Understanding Connections

Connections are the companies and individuals tracked in SalesConnect. You can work with the connections you need and maintain the critical relationships between them.

Master firms. Each master firm may have one or more firms affiliated with it, and through these firms, may also have affiliations with offices and repsA rep is perhaps the most important contact connection in the intermediary business hierarchy. Each rep is an individual who sells funds and is affiliated with an office (and through the office, with a broker/dealer firm). Reps may also be referred to as "financial advisors." Possibly the most critical information you can track for reps are aliases, also known as trading IDs. Aliases are the IDs that associate transactions and assets with each rep. If you need to write queries or reports: The primary data for reps is stored in the Contact and Rep Profile tables. The Rep Alias table stores trading IDs associated with reps.. A master firmA broker/dealer firm (or broker dealer or broker-dealer) is a connection associated with intermediary business, typically a top-level organization in this hierarchy. Broker/dealer firms are also sometimes referred to as just "firms" or "brokers" or "dealers" or "financial institutions." Each broker/dealer firm may have one or more offices affiliated with it, and through these offices, reps may also be affiliated with it. A broker/dealer firm may have associated firm contacts, as well. Possibly the most critical information you can track for broker/dealer firms are aliases, also known as trading IDs. Aliases are the IDs that associate transactions with each broker/dealer firm. If you need to write queries or reports: The primary data for broker/dealer firms is stored in the Firm table. The Firm Alias table stores trading IDs associated with broker/dealer firms. may have associated master firm contacts, as well.
Master firm contacts. A master firm contact is a contact connection, an individual directly affiliated with a master firmA master firm is a connection associated with intermediary business, an optional top-level organization in the intermediary asset management hierarchy, one step above broker/dealer firms. Each master firm may have one or more firms affiliated with it, and through these firms, may also have affiliations with offices and reps. A master firm may have associated master firm contacts, as well. If you need to write queries or reports: The primary data for master firms is stored in the Master Firm table.. Master firm contacts may need to be tracked because they provide key support services. A master firm contact is not a rep; that is, a master firm contact does not sell mutual funds.
Broker/dealer firms. Broker/dealer firms are also sometimes referred to as just "firms" or as "brokers," "broker/dealers," "dealers," or "financial institutions." Each broker/dealer firm may have one or more offices affiliated with it, and through these offices, reps may also be affiliated with it. A broker/dealer firm may have associated firm contacts, as well. Possibly the most critical information you can track for broker/dealer firms are aliases, also known as trading IDs. Aliases are the IDs that associate transactions with each firm.
Firm contacts. A firm contact is a contact connection, an individual affiliated with a broker/dealer firm who is not a rep. That is, a firm contact does not sell mutual funds, but does need to be tracked because he or she provides key support services.
Offices. An office is an organization subordinate to a broker/dealer firm. Offices are also sometimes referred to as branches. In SalesConnect, an office is affiliated with a single broker/dealer firm, and may have one or more reps directly affiliated with it. An office may have associated office contacts, too. Possibly the most critical information you can track for offices are aliases, also known as trading IDs. Aliases are the IDs that associate transactions with each office.
Reps. A rep is perhaps the most important contact connection in the intermediary business hierarchy. Each rep is an individual who sells funds and is affiliated with an office (and through the office, with a broker/dealer firm). However, SalesConnect also supports the notion of "non-producing reps," individuals who support sales though they are not licensed to make them. (Each rep type defined in SalesConnect may be flagged as producing or non-producing.) Reps may also be referred to as financial advisors or just advisors. Possibly the most critical information tracked for selling reps are aliases, also known as trading IDs. Aliases are the IDs that associate transactions and assets with each rep.
Rep partnerships. A partnership (or rep partnership) is a contact connection, though it is really a name for a group of reps working together to sell one or more products. A partnership is treated as a specialA special is a kind of variable you may be able to specify as a value to use in a query criterion or in other places in SalesConnect. Some specials are Current Date/Time, End of Day, and Start of Year; these specials all refer to specific dates and/or times, while other specials may return other data. When the query or other item using a special is processed, the special returns the current value that the special represents. type of rep: this means that most of the tools for working with reps may be used to work with partnerships as well. Most views of transactions associated with an individual rep generally don't include transactions or parts of transactions that the rep may have cleared as part of a partnership. Instead, these kinds of trades are listed only for the rep partnership. Each member's portion of rep partnership sales data is always based on the percentages currently assigned to each member; no long-term historical information about percentages is maintained. By default, SalesConnect does not store any calculated trade or asset values based on rep partnerships.
Teams. A team is a contact connection, though it is really a group of individuals working together to achieve a common sales goal; a team may include both producing and non-producing reps and rep partnerships who support a team sales effort. (Some rep types you can specify in SalesConnect are non-producing types.)
Office contacts. An office contact is a contact connection, an individual affiliated with an office who is not a rep; that is, an office contact does not sell mutual funds, but does need to be tracked because he or she provides key support services.

Aliases, aka trading IDs, are critical data tracked for broker/dealer firms, offices, reps, and partnerships. They associate transactions (sales, redemptions, etc.), assets, and accounts with intermediary connections; each of these connections may have many aliases.