Creating a Restricted List Trading Rule

A restricted list trading rule flags any employee trade in a security your firm has placed off limits, such as names covered by a blackout window, issuers where the firm holds material non-public information, or securities restricted for other policy reasons. This article shows how to build that rule in Trade Monitoring. It covers naming the rule, setting when it takes effect, adding securities to the list and choosing which accounts it covers. Use it whenever compliance needs to stop trading in specific securities, whether for good or for a set period.

Create the rule

1. Open Trade Monitoring. This is where employee trades are reviewed against your firm's rules. Go to the flagging rules page, which controls which trades are sent for compliance review.
2. Start a new rule from the restricted securities template. Choose to create a new rule, then select the restricted securities template. It comes with sensible defaults, so you only need to adjust what applies to your firm.

3. Name and describe the rule. Give the rule a clear name so reviewers can recognize it at a glance in the review queue. Add a short description explaining why these securities are restricted. This gives reviewers context when they work through flagged trades.
4. Set when the restriction takes effect. Pick a start date for the rule. You can backdate it so trades placed earlier, for example earlier in the same week, are also checked against the list.
5. Choose how securities are matched and which trades are covered. Match securities by symbol, using a ticker, CUSIP or ISIN. Any trade that matches is flagged and sent to the review queue. Cover both buys and sells so that trading in either direction is caught.

Build the restricted list

6. Add securities one at a time. Search by ticker or security name and select each result to add it to the list. Keep going until every security the firm needs to restrict is on the list.

7. Or upload a file. For a long list, or one that needs many edits, upload a CSV or XLSX file instead of adding names one by one. Each row can give a symbol, CUSIP or ISIN, plus an optional start date and end date. The upload is checked before it is applied, and any rows with problems are shown so you can fix them and upload again.
8. Fine-tune individual securities. Each security on the list has its own settings. Adding an end date makes that restriction temporary, which works well for a blackout window. For example, you could set a restriction to expire at the end of the month. Securities without an end date stay restricted until you remove them.

Choose account coverage and publish

9. Decide whether to include managed accounts. Managed accounts are excluded by default, because employees don't direct the trades in those accounts. Leave them excluded unless your firm's policy requires restricted list checks on managed accounts too.
10. Publish the rule. Publishing turns the rule on. From then on, incoming trades that match a security on the list are flagged as they arrive.

After you publish, you return to the flagging rules page, where the new rule appears as live.

What happens next

Flagged trades appear in the Trade Monitoring review queue, where reviewers can see the rule's name and description alongside each trade. You can come back to the rule at any time to add or remove securities, upload an updated file, or change end dates as restrictions are lifted.