Seeking Advice on Investment Ops & Trading Communication

Our firm (team of 5) is struggling with communication between our Investment Ops person and our trader, as well as between planners and Investment Ops.

Currently, our Investment Ops person reviews Schwab each morning (Move Money legacy tab, alerts, activities) and compiles a Slack message with a list for our trader, covering:

✅ Money In to invest

✅ Updates (account openings, transfers, etc.)

✅ To-dos (portfolio updates, cash creation, etc.)

✅ Do NOT invest list (funds in transition)

Hiccups we’ve encountered:

⚠️ The trader may start working before the list is created, leading to unintended trades.

⚠️ Cash set-asides sometimes aren’t cleared, triggering alerts for unnecessary trades.

⚠️ Money isn’t always invested immediately, and delays aren’t communicated effectively. -

Investments may be delayed if the trader is waiting on details (e.g., the purpose of an account), but Investment Ops isn’t always aware, leading to funds sitting in cash unnoticed.

⚠️ Lastly, still refining how planners request investment ops to initiate cash transfers—whether a workflow is worth it or if direct processing is better. Having the emails & Schwab be the history for tracking purposes

How do you streamline this process and ensure better communication? Would love to hear what works for you!

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