Data Reconciliation FAQ's

Please reference the following FAQ's regarding Orion's data reconciliation.

What reasonable assurances do I have that your (Orion's) reconciliation is accurate?

Orion’s reconciliation processes have multiple control points to ensure accuracy, review, and oversight. These processes are audited twice a year, once by the internal audit department of their parent company and again by an outside independent CPA firm specializing in audit and compliance.
Orion’s operations are SSAE 18 Type II audited. This review independently verifies that tasks are performed on a daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly basis.

Who exactly is doing my reconciliation?

Orion has a team of reconciliation experts who are broken out into teams based on the various custodians. This allows members on each team to become familiar with the nuances of how the custodian is sending data.

What time are files typically available?

File availability varies from one custodian to the next. Typically our providers post files throughout the early morning hours. Review Orion Download Sources: A-M and Orion Download Sources: N-Z for more information.

What types of files does Orion typically receive and utilize via an interface?

Name - Contains client demographic information, reps, and is used to create accounts on the Orion platform.
Security - Holds product information.
Price - Holds price information for tickers.
Position - Contains the value of each asset within an account and is required for Orion to reconcile an account.
Transaction - Contains the activity of an account.
Cost Basis - Original cost of the asset (price paid per share) . Please note, these are not available for all custodians. Please review the Orion Download Source articles in the Support app to confirm if the desired interface send cost basis files.

How often does my custodian transmit position files? *Note this is not an exhaustive list*

Daily

Weekly

Monthly

What information is contained in the custodial name file?

How much history does Orion have access to?

For established download sources:

Last 6 months of data (Note: Orion only has 6 months of data if it has been previously provided in the daily custodial feed. After 6 months the files are archived in the Orion system.)

For new download sources

Orion is able to request history going back to the the data release authorization date. For example, this would be the date that Schwab finished processing the Data Access Agreement (not the date it was requested).

For firms new to Orion:

Orion is able to complete one historical conversion for each new database. The length of history depends on where the data is coming from. Please reach out to orion@xyinvestmentsolutions.com with questions.

If I update an address at the custodian, will it automatically update in the Orion system

What happens when I have a foreign account?

Accounts cannot be added via the name file, they must be manually created within the New Accounts Center

What if I want to bring an account onto the Orion platform and there are no interface options available?

You can manually create the account in the New Account Center using the New Account Wizard tool. Once the account is created you can manually import transactions into the account to keep it in balance. Orion also offers a Professional Services team that can maintain these accounts for you for an additional cost.

How can I tell if my accounts are in balance or not?

Out of balance accounts will have a warning symbol next to the account value in the Portfolio Audit - Portfolio Tree and in the Account Edit Screen. You can also review these accounts within the Recon Status app - Monthly ACR.

Can I update transaction types myself?

Yes, you can either add transactions one at a time within Portfolio Audit - Asset Edit Screen - New Transaction or add multiple transactions by using the Transaction Add custom import.

It is not recommended to add transactions to accounts receiving data directly from custodians as this may cause the account value to be out of balance with the data Orion is receiving from the custodian.

Why does the Value on my Orion Report or the Billed Market Value that Orion calculates not match the value on my Custodial Statement?

This happens for a variety of reasons:

Assets excluded for billing;
Assets or accounts marked as unmanaged;
Different price sources;
Accrued Interest might be included or excluded;
Pending Custodial Trades: usually listed under a “Pending Trades” section on the custodial statement
- These are trades that did not settle at the custodian before statements were printed but have been applied in the Orion system and are included in the Orion value. These transactions are also known as backdated transactions.
- Example: Dividends were sent to Orion on 4/4/20 with a Trade/Execution Date of 3/31/20. During that same time, the transactions were sent and applied to the account at Orion. Then, the custodian would have sent out their statements on 4/1/20 showing these transactions in the Pending Trades section of the custodial statement.
Orion stretches its timeline and reports on the Trade/Execution Date. Doing so allows us to accurately report the Ending Market Value and properly calculate performance.

Statement Value Troubleshooting Tips:

Compare the value of each asset between the custodian and Orion by running and reviewing Query ID 24066: Custodial Statement Compare.
Make sure that the price on both reports matches. Contact the SME Products & Prices team if the prices don't match.
Review the transaction-level information to locate transactions that may be backdated.
Set the date range on the right side of Portfolio Audit to the date range of the custodial statement, then sort by the Created Date column and look for any transactions created more than one business day after the end date on the custodial statement.
Reference the Amount column to determine if it’s a transaction driving the value differences.

How do I explain trade date vs. settle date to clients?

Orion reports on the trade/execution date rather than the settle date. This better captures performance and ending values. Simply put, trade/execution date is the date the order is executed in the market. The settle date is the date the transaction activity settles and is sent to Orion.
Use Case: This is seen when comparing custodial statements to Orion statements. Custodians create statements prior to trades settling and list them in a separate section as “pending”, noting that the value is not included in their report.
Since Orion uses the trade/execution date, when statements are run, the transactions come in and are backdated in Orion. This means those transaction's value is included on the Orion statement but not in the custodial statement.