Read-only OpenIM search for institutional buy-side investment models and architecture.
A shared map of what an institutional investment firm does and the information it uses.
OpenIM is an open, MIT-licensed reference model for institutional investment management. It connects a capability map of the firm to a canonical entity model. The same source also generates most machine-readable exports.
Business and technology teams can use OpenIM to describe firm scope, compare systems, shape data models and prepare context for software. The model is vendor neutral and does not prescribe an implementation.
Different parts of an investment firm often describe the same capability or entity in different ways. Platform maps, internal architecture and specialist standards each cover part of the picture.
OpenIM provides a firm-level reference that teams can inspect and adapt. It gives stable names to business capabilities and the information those capabilities use. Each firm supplies its own data and calculation rules, with firm-specific controls.
The model helps teams frame questions such as:
OpenIM identifies the capabilities and entities involved in those questions. It also records the relationships between them.
OpenIM has two connected parts:
The specialisation packs add detail for different forms of holding and operation:
The entity model uses one Legal Entity master with roles such as issuer, counterparty, manager or custodian. Internal keys, aliases and external identifiers support entity resolution across source systems.
OpenIM also includes an ownership map, FIBO alignment, a glossary and diagrams.
exports/ when a tool needs the model in machine-readable form. Treat the two BPMN files as illustrations only.A reference model is a common starting point for local design. Each implementation decides its organisation, ownership, controls and technology. Record the OpenIM release or commit used in your work so later reviews can trace the same source.
The public website at openinvestmentmodel.org provides a browsable view of the released model.
The office labels below group domains for navigation. Firms can organise the same capabilities in different ways.
| # | Business Domain | Office | Service domains |
|---|---|---|---|
| BD-01 | Investment Strategy & Allocation | Front | 14 |
| BD-02 | Securities Research & Selection | Front | 8 |
| BD-03 | Manager & Fund Investment | Front | 9 |
| BD-04 | Direct & Co-Investment | Front | 12 |
| BD-05 | Portfolio Management | Front | 13 |
| BD-06 | Trading & Execution | Front | 6 |
| BD-07 | Investment Risk | Middle | 8 |
| BD-08 | Valuation & Pricing | Middle | 6 |
| BD-09 | Performance & Analytics | Middle | 9 |
| BD-10 | Investment Compliance & Guideline Monitoring | Middle | 9 |
| BD-11 | Treasury, Cash & Collateral | Middle | 8 |
| BD-12 | Investment Operations & Servicing | Back | 17 |
| BD-13 | Investment Data & Reporting | Cross-cutting (data) | 12 |
| BD-14 | Enterprise Risk, Control & Assurance | Cross-cutting (corporate