Futures Trading and Accounting Software for CTAs, Hedge Funds, and CPOs

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TheBooks^®

TheBooks^® is a suite of integrated Futures Trading and Accounting tools tailored to the needs of the CTA or Hedge Fund with managed accounts. It provides modules that manage trading, counterparty notification, position management, order generation, reconciliation, trade accounting, performance and risk management as well as data management.

Configurability, extensibility, and scalability are key attributes of TheBooks^®. Because no two advisors are exactly alike, which modules are used and how they operate is up to you.

External systems such as order generators and other trade entry applications can be easily integrated using TheBooks ActiveX API. Because TheBooks^® uses Microsoft’s SQL Server™ as its database, any application that can read an ODBC data source can be used to write customized reports.

Unlike a traditional accounting system, TheBooks^® has been designed with the trader in mind. Rather than being built independent of trading, TheBooks integrates accounting and performance reporting into the trading process.

Reports are available in a wide range of formats including PDF, Excel^®, Word^®, HTML, and raw data. All reports are delivered via a web browser providing easy distribution of reports inside or outside your organization.

Given all this, it is no wonder dozens of advisors use TheBooks^® in their operations.

An integrated suite

TheBooks^® is the first suite of applications developed specifically for the CTA with managed accounts. It provides modules that manage trading, counter-party notification, position management, trade accounting, and data management. These modules can work together as an integrated solution or separately, providing the level of automation required by the trader.

Module	Description
Trading and Communications	Provides tools to manage the order entry and trading activity notification process. It handles all of the paper work and communication associated with placing and reporting trades.
Reconciliation	Provides tools to reconcile your accounts with your clearing brokers. It can quickly and automatically reconcile trade confirmations, open positions, and balances. It handles all of the paper work and communication associated with reconciling your trading activity.
Position Management	Performs real-time P&S processing, ensuring that you always know your positions. It can produce roll trades, exit trades, and reversals. Trades for account opens, closes, additions, and redemptions can also be produced. If you trade multiple systems, it will maintain positions by system without double posting.
Trade Accounting	Provides a multi-currency accounting engine tailored to the accounting and reporting requirements of the CTA with managed accounts. It handles commission and fee accruals and charging. Management fees, incentive fees, and interest accruals are formula-based. Reporting of performance tables and statements is web-based allowing you to easily deliver information to your clients.
Performance Reporting	The Performance Reporting module of TheBooks provides both real-time, intra-day performance and risk reporting, valued on the tick, and historic reporting and standard performance tables. All reports are delivered via a web-browser interface. Now you can deliver up-to-the-second performance numbers to anyone in your organization, or to your clients over the Internet. In addition, TheBooks includes an innovative tool called the Performance Explorer™ which provides graphical drill-down into the performance characteristics of an arbitrary group of accounts over any timeframe. You can examine returns by instruments, sectors, accounts, or portfolios and add or remove markets, sectors, and accounts from the mix. TheBooks includes the eight industry-wide Barclay indices. These industry-wide benchmarks are updated on a monthly basis and along with any user-defined benchmarks (such as the S&P 500) you want to include, can be overlaid onto the charts for comparative analysis. All charts and data can be copied to other applications for presentation and analysis purposes.
Risk Management	Risk Management includes a Value at Risk module that provides both a current snapshot and a sector profile of VAR for an arbitrary portfolio, but also includes a thirty day history of VAR. The data is presented graphically with the option of sending the underlying data to applications such as Excel for further analysis. A stop loss analysis utility provides a second view into your portfolio's exposure by analyzing your current positions and any protective stops you may have in the market. Scenario analysis allows you to explore the effects of specific market moves on an existing or hypothetical portfolio.
Data Manager	Provides a repository of market price data for research and order generation purposes. It integrates data from a wide range of vendors into a single, consistent format. Combined with flexible continuous contract building and an automatic daily data downloader, the Data Manager is the tool for the systematic trader.
Price Data Interfaces	Provides interfaces for obtaining both real-time as well as end-of-day prices from a wide variety of data vendors. Real-time prices can be obtained from eSignal and CQG. End of day prices can be obtained from eSignal, CQG, CSI, Yahoo, any Excel spreadsheet, text files, and your brokerage statements. In addition, TheBooks API provides the capability to load both real-time and end of day prices as well.

Why is this important?

Beyond practical issues, such as double-keying of data, there is the very real problem of decision making using incorrect or out-of-date information. If trades are posted in one system, and signals are produced from another, there is a risk that signals will be based on incorrect data.

Manual cross-checking of the various systems can certainly minimize this problem - but at what cost? The ability to grow the firm, either in markets traded, systems traded, or client accounts managed is hampered by the sheer volume of work required to keep multiple systems synchronized.

If trade confirmations are reconciled (by hand, or otherwise) but positions are not, your performance can suffer due to errors by someone else. If answering a question about performance or positions for a client results in a fire drill, your client’s impression of you suffers. TheBooks allows you to focus on the most important task; that of managing your business

Why TheBooks is different

TheBooks has been designed with the trader in mind. Unlike a traditional standalone fund accounting system, TheBooks uses Straight-through processing to integrate the accounting and performance reporting into the trading process.

This means that posting a trade causes all modules and reports to be updated. Your positions are always accurate, performance numbers are always current, counter-parties are always informed.

A solid technological foundation

By starting with Microsoft’s high-performance database platform, SQL Server, and combining it with an advanced, client-server design, TheBooks is based on a technology platform that can scale from a one man shop to a CTA with multiple geographic locations.

Using Internet technologies such as SMTP mail and secure, web-based reporting, TheBooks allows the CTA to provide timely and accurate information to clients and counter-parties anywhere, anytime.

For those situations where faxing is appropriate, TheBooks includes a fax server that performs all outbound faxing for the application. Workstations are never tied up while faxing breakdowns, give-ups, or other notifications.

Finally, TheBooks has passed Microsoft's platform tests for SQL Server, Windows Client, and Windows Server so you can be assured it meets the highest standards. Testing was conducted independently by VeriTest, a testing service of Lionbridge Technologies.

An open and extensible architecture

Configurability, extensibility, and scalability are key attributes of TheBooks. Because no two CTAs are exactly alike, which modules are used and how they operate is up to the CTA. External systems such as order generators and other trade entry applications can be easily integrated using TheBooks API. Because TheBooks uses Microsoft’s SQL Server as its database, any application that can read an ODBC data source can be used to write customized reports.

View TheBooks^® application summary and feature checklist