A Year in Review: T+1 Settlement – Progress, Partnership & Performance

As the industry crosses the one-year milestone since the transition to T+1 settlement in the United States, the results speak to a year of significant collaboration, adaptation, and measurable progress. At STP Investment Services, our proactive preparation and deep engagement with clients, custodians, and brokers laid the groundwork for a successful shift, ultimately driving stronger operational performance and reduced risk across the board.

Preparing for the T+1 Era

Recognizing the extensive impact of shortened settlement cycles, STP launched a multi-pronged initiative to prepare stakeholders and align operational processes well ahead of the industry-wide shift. Key steps included:

• Early Engagement with Clients: We encouraged clients to begin submitting trade allocations earlier in the day to ensure adherence to the accelerated timeline.
• Timely Education & Resources: To prioritize education and awareness across our network, STP delivered a client-friendly T+1 tear sheet, a comprehensive checklist, and hosted a live webinar featuring a guest speaker from DTCC.
• Frequent Communication: Our teams engaged in ongoing collaboration with custodians, brokers, and clients to promote alignment, provide clarity, and quickly resolve any potential issues that could impact settlement.
• Legal & Operational Readiness: We proactively updated client legal agreements to reflect the operational standards of T+1, eliminating ambiguities and enabling smoother transitions.

Strong Outcomes & Measurable Impact

Our efforts yielded significant improvements in trade processing and operational efficiency:

• Trade fails decreased by 16% year-over-year, signaling enhanced readiness and execution. Notably, STP’s client fail rate in July 2024 was just 0.31%, approximately 2% lower than the industry benchmark.
• Match rates improved by 12%, outperforming the Self-Affirmation rate by 2%—a testament to our robust affirmation model and proactive client outreach.

T+1 by the Numbers: DTCC Industry Statistics

The industry-wide impact of T+1 has also been significant. Recent data from DTCC highlights the following key trends:

• Affirmation rates reached 94.55%, a sharp increase driven by advanced preparedness and operational improvements.
• The Self-Affirmation rate (Investment Managers and Custodians) climbed dramatically from 51% in January 2024 to 88% in May 2025.
• DTCC processed a staggering $525 trillion in settled transactions throughout 2024.
• Fail rates remained stable, indicating resilience even with the shortened cycle:
  • CNS Fail Rate (July 2024): 2.12%, consistent with historical T+2 averages.
  • DTC Non-CNS Fail Rate (July 2024): 3.31%, also in line with prior settlement standards.

Driving Success Through Action

Behind the scenes, STP implemented several structural and strategic changes to deliver on T+1 requirements:

• Maintained a global coverage model operating from 4:30 AM to 7:30 PM EST, ensuring responsiveness across time zones.
• Clients adopted earlier allocation practices, improving trade flow and reducing the risk of settlement delays.
• Client accounts transitioned to an affirmation model, where possible, boosting match and affirmation rates.
• We introduced enhanced escalation protocols to quickly identify and resolve issues within the compressed settlement window.

Looking Ahead

The T+1 transition was a major industry milestone and the results underscore what’s possible with the right combination of planning, partnership, and performance. At STP, we’re proud of our role in helping clients navigate this change with confidence.

As the settlement landscape continues to evolve, we remain committed to delivering operational excellence and staying ahead of industry trends—so our clients can focus on what they do best.