Abstract: Predefined exposure limits including an actual and a permitted maximum number of owned instrument units or that an entity is exposed are used to determine trade executability. A request for strips of financial instruments is received. A stepped graph is constructed for the financial instrument based on held positions, wherein one axis of the stepped graph represents a time period covering the strip of contracts and another axis represents a total exposure to the financial instrument. The received request is compared to the stepped graph to determine whether the permitted maximum number of investment units would be violated for one or more of the first units of time should the requested trade execute. The trade is then allowed to execute if no violation is determined, and blocked otherwise.

Abstract: A rules-based schema is designed as a directed graph to model various electronic trading markets and trading constraints inherent therein such that the executability of proposed trades having multiple trade parameters can be determined by applying the trade parameters against the constraints, and confirming the executability of the trade if the constraints are satisfied.