Using GRC Software to Monitor Employee Trade Activity

For broker dealers, registered investment advisors, and other financial institutions, trade surveillance isn’t optional—it’s foundational. Firms face significant risk when trading by employees isn’t properly documented, reviewed, and approved. Without robust oversight, your firm faces exposure to insider trading, conflicts of interest, reputational damage, and regulatory fines. 

The right governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) software platform transforms these challenges into structured, auditable workflows to reduce manual burden, centralize data, and make compliance scalable. 

The Role of GRC in Monitoring Trade Activity 

A modern GRC software system geared toward trade supervision and surveillance aligns workflows with policies and risk tolerance, providing: 

• Rule-based surveillance logic that flags trades falling outside preapproved criteria 

• Realtime alerts and dashboards pinpointing suspicious patterns or trends 

• Approvals, attestations, and overrides tracked in a structured audit trail 

• Linked policies and procedures, ensuring trades comply with written supervisory procedures (WSPs) and ethics codes 

• User-based permissions, so only appropriate roles see and respond to trade exceptions 

Together, these features streamline oversight, drive consistency, and reduce error and fatigue across compliance workflows. 

Key Features to Prioritize When Selecting GRC Software 

Surveillance and Trade Exception Monitoring 

Look for a system that actively scans trades, identifying restricted securities, large or unusual trades, trading activity during blackout periods, screens for personal trading versus block or client trades, and conspicuous matching between employees. 

Automated Escalations and Approvals 

Automatic routing of flagged trades to compliance officers, with built-in timelines and escalation paths, ensures nothing goes unreviewed. Manual approvals and exception signoffs should live seamlessly within the platform. 

Policy Integration & Risk Mapping 

The ability to map your Code of Ethics, policies, and Written Supervisory Procedures (WSPs) directly into trade rules and control frameworks is essential. 

 Reporting & Audit Trails 

Exports and dashboards should capture all activity: who initiated, reviewed, or changed a trade; timestamps; approvals or denials. Reports that are tailored to exam-ready output are critical. 

Employee Interface & Usability 

Employees should be guided through attestations, preclearance requests, and disclosures via intuitive self-service portals. 

Oyster Solutions GRC Software 

Oyster Solutions delivers a GRC platform built for brokerdealers, RIAs, exchanges, and trading desks. It brings together five essential modules under one roof: 

• Govern: Centralizes policies, procedures, risk assessments and connects them to workflows.  

• Planner: Schedules and manages automated compliance calenda, including required testing, attestations, training, and documentation tracking.  

• Monitor: The trade surveillance engine flags and escalates trade exceptions according to your risk profiles. This includes trade supervision, personal account oversight, and conflict detection.  

• CAT, CAIS, TRACE and MSRB reporting tools: For FINRA member firms subject to Consolidated Audit Trail regulatory (CAT) and Customer and Account Information System (CAIS) requirements, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s (MSRB) Real Time Reporting System (RTRS) and FINRA’s Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine (TRACE).  

• Fund Analyzer: Ideal for firms with fund structures that must identify and document the lowest cost share class that meet the selection criteria.  

How Oyster Solutions Supports Employee Trade Supervision 

• Exception Tracking and Dashboards: Real-time views let compliance teams triage trade alerts efficiently. Every exception is flagged, prioritized, and assigned to the correct reviewer.  

• Policy-Aligned Workflow: Your firm’s compliance policies dictate the validation rules. Trades outside approved thresholds trigger automated reviews.  

• Employee Experience: Employees use permission-based workflows to submit pre-clearance requests, attest to no conflicts, or log business gifts and entertainment—all linked to trade reporting.  

• Audit-Ready Records: Automated logs capture every action from submission to sign-off, ensuring examiners receive complete audit history, including overridden exceptions or disclosures. 

Real Impact, Real Clients 

Clients have implemented Oyster Solutions to scale trade supervision across lines of business with confidence, replacing error-prone manual spreadsheets with centralized automation. That translates into efficiency gains, stronger oversight, and reduced audit risk.  

Best Practices for Using GRC Software to Monitor Trades 

1. Define clear policy thresholds from the outset. Map them into configurable rules within your GRC system (e.g. maximum trade size, blackout periods, restricted securities). 

2. Onboard employees with training and ensure they use the platform for attestations and preclearance requests. 

3. Review exceptions regularly, escalating unresolved or frequent warnings for deeper investigation. 

4. Reconcile exceptions and attestations across business units to ensure consistency and identify repeat offenders. 

5. Audit periodically, using built-in dashboards and reporting tools to assess trends such as seasonal spikes, frequent violators, or policy gaps. 

6. Continuously fine-tune your workflows as policies evolve or new regulations emerge. 

Final Thoughts 

Monitoring employee trade activity isn’t just about ticking boxes. It’s about embedding consistent, risk-aligned decisionmaking across your firm. GRC platforms like Oyster Solutions offer a modern, scalable way to centralize policies, rules, and workflows while empowering employees and compliance teams alike. 

By transforming trade supervision into manageable, auditable workflows, your firm gains clarity, confidence, and control.