# reference-data

A skill for designing financial reference data systems: security master, client master, account master, CUSIP and ISIN mapping, golden source.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 660 installs · ★ 218
- Author: JoelLewis
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/JoelLewis/finance_skills/tree/HEAD/plugins/data-integration/skills/reference-data/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-07-18
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/reference-data

## What it does

The skill lays out how reference data systems are structured at a financial firm and helps you design or review one. It covers five areas: security master, identifier systems, client master, account master and pricing data. Each comes with fields, lifecycle and the problems that usually show up.

The hands-on part is identifiers. CUSIP, ISIN, SEDOL, FIGI, tickers and internal IDs are described with their formats and where each applies. Mapping gets its own treatment: one-to-many links, versioning through corporate actions, vendor discrepancies. Tickers are called out as a bad primary key because they change often and are not globally unique — worth checking whether your schema leans on them.

Client master and account master sections cover data models, deduplication, households, KYC/AML fields and account statuses. There is a golden source section too: CRM usually owns relationship and advisory data, the custodian owns regulatory identity data. The skill is plain text with no scripts or dependencies — a reference the agent pulls into context.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add JoelLewis/finance_skills --skill reference-data -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/reference-data/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/reference-data/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add JoelLewis/finance_skills --skill reference-data -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/reference-data/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add JoelLewis/finance_skills --skill reference-data -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/reference-data/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install JoelLewis/finance_skills reference-data
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/reference-data/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add JoelLewis/finance_skills --skill reference-data -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/JoelLewis/finance_skills --path plugins/data-integration/skills/reference-data
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/reference-data/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add JoelLewis/finance_skills --skill reference-data -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/JoelLewis/finance_skills/tree/HEAD/plugins/data-integration/skills/reference-data/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- design a security master schema with fields per asset class
- map CUSIP, ISIN, SEDOL and FIGI across systems
- pick a golden source for client and instrument data
- define account master attributes across multiple custodians
- trace reference data breaks after a corporate action

## Example prompts
- Help me design a security master — which fields do I need for bonds and options
- How do I link CUSIP and ISIN in one table with corporate actions in mind
- Should CRM or the custodian be the golden source for client data

## Source text · SKILL.md · MIT

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: bf922931c18f3828.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE bf922931c18f3828
```text
---
name: reference-data
description: "Design and manage reference data systems — security master, client master, account master, identifier mapping, pricing data sources, golden source designation, and governance. Use when building or evaluating a security master database, mapping identifiers across systems (CUSIP to ISIN, SEDOL to FIGI), designing client master models for onboarding or KYC, defining account master attributes across custodians, designating golden sources and MDM patterns across systems, establishing a pricing vendor hierarchy with fallback order, establishing reference data governance and stewardship, handling identifier changes from corporate actions, or troubleshooting issues traced to missing or changed identifiers. Trigger on: security master, CUSIP, ISIN, SEDOL, FIGI, client master, account master, pricing data, reference data, golden source, MDM, master data, identifier mapping, data governance, vendor hierarchy."
---

# Reference Data

## Core Concepts

### 1. Security Master

The security master is the authoritative repository of instrument-level reference data, serving as the foundation for portfolio management, trading, performance, reporting, and compliance systems.

**Core fields:** Identifiers (CUSIP, ISIN, SEDOL, FIGI, ticker, internal ID), classification (asset class, sub-class, GICS sector, country, currency), issuer information (name, LEI, ratings), terms and conditions (asset-class-specific contractual attributes), and pricing factors (multiplier, day count, settlement convention).

**Asset-class-specific attributes:** Equity (shares outstanding, market cap, sector, exchange, dividend frequency). Fixed income (coupon, maturity, call schedule, credit rating, seniority, day count). Funds (NAV, expense ratio, share class, distribution frequency, load structure). ETFs (NAV, indicative value, expense ratio, underlying index). Options (underlying, strike, expiration, type, multiplier, exercise style). Alternatives (strategy type, vintage year, commitment, capital call schedule, valuation frequency).

**Security lifecycle events:** IPO/listing (new record creation with all required fields), corporate actions (splits, mergers, spin-offs, name/ticker/exchange changes — the single largest source of security master data quality issues), and delisting/maturity (flag as inactive, retain historical record for performance and audit).
```
END THIRD-PARTY FILE bf922931c18f3828

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First 2401 of 21503 bytes. © JoelLewis · MIT · https://github.com/JoelLewis/finance_skills/tree/HEAD/plugins/data-integration/skills/reference-data/SKILL.md

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