Internet Dealer Commissions (IDC) Overview
Internet Dealer Commissions
SS&C Technologies Internet Dealer Commissions (IDC) is an automated file delivery system for Commission/Trail data. This data is generated by the Product Companies record keeping platform at their discretion and then distributed by SS&C Technologies. Commission data is available for retrieval 24 hours a day, seven days a week from the Internet Dealer Commissions Web site, www.dstidc.com.
The SS&C Technologies IDC department is structured to handle technical and non-technical user inquiries. The department also serves as a central administrative hub for all of the mutual funds, real estate investment trusts (REITs), and variable annuities available through the service. All requests for access are directed to the SS&C Technologies IDC department. This enables the IDC group to track the exact status of all requests for both the product company and the financial institution.
In addition to providing user access, the IDC department also assists users with the development of their interfaces. The IDC group is available to help define and interpret the specific fields within the file.
Selection Criteria
Commission and Trailers data is downloaded based on an authorized financial institution number for specific product company data. All commission related account activity for a specific financial institution number within a product company is transmitted. All requests for access must receive the approval of the respective mutual fund, REIT, or variable annuity company.
Downloading Internet Dealer Commission Files
All commission files are available on the IDC Web site located at www.dstidc.com. IDC users can download files using their Internet browser or a script provided by SS&C Technologies. Both methods provide the same level of encryption (HTTPS/SSL) during file transit.
Manual Web Site Download
When downloading files using an Internet browser, you are authenticated at the user log in window by entering a user ID and password. After you have logged onto the IDC Web site, a list of available files to download appears. You can choose to download files individually or all at once. You also have the ability to remove files.
Automated Web Site Download
You can automate the download process by downloading an ActiveX control script created by SS&C Technologies. The DSTHTTPDL ActiveX control provides a method of downloading files from the IDC Web site. This program is scriptable and can be used as an independent process or modified to be used with existing software. Your ID and password must be authenticated before you can download files.
Warning: It is possible for a user to access the Web site twice in a 24-hour period and download the same file. SS&C Technologies recommends that each user delete each file after it is successfully downloaded, or track the file names of successfully downloaded files to ensure duplicate files are not downloaded.
File Naming Convention
Production Files
Production files use the following naming convention SYSMTXX.AXXXX.ZIP, where:
|
Position |
Description |
|
1-5 |
The system and management code of the data provider.
Each data provider has a unique system and management code combination.
|
|
6-7 |
File Type |
|
8 |
A – Z = Production data files (except R = Resend data files) |
|
9-12 |
XXXX is a unique number within a user’s directory intended to avoid overwriting existing files in that directory |
|
Extension |
.ZIP (indicates a compressed ZIP file). This file is not password-protected. |
In addition to the file name, a timestamp shows the date that IDC processed the data. A count of the total number of files found on the Web site helps to insure that all files are successfully downloaded.
Resend Files
Resend files follow the same naming convention as Production files, but an ‘R’ is used to differentiate them from the production files.
Uncompressed File Names
Production files use the following naming convention SYSMTXX.AXXXX.TXT and follow the format below.
|
Position |
Description |
|
1-5 |
The system and management code of the data provider.
Each data provider has a unique system and management code combination.
|
|
6-7 |
File Type |
|
8 |
A – Z = production (except R = resend) |
|
9-12 |
XXXX is a unique sequential number within a user’s directory intended to avoid overwriting existing files in that directory |
|
Extension |
.TXT (indicates an ASCII text file) |
Interpreting Record Layouts
Record layouts in this manual use the format shown in
the following diagram. Letters
A–J in the Record Layout Field Descriptions table correspond to the letters
in the following diagram.
|
Name of Record |
|
Start |
End |
Length |
Data/Type |
Description |
|
E |
F |
G |
HHHHH |
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII |
A—Indicates special information or comments regarding the sequence or fields within the sequence.
B—Indicates the type of record defined (Header, Detail, or Trailer).
C—Indicates the sequence number of the record (1 = first record, 2 = second record).
D—Indicates the total number of records in the sequence. (For example, 6 = six records).
E—Indicates the first byte in the field or starting position of the data.
F—Indicates the last byte in the field or ending position of the data
G—Describes the total number of bytes or length of the field.
H—Indicates the type of data in the field (alphabetic, alphanumeric, or numeric).
I—Indicates the contents or description of the field.
J—If there are various options available for the field description, each option is identified and defined.