Use case · Books of record
IBOR and ABOR setup: one version of positions, one version of the books
Portfolio managers need intraday positions. Accountants need official books. We design both, connect them to the same data and reconcile them every day.
In one minute
IBOR/ABOR setup is the design and implementation of an investment book of record, which gives the front office real-time positions, cash and exposure, and an accounting book of record, which holds the official general ledger and NAV. Fundtec builds and reconciles both for investment managers, either on its Tychi platform or on the client’s existing systems.
Managers at a decision point: a fund to launch, an administrator to change, or an operating model that has to scale.
A 30-minute scoping call, then a written plan: scope, the transition timeline and indicative pricing. No generic proposal.
What IBOR and ABOR mean
An investment book of record (IBOR) is the view of the portfolio the front office trades from: positions updated as trades are executed, projected cash, real-time P&L and exposure by issuer, sector, currency and counterparty. It answers the question “what do we own right now, and what can we do with it”.
An accounting book of record (ABOR) is the official record: trades settled or booked under accounting rules, income and expense accruals, the general ledger, and the NAV used for investor dealing, fees and financial statements. It answers “what are the books, as at the close of the period”. Most managers have both in some form. The problem is that they are often built separately, from different data, and never formally reconciled.
IBOR vs ABOR compared
| Dimension | IBOR | ABOR |
|---|---|---|
| Primary users | Portfolio managers, traders, risk, treasury | Fund accounting, finance, auditors, administrator |
| Timing | Real-time or intraday | End of day or end of period, after close |
| Trade basis | Trade date, including pending and intraday activity | Trade date or settlement date under accounting policy |
| Pricing | Live or indicative prices | Official closing prices under the valuation policy |
| Cash | Projected cash including unsettled trades and expected flows | Booked cash reconciled to bank and broker statements |
| Output | Positions, exposure, buying power, intraday P&L | Trial balance, NAV, financial statements, investor allocations |
| Tolerance for estimates | High: speed matters more than finality | Low: figures must be final and auditable |
Why managers need both
A single book cannot serve both purposes well. If the front office trades from the ABOR, it waits for the overnight close and misses corporate actions, pending settlements and intraday cash. If accounting relies on the IBOR, estimates and unconfirmed trades flow into the NAV.
The answer is two books with a defined relationship. Both draw from the same security master, trade feed and reference data, and the IBOR rolls forward into the ABOR at each close. Differences are expected, explainable and reconciled. That is what investors test in an operational DDQ when they ask where position data comes from.
How we design the IBOR
- 01
Real-time positions
Start-of-day positions from the prior ABOR close, updated from OMS executions and allocations through the day.
- 02
Projected cash
Cash by account and currency including unsettled trades, margin calls, coupons, dividends and scheduled flows.
- 03
Intraday P&L
Realized and unrealized P&L on live or indicative prices, reconciled to the ABOR P&L at close.
- 04
Exposure and limits
Gross, net and notional exposure by issuer, sector, country, currency and counterparty, with limit monitoring.
How we design the ABOR
- 01
Official books
A double-entry ledger with a chart of accounts designed for the fund structure and reporting needs.
- 02
Accruals and expenses
Automated accruals for interest, dividends, financing, fees and fund expenses.
- 03
Valuation
Official prices under the pricing hierarchy, with corporate actions processed and checked.
- 04
NAV and allocations
Period close, NAV by class and series, and investor allocations that feed the administrator or shadow accounting.
How IBOR-to-ABOR reconciliation works
At each close the IBOR is compared with the ABOR on positions, quantities, cost, market value, cash and P&L. Expected differences, such as trades executed after the accounting cut-off or prices that moved between intraday and close, are classified automatically. Everything else is a break, assigned an owner and aged until resolved.
The same discipline extends outward. The ABOR is reconciled to prime brokers, custodians and banks, and, where a third-party administrator produces the official NAV, to the administrator’s books. See reconciliation for how we run three-way reconciliation at scale.
