Bulk Settlement Procedure

FIA Tech offers bulk settlement functionality within Atlantis to help firms clear their unsettled backlog. At this time, bulk settlement is offered for 2022-2023 unsettled trades. 

Bulk Settlement Steps

1. Firms pair off to agree settlement amounts and trades to be included in bulk settlement
2. The two firms fill out a Bulk Settlement Template (attached at the bottom of this help article) and an Atlantis Project Manager at each firm must sign the template. Then email the final version to atlantis.support@fia-tech.com. 
   1. Please note: no net settlements are accepted by FIA Tech. Firms will need to submit one template for each direction of the cash adjustment for audit purposes.
   2. If firms require assistance coordinating electronic signatures on the Bulk Settlement Templates during COVID-19 work from home situations, please reach out to Atlantis Support
3. FIA Tech reviews the template and works with firms to fix any issues
4. Once templates are finalized, FIA Tech pulls applicable trades from Brokerage System and creates Bulk Settlement Fee reports* for the firms as per Trade Submission Options listed on the Bulk Settlement Template
5. FIA Tech sends trade counts and Bulk Settlement Fee approvals to each firm individually. Each firm needs to sign off on the trade counts and Bulk Settlement Fee reports to proceed with the Bulk Settlement
6. Once firms sign off on the trade counts and Bulk Settlement Fee reports related to the bulk settlement, FIA Tech will process the cash adjustments in Atlantis and link applicable trades to the cash adjustment
7. FIA Tech will email each firm with the details of the posted cash adjustments and trades that will bulk settle in the system
8. Firms will see the cash adjustments on their End of Cycle Report. The trades included in the settlement will be marked as Settled at zero at the end of the cycle.

• Please note: Bulk Settlement requests must be received and the Storage Report/Trade Files approved by counterparties before/on Business Day 5 before Receiver Lock in order to allow proper processing by FIA Tech in current settlement cycle. Any Bulk Settlement requests received post this date will be processed in the next eligible settlement cycle. 

*Bulk Settlement Fee Reports

In order to provide transparency to firms related to the costs of bulk settling trades in the Brokerage System, FIA Tech will create and share Bulk Settlement Fee reports as part of the Bulk Settlement process. 

The Bulk Settlement Fee Reports are based on the Maintenance Fee Responsibility Matrix where the costs of the Bulk Settlement are only charged to the firm when they are the Responsible Party. The report  will show Fee Estimates against Responsibility categories that apply to the firm. Any Responsibility Matrix categories that do not apply to the applicable trades will be shown on the report but with a Fee Estimate of zero. The reports break down the Responsibility categories by Role (Executing Broker vs Clearing Broker) if applicable. 

Bulk Settlement Pricing

Base pricing terms for performing bulk settlement beginning with the November 2019 Settlement Cycle:

• Payer and Receiver receive charges of $0.015 per lot up to each firm’s annual Contract Settlement Fee Cap
• The Bulk Settlement Fees are part of the Maintenance and Bulk Settlement Fee Cap of $120,000 per calendar year for both clearing and executing brokers
• The Responsible Party will pay an additional $0.005 per lot as determined by the Responsible Party Matrix up to the annual Bulk Settlement and Maintenance Fee Cap. Starting in 2023, Responsibility Fees will no longer contribute to the Maintenance and Bulk Settlement Fee Cap.
• The Responsible Party is determined at the point of the Bulk Settlement Template submission to FIA Tech. Any changes made to trades post submission are not considered for the Responsible Party fee calculation

Information regarding FIA Tech pricing of Atlantis Bulk Settlement Fees and other billed charges can be found here