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Reporting

Difficulty expert

Overview

Trading reporting encompasses regulatory filings, tax reporting, and internal performance reporting. Compliance with reporting requirements is mandatory.

Regulatory Reporting

United States

Form Filed By Purpose Deadline
13F Institutional investment managers > $100M Long equity positions 45 days after quarter end
13D Anyone acquiring > 5% of class Beneficial ownership 10 days after crossing 5%
13G Passive investors > 5% Beneficial ownership (passive) 45 days after year end
Form 4 Insiders Insider transactions 2 business days
Schedule 13H Large traders Large trader identification Upon reaching threshold

European Union

Report Purpose Deadline
SFTR Securities financing transactions T+1
MiFID II Transaction All transactions T+1
Short Position Net short positions > 0.5% Within trading day

Tax Reporting

Trade Blotter

Every trade must be recorded:
- Date and time
- Symbol
- Buy/Sell
- Quantity
- Price
- Commission
- Proceeds/Cost basis
- Gain/Loss
- Holding period (short/long term)

Form 8949 (US)

Report each sale of capital assets:
- Description of property
- Date acquired
- Date sold
- Proceeds
- Cost basis
- Gain/Loss

Cryptocurrency Reporting

IRS requires reporting of:
- All crypto-to-fiat transactions
- Crypto-to-crypto trades
- Mining income
- Staking rewards
- Airdrops and forks

Internal Reporting

Monthly Report

Monthly Performance Summary:
- Total P&L
- Return vs. benchmark
- Risk metrics (Sharpe, drawdown, VaR)
- Strategy breakdown
- Trade analysis
- Risk limit utilization
- Compliance incidents
- Action items

Quarterly Report

Quarterly Review:
- Quarterly performance vs. targets
- Strategy performance attribution
- Risk analysis
- Market commentary
- Regulatory updates
- Operational issues
- Capital allocation review
- Forward outlook

Audit Trail

Required Records

Record Retention Purpose
Trade confirmations 7 years Proof of transactions
Order tickets 7 years Order details
Account statements 7 years Account activity
Communications 7 years Compliance review
Risk reports 7 years Risk management
Compliance reports 7 years Regulatory evidence

Practical Guidelines

  1. Automate Everything — Manual reporting is error-prone
  2. Maintain Records — Keep everything for required period
  3. Know Deadlines — Missed filings have penalties
  4. Cross-Check — Verify reports against source data
  5. Document Changes — Track methodology changes
  6. Professional Review — Have accountant review tax reports
  7. Stay Updated — Reporting requirements change

Next Steps