, plus some exposure to banking, custody, fund administration, treasury or investment operations.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Securities operations teams must process high volumes of trades, asset movements, income events and client instructions without creating settlement fails, unrecorded exposures or regulatory breaches. A small control failure in trade matching, standing settlement instructions, corporate actions or reconciliations can cause financial loss, client complaints, failed settlements and extended remediation work. This course addresses the operating discipline required to manage securities transactions from execution through settlement, custody, asset servicing and reporting.

Participants examine the end-to-end securities operations model for equities, bonds, funds, derivatives and repos. They work through trade capture, allocation, affirmation, confirmation, clearing, delivery versus payment, custody account structures, reconciliations, corporate actions, income processing, withholding tax and operational risk controls. The course also addresses SWIFT message standards, ISO 20022 migration considerations, settlement discipline, exception management, key risk indicators and service-level reporting. Participants learn to identify break causes, assign ownership, escalate material incidents and document controls that stand up to audit review.

Teaching combines concise technical briefings with bank, custodian, asset manager and insurer cases. Participants analyse settlement breaks, corporate action elections, failed trade scenarios, asset reconciliation differences and operational loss events. They leave with a practical securities operations control pack containing process maps, checklists, escalation criteria, reconciliation standards and performance measures suitable for adaptation to their own desk or operations unit.

The course is suited to professionals who already work with securities transactions or investment operations and need stronger control, processing and oversight capability. It is particularly relevant to staff in banks, custodians, broker-dealers, asset managers, insurers, pension funds and outsourced operations providers.

What you will be able to do

  • Map the securities transaction lifecycle from execution through custody and asset servicing
  • Apply trade matching, affirmation and confirmation controls to reduce settlement exceptions
  • Use delivery versus payment principles to assess clearing and settlement risk
  • Design cash and securities reconciliation procedures with clear break ownership
  • Process mandatory and voluntary corporate actions using election and entitlement controls
  • Evaluate income, withholding tax and claims processing against client and market requirements
  • Build an operational risk and control matrix for securities operations processes
  • Produce service-level metrics, escalation rules and an operations improvement plan

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Diagnose settlement breaks using structured root-cause categories and escalation criteria
  • Handle corporate action elections with clearer entitlement, deadline and client instruction controls
  • Improve credibility when discussing custody, clearing and asset servicing with front-office colleagues
  • Create audit-ready evidence for reconciliations, approvals and exception resolution
  • Prepare for wider responsibilities in securities operations, custody or investment administration

For your organisation

  • Fewer avoidable settlement fails, buy-ins and late processing charges
  • Stronger protection of client assets through account, reconciliation and approval controls
  • More consistent corporate action and income processing across operations teams
  • Clearer incident escalation and root-cause reporting for operational risk governance
  • Better service reporting for internal stakeholders, clients and outsourced providers

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can map a securities transaction across market participants, systems and control points.

  • Primary issuance, secondary trading, clearing and custody roles distinguished
  • Trade-date to settlement-date lifecycle mapped across operating teams
  • Asset classes compared: equities, bonds, funds, derivatives and repos
  • Market participants: brokers, custodians, CCPs, CSDs and transfer agents
  • Omnibus and segregated account structures matched to client assets
  • Standing settlement instructions governed through approved data ownership
  • Cut-off times, market calendars and time zones controlled
  • Front-to-back handoffs traced using a securities transaction map

Participants can apply pre-settlement controls that identify incomplete, inaccurate and unmatched trades.

  • Trade capture fields validated against execution and allocation records
  • Allocation, affirmation and confirmation workflows distinguished by market
  • Institutional trade matching principles applied to equity transaction records
  • Broker confirmations reconciled with internal books and records
  • Exception queues prioritised by settlement value, ageing and risk
  • SSI changes authenticated using dual control and callback procedures
  • FATCA status and tax documentation checked before account activation
  • Trade amendments controlled through timestamped approval and audit trails

Participants can manage settlement instructions, failed trades and associated financial exposures.

  • Delivery versus payment model applied to principal settlement risk
  • Free-of-payment transfers distinguished from delivery versus payment settlements
  • CCP novation and netting effects traced through clearing workflows
  • Settlement instruction fields checked against market-specific requirements
  • Fails analysed by counterparty, instrument, root cause and ageing
  • CSDR settlement discipline measures linked to operational responsibilities
  • Buy-ins, cash penalties and claims assessed after settlement failure
  • Escalation thresholds defined for high-value and persistent settlement exceptions

Participants can establish custody records and reconciliation controls for cash and securities positions.

  • Safekeeping responsibilities separated from settlement and asset servicing duties
  • Book positions compared with custodian, depository and fund records
  • Nostro cash reconciliations structured by value date and currency
  • Securities breaks classified as timing, transaction, valuation or static-data differences
  • Break ageing reports assigned to named owners and deadlines
  • Client asset records maintained through segregation and evidential controls
  • Suspense accounts investigated using documented clearance and approval rules
  • Daily reconciliation attestations retained for management and audit review

Participants can process corporate actions with accurate entitlement, election and deadline controls.

  • Mandatory, voluntary and mandatory-with-choice events classified correctly
  • Record date, ex-date and payable date linked to entitlements
  • Election instructions validated against holdings, deadlines and market rules
  • Corporate action notifications checked against agent and custodian sources
  • Fractional entitlements, default options and proceeds handled consistently
  • Claims raised for missed entitlements and incorrect event payments
  • Proxy voting instructions controlled through authority and deadline records
  • Event status reporting distinguishes announced, pending, paid and closed

Participants can control securities income processing, withholding tax and client reporting outputs.

