Risk before speed
Build a first-class refusal path with exposure reservations, controlled shutdown, and evidence-based recovery.
RISK / OPERATIONS / RESILIENCE
CONTROL
BEFORE SPEED.
The ability to refuse an unsafe action is part of the architecture. Make controls observable, testable, and owned by the right people.
Before an instruction is sent
Validate instrument identity, units, limits, and the readiness of the inputs used by the decision. Reserve capacity for accepted proposals so concurrent workers cannot spend the same allowance. Record why an action was approved or rejected using stable identities and versioned policy.
While an outcome is unresolved
Keep pending commitments visible. Do not treat a timeout as a confirmed rejection or a cancel request as a completed cancellation. Continue receiving and interpreting private execution evidence even while strategy activity is paused. Scope uncertainty to affected accounts and instruments without hiding it.
When a stop is triggered
Define the actual effects: block new proposals, block new transmissions, request supported cancellation, and reconcile remaining obligations. Assign owners and observable milestones. Turning off a process does not prove that externally accepted orders have vanished. Practice the interruption procedure with instructions in flight.
Before activity resumes
Confirm positions, identify outstanding instructions, resolve critical discrepancies, restore valid reference and market data, and verify approved control configuration. A reconnect or restart is not automatic permission to trade. Preserve the evidence and operational decision behind resumption.
Scope the legal review correctly
The full risk article references the SEC’s market-access guidance with its stated broker-dealer securities scope. That example is not a universal rulebook for all products or jurisdictions. This checklist is an engineering aid; actual obligations require the applicable provider documentation and qualified legal and compliance review.
THE FIELD NOTES
GO DEEPER.
Derivatives: risk first
Model contract meaning, collateral, sensitivities, and unfilled hedges without confusing intent with exposure.
The HFT API blueprint
Design the complete signal-to-order path with explicit state, data freshness, risk checks, and recovery.