Data model, security master and sources
| Component | What it holds | Typical sources |
|---|---|---|
| Security master | Identifiers, terms, classifications, pricing sources and corporate action history | Market data vendors, prospectuses, ISDA confirmations, loan agreements |
| Trades | Executions, allocations, amendments and cancellations | OMS, EMS, broker files, manual tickets for OTC and private assets |
| Positions and cash | Holdings and balances by account, custodian and currency | Prime broker, custodian and bank statements via SFTP or API |
| Prices and rates | Closing and intraday prices, FX rates, curves | Pricing vendors, broker quotes, valuation agents |
| Reference data | Funds, share classes, accounts, counterparties and calendars | Fund documents, counterparty agreements |
Controls built into the setup
- Single security master with maker-checker on every new or amended instrument
- Documented cut-off times for IBOR roll-forward and ABOR close
- Daily IBOR-to-ABOR and ABOR-to-counterparty reconciliations
- Break-aging log with an escalation matrix
- Price tolerance and stale-price checks before the ABOR close
- Role-based access and segregation of duties between trading and accounting
- Full audit trail and data lineage from source file to ledger entry
IBOR/ABOR setup project phases
Current-state assessment
Map existing systems, spreadsheets, data flows, cut-offs and pain points. Agree scope and success criteria.
Target design
Data model, security master rules, chart of accounts, reconciliation rules and control framework, documented in a design pack you approve.
Build and connect
Configure the platform, connect OMS, broker, custodian and pricing feeds, and load reference data.
Load and parallel run
Load opening positions and balances, then run both books alongside existing processes until results are explained and signed off.
Go-live and handover
Cut over, hand over the operational handbook and run business as usual with Fundtec or your team.
On Tychi or on your own systems
Tychi, Fundtec’s accounting and operations platform, can serve as your ABOR, your IBOR or both, with a double-entry ledger, flexible data ingestion and integrated reconciliations. If you already run an OMS, PMS or accounting system you want to keep, we design and build on those instead and operate them through our middle office team.
Engagement model
How an engagement is structured
Economics aligned to your growth. Scope, cadence and pricing are confirmed jointly in the first phase.
- 01 · Weeks 1–4
Onboarding & design
A phase-linked fee covers process mapping, the operational handbook, systems access and the SLA framework — before any handover.
- Target operating model
- Operational handbook
- SLAs agreed jointly
- 02 · From the parallel run
Monthly base fee
Your dedicated team, pod manager oversight and the governance cadence — daily huddle, weekly review, monthly service review, QBR.
- Named PM → SME
- Trained backup for every role
- Governance included
- 03 · As you grow
Scales with AUM
AUM-linked tiers and pre-agreed triggers for new mandates or counterparties — so growth never means renegotiating the contract.
- Transparent triggers
- No renegotiation
- Quarterly pricing review
Every engagement starts with a scoping call — no obligation, no generic proposal.
Request an indicative proposalQuestions
Common questions about IBOR/ABOR Setup
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Ask a specialistFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between IBOR and ABOR?
An IBOR is the investment book of record: real-time positions, projected cash, intraday P&L and exposure used by the front office. An ABOR is the accounting book of record: official, closed books with accruals, the general ledger and the NAV used for investors and financial statements. The IBOR prioritizes speed; the ABOR prioritizes finality.
Do smaller managers need a separate IBOR?
Smaller managers often run their IBOR in the OMS or a spreadsheet and rely on the administrator for the ABOR. That works until strategies, counterparties or investor scrutiny increase. The key requirement is not a separate system but a defined, reconciled relationship between the positions you trade from and the official books.
How long does an IBOR/ABOR setup take?
A setup for a single fund with liquid instruments can be designed and live within a few months. Multi-fund managers with OTC derivatives, private assets or many counterparties take longer, mainly because of data connectivity and the parallel run. We agree the timeline after the current-state assessment.
Can Fundtec build IBOR and ABOR on our existing systems?
Yes. Fundtec can design the data model, controls and reconciliations on your existing OMS, PMS and accounting platforms and operate them for you. Alternatively, Tychi can serve as the ABOR, IBOR or both. The choice depends on what you already own, your licence costs and how much change your team wants.
Why reconcile IBOR to ABOR every day?
Daily reconciliation catches missed trades, wrong corporate actions and booking errors while they are small and fresh. Left to month-end, breaks accumulate, NAVs are delayed and the front office trades on positions that may be wrong. Daily reconciliation also gives investors and auditors evidence that front-office and accounting data agree.
What drives the cost of an IBOR/ABOR project?
Cost is driven by the number of funds and accounts, instrument complexity, number of data sources and counterparties, whether a new platform is licensed, and how much history must be loaded. Using Tychi avoids per-seat licence costs; building on existing systems avoids migration. Ongoing operation is priced separately from the setup project.
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