  • Coupon, dividend and redemption calculations checked against security terms
  • Entitlement calculations reconciled to settled and pending position records
  • Withholding tax rates validated using client documentation and market rules
  • Tax reclaims tracked through submission, status and receipt stages
  • Manufactured payments identified for securities lending and repo transactions
  • Income suspense balances investigated through entitlement and payment analysis
  • Client statements reconciled to custody records before release
  • Reporting exceptions documented with correction, approval and communication evidence

Participants can apply securities operations controls within pooled funds and insurance investment portfolios.

  • Fund dealing cycles linked to subscriptions, redemptions and trade settlement
  • NAV inputs controlled through prices, positions, income and expenses
  • Investment manager instructions validated against mandates and dealing authority
  • Unit pricing errors assessed using materiality and correction procedures
  • Insurance portfolio records separated by policyholder and shareholder funds
  • Collateral movements monitored for margin calls and eligibility requirements
  • Securities lending activity reconciled with collateral and manufactured income
  • Outsourced administrator oversight assessed through controls and service reports

Participants can assess operational risk and document preventive, detective and corrective controls.

  • Risk and control self-assessment applied to securities processing activities
  • Preventive, detective and corrective controls mapped to key risks
  • Maker-checker approvals designed for static data and payment releases
  • Operational loss events documented using cause, impact and recovery fields
  • Key risk indicators set for fails, breaks, losses and ageing
  • Business continuity procedures tested for market disruption and system outages
  • Outsourcing controls assessed through due diligence and periodic oversight
  • Audit findings tracked through remediation owners, dates and evidence

Participants can assess message quality, static data governance and technology-related operating risks.

  • SWIFT ISO 15022 messages interpreted for settlement and corporate actions
  • ISO 20022 data elements compared with legacy message structures
  • Static data governance assigns ownership for accounts and identifiers
  • ISIN, LEI and BIC identifiers validated before transaction processing
  • Interface controls reconcile source systems, custodians and accounting platforms
  • Data quality rules detect missing, duplicate and contradictory records
  • Access rights reviewed against segregation of duties requirements
  • Change controls tested before releases affecting settlement workflows

Participants can report service performance and prioritise improvements to securities operations processes.

  • Service-level agreements translated into measurable operational performance indicators
  • Daily dashboards report volumes, fails, breaks, ageing and backlog
  • Root-cause analysis uses five whys and fishbone categories
  • Operational capacity plans link forecast volumes to staffing requirements
  • Client complaints analysed for process failure and communication defects
  • Vendor scorecards assess timeliness, accuracy, resilience and issue resolution
  • Escalation matrices define decision rights for incidents and breaches
  • Application plan prioritises controls, owners, milestones and success measures

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Securities transaction lifecycle map
  2. Settlement exception triage checklist
  3. Cash and securities reconciliation standard
  4. Corporate actions election control checklist
  5. Securities operations risk and control matrix
  6. Service-level dashboard and escalation matrix

Who should attend

  • Securities Operations Analyst — needs reliable methods for processing and resolving transaction exceptions
  • Custody Operations Officer — manages safekeeping, settlement and asset servicing controls
  • Trade Support Specialist — supports accurate trade capture, matching and confirmation workflows
  • Fund Operations Professional — oversees investment transaction processing and portfolio asset records
  • Insurance Investment Operations Officer — administers securities portfolios supporting policyholder and shareholder funds
  • Operations Risk or Control Manager — reviews control design, incidents and service performance

Skills and tools covered

Trade lifecycle controlSettlement risk managementCustody reconciliationsCorporate actions processingOperational risk controlSecurities service reporting

Tools and standards

SWIFT ISO 15022, ISO 20022, CSDR, Delivery versus Payment (DVP) model

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to establish market structure, process requirements and control principles. Case work follows realistic transaction flows from trade execution through settlement, custody, income and corporate actions. Group exercises examine failed settlements, reconciliation breaks, tax documentation gaps and operational incidents. Participants use process maps, control matrices and service reports to assess operating decisions. Simulations test prioritisation of exception queues and escalation choices. Each participant develops an application plan linked to a current operations process or control issue.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have basic familiarity with financial instruments, including equities, bonds and investment funds, plus some exposure to banking, custody, fund administration, treasury or investment operations. Experience reading trade confirmations, account statements or operational reports is useful. Participants should understand core concepts such as trade date, settlement date, cash, securities positions and reconciliations. No prior custody qualification, SWIFT certification, programming skill or detailed knowledge of derivatives pricing is required. The course explains market infrastructure and message standards before applying them to operating cases.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants should understand basic financial instruments and have some exposure to banking, investment operations, custody, fund administration or related work. No prior securities operations certification or SWIFT technical training is required.

Bring examples of non-confidential process issues, exception reports or control questions from your workplace if permitted by your employer. Course materials are provided, and no specialist software is needed.

The course is designed for analysts, officers, supervisors and control staff working with trade support, settlement, custody, fund operations or insurance investments. It also suits professionals moving into securities operations from payments, treasury or financial control roles.

Investment analysis focuses on selecting assets and evaluating returns. This course focuses on processing, controlling, settling, safeguarding and servicing securities after investment decisions have been made.

Participants can use the lifecycle map, reconciliation standard, corporate actions checklist and control matrix to review a live operations process. The methods also support clearer exception ownership, escalation and management reporting.

The programme runs for five training days, 08:30 to 16:30, with about 6.5 contact hours each day. Time is divided between instructor input, cases, group analysis, process simulations and application planning; participants receive a certificate of completion.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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