The Print Is Public. The Pool Isn’t.
A specified pool trades at 102-16. The transaction is public. The security behind it may not be.
That is one of the less obvious limitations of transparency in the agency MBS market.
When an RDID Becomes a Security
Specified-pool transactions are reported under a Reference Data Identifier, or RDID, rather than directly identifying the individual security. An RDID is built from a defined set of characteristics—issuer, product type, coupon, maturity and other collateral attributes. Multiple securities can share the same cohort. So a desk may know that a transaction occurred, know the price and size, and still have an unresolved question:
Which security actually traded?
That distinction matters because specified-pool pricing is fundamentally about collateral. A pay-up isn’t simply a premium attached to a generic label. It reflects the characteristics of the underlying loans and how the market values them—balance, geography, FICO, seasoning and other attributes.
If the specific security is unclear, the print is difficult to use as a true comparable.
The Problem Isn’t Transparency. It’s Resolution.
TRACE provides the transaction.The analytical challenge is moving from the reported RDID to the individual security most likely associated with that transaction.
Derived TRACE is designed to provide a smart unmasking of bonds—using proprietary matching intelligence to associate RDID-reported activity with the security most likely associated with the transaction.
The official TRACE transaction remains the official record. Derived TRACE does not change what was reported. It adds an analytical layer that helps move from a cohort-level observation toward a working view of the likely security behind the print.
That distinction matters. The result is not a claim of certainty; it is a more actionable starting point for security-level analysis.
From Print to Security. It’s Resolution.
Consider a pool you’re evaluating. You see a recent specified-pool transaction that looks relevant. But relevance depends on knowing what actually traded. Derived TRACE can help identify the security most likely associated with the print. Once that security has been identified, the analysis can continue.
A user can take the security identifier into the Offerings tab and search for it, bringing back the available reference data for that security. That includes data sourced from ICE eMBS for specified pools and Intex for CMOs and other non-agency structured products.
In practice, a desk may also take the identified security into Bloomberg or another market-data platform to continue its analysis. The important point is that identifying the security is a step in the workflow, not the end of it.
The question is no longer simply: What did the market trade?
It becomes: Which security was most likely behind the print—and what can I learn from it?
The Value Is in the Inference.
There is an important distinction between reported data, derived intelligence and reference data. The transaction is observed. The association between the RDID and a specific security is analytical.
The characteristics of that security can then be retrieved separately through reference-data sources. That distinction should remain visible to anyone using the data. The goal isn’t to manufacture certainty where the market does not provide it. It is to make the reported transaction more actionable.
Instead of stopping at a cohort-level observation, a desk can move toward a specific security, look up its characteristics, and use that information to determine whether the print is actually relevant to the pool or collateral being evaluated.
The print is public. The challenge is identifying the security behind it. Derived TRACE helps make that next step possible.
Book a demo and see how see how Derived TRACE helps connect RDID-reported specified-pool activity to the security most likely associated with the transaction. >>>
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About SOLVE
SOLVE is the leading market data platform provider for fixed-income securities, trusted by sophisticated buy-side and sell-side firms worldwide. Founded in 2011, SOLVE leverages its AI-driven technology and deep industry expertise to offer unparalleled transparency into markets, reduce risk, and save hundreds of hours across front-office workflows. With the largest real-time datasets for Securitized Products, Municipal Bonds, Corporate Bonds, Syndicated Bank Loans, Convertible Bonds, CDS, and Private Credit, SOLVE empowers clients to transform the way they bring new securities to market, trade on secondary markets, and value highly illiquid securities. Headquartered in Connecticut, with offices across the globe, SOLVE is the definitive source for market pricing in fixed-income markets.
