What is the purpose of a trade report?

• A. Post-trade transparency
• B. Pre-trade price discovery
• C. Market risk assessment
• D. Settlement confirmation

Answer: (A)

Post-trade transparency is the purpose of a trade report. After a trade is executed, the report publishes key details—price, quantity, instrument, time, and counterparties—to the market. This makes what happened in the trade visible to all participants, helping everyone see actual execution data rather than just quotes or interest. It supports fair pricing, regulatory oversight, and audit trails, and it helps participants verify trades, monitor for best execution, and assess market integrity.

Pre-trade price discovery deals with the order book and quotes before a trade happens, so it isn’t the function of a post-trade report. Settlement confirmation relates to confirming that settlement events occurred, which is a separate step in the post-trade lifecycle. Market risk assessment focuses on evaluating exposure, not documenting individual trades for public transparency.