I can't recommend this book highly enough. I own a second edition, and it literally made me tens of thousands of dollars (which, being young and irresponsible, I have spend almost entirely on alcohol, laptops, and occasionally girls). Now I am a successful consultant in Geneva, Switzerland, designing and development trading platforms for buy-side and sell-side companies in foreign exchange markets. My expertise started with this book.

The first edition of this book was written back when computers and automated processing was emerging and 'a new thing' so much of the information this book started with is pretty dated. The second edition was updated in the '90s and correspondingly updates some things but, suffice it to say, is still dated now. I would argue though that the information contained therein is still very, very valuable for reference, particularly for purposes of following the 'money and paper trail'. The concepts and theories still apply and the methods by which things are done today are effectively the same (just done electronically not with paper). It also provides good overviews of the processing and bookeeping of various product types.

I had the fortune to be personally tought by Mr David Weiss. He used this incredible book as the basis of a 2 week series of lectures on the minutiae of trade processing. He made up for the shocking content of the book with his array of monogrammed Brooks Brothers shirts and sandwiches with english mustard. What can you say about this fine gentleman....hats off to you for making a great career about such fascinating stuff! I remember the time vividly as it was my first job and a unique life experience.

Each and every concept is well explained with examples. I would request the author to add separate chapter for derivatives as well.

The topics suggested by the title (settlement, etc) are well addressed, but the first half of the book is dedicated to marketplaces and here the book comes up short. Many recent market developments, even those that were in place at the time of writing, appear to be inadequately or inaccurately addressed. Examples:

ATSes/ECNs are much more center stage than the book would suggest and are not sufficiently discussed

Hybrid market mechanics are not discussed much

Dark pool liquidity is not addressed

Options market making is not addressed beyond a single paragraph that sheds no light into how Citadel et al make continuous markets electronically


And unfortunately, given that the major development of Reg NMS took place after the book, this makes the marketplace info even less useful.

The topics suggested by the title (settlement, etc) are well addressed, but the first half of the book is dedicated to marketplaces and here the book comes up short. Many recent market developments, even those that were in place at the time of writing, appear to be inadequately or inaccurately addressed. Examples:

ATSes/ECNs are much more center stage than the book would suggest and are not sufficiently discussed

Hybrid market mechanics are not discussed much

Dark pool liquidity is not addressed

Options market making is not addressed beyond a single paragraph that sheds no light into how Citadel et al make continuous markets electronically


And unfortunately, given that the major development of Reg NMS took place after the book, this makes the marketplace info even less useful.

I am new to financial industry and I feel it is an excellent book to give a good overview of the concepts.

If you own the 2nd edition, or can get a copy of it second hand - that is a much better version. The 3rd edition is very bloated with text from David's other books. Overall, while the text is informative as a reference to the novice, this edition trades crispness for girth, seizing the opportunity to cash in on book sales through a new edition.

I have always been a fan of handbooks. They always provide practical information about a subject in concise articles that help practitioners (or, in my case, would-be practitioners) get oriented on the vast array of topics in their field. Most of us are expert in narrow areas of information, yet we cannot afford to be ignorant of the broader sweep of the fields in which we work. Handbooks and practical guides help us competently handle those activities that are relevant to our work, but only come up once in awhile or in areas we are just beginning work. This really cool book, `After the Trade is Made" by David Weiss, is ideal for investment professionals, investors, and anyone curious about how the back of the house processes and clears the trades made by the customers and the sales team. I like the way handbooks discuss things in practical and easy to implement language. Theory is great and appropriate for textbooks, but in doing a job you want to know what it is you should and have to do.

The book has fourteen chapters (all made up of smaller named and numbered articles so they can be easily found), but the first three chapters take up the first 199 pages. These three chapters would be great reading for anyone investing in securities and wanting to understand the scope of the industry and its products for themselves. I believe it is much better to be an active learner when placing your hard earned money rather than taking the word of someone whose interests aren't as aligned with yours as you might want to believe.

The first three chapters are: 1) Overview of the Industry, 2) Products that We Offer (this title shows the perspective of the book as investment professionals), and 3) The Marketplaces and Order Management. It is much better for investors to read the language and see things from the perspective of the people trying to sell them various financial instruments rather than sales literature that is designed to entice.

The last ten chapters provide information that people working in the investment industry need to know about the back of the investment house. 4) The Trade Processing System, 5) Margin (an interesting topic), 6) Settlement, 7) Custodial Services, 8) Role of the Banks, 9) Cash Accounting, 10) Brokerage Accounting, 11) Stock Record, 12) General Ledger, 13) Regulatory Reporting, and 14) Conclusion. There is also a very useful glossary and a helpful index.

The chapters get much shorter as the book goes on. In my theory of wanting to know what the guy sitting across the table from me knows when I do business with him (or her), this book is quite helpful. If you take the time to look up those aspects of the trading business that are relevant to your investments you will actually be better off knowing what the people you pay to perform these trades for you have to do. If nothing else, talking about some of these things in conversation with them might make them more attentive to your investments because they will think you know more than most investors (and you will).

Business students (especially in finance) will find the explanations here clear and helpful. I wish I had known about this book and had it available when I as studing for my MBA.

If you are an industry professional, you will instantly understand the utility of a handbook like this and will want this new and revised edition on your shelf in order to consult quickly as issues arise.

If you need to understand the nuts and bults process of what happens after a trade is made, this is the book for you. A must for those in the industry, in particular, IT developers designing securities software. When I was in the industry, it was my bible.

If you manage to stay awake then you too can learn about securities processing from start to finish. This is a great book about how the sell-side brokerage firm works, although much of the information here is outdated; electronic systems have streamlined the process and made it more efficient. Still, this book has a great wealth of information in it. This book impressed me in its clarity and at the same time, its magical ability to be so boring.