Prime Brokerage Business Data Model | Capstera

The Prime Brokerage Business Data Model is a business data dictionary for a typical prime brokerage operation — subject areas and data entities sorted into Foundational, Transactional, and Informational categories, each with a short description. It's a data glossary or business information model, not a conventional data model: there's no entity-relationship diagram and no complete attribute set behind each entity.

It's built for data architects and business architects at prime brokers and other financial institutions who need a data entity inventory to react to rather than assemble from scratch. Getting a group of subject-matter experts into a room to name every data entity a prime brokerage business touches is a slow way to start a project; this gives your team an edited starting list instead.

A business data model is one of a small set of core business architecture artifacts, alongside capability maps and value streams. Cross-mapping it against those shows which data underpins which capability — a useful thing to know before anyone starts talking about which systems need to change.

The three categories organize the entity list by where the data originates. Foundational data covers the core entities an institution is built around — the things that change rarely once established. Transactional data is generated by day-to-day activity — the record of something that happened. Informational data is the processed, downstream form of the first two, shaped for reporting and decision-making rather than for recording a single event. That structure is what turns the entity list into a usable glossary instead of an unsorted list of terms.

What's Inside

• Foundational data entities — the primary things the business is organized around
• Transactional data entities — the data generated by day-to-day operations
• Informational data entities — the processed, analyzed form used for reporting and decisions
• A short description for each data entity
• Not included: entity-relationship mapping or a full attribute list — this is a business-level dictionary, not a conventional data model

The purchase also bundles an extended set of business architecture reference files: templates for capability relationship mapping and capability assessment, an introduction to business capability modeling, a capabilities-to-microservices mapping example, and several guides covering the business architecture practice more broadly, including a framework-to-enablement overview and a role/expectations guide for a business architecture leader.

How Teams Use It

A data architect cross-maps the entity list against systems of record ahead of a data platform migration, using it as a checklist of what the new platform needs to account for. A business architect pairs the data model with the bundled capability guides to walk a non-technical stakeholder through how specific data entities support specific capabilities. A risk or compliance team member reviews the entity list as a starting inventory before formalizing a data governance program, rather than reconstructing "what data do we have" from memory. An enterprise architecture team applies the included capability relationship mapping template to note where this data model's entities intersect with an existing capability map. A business architecture practice building out its full artifact library uses the bundled capability modeling overview and framework guide as onboarding material for architects who are new to the discipline.

Format & Delivery

The core data model is delivered as an editable Word document, with a Business Data Model Guide PDF and the extended set of bonus business architecture files described above. Files are delivered the moment payment clears, with an enterprise license option for firm-wide use. The product is the entity dictionary and reference material; adding relationships, attributes, and firm-specific detail is your team's work after purchase.

As with any generic business data model, expect to tailor the entity list to your firm's specific business lines and client structures before treating it as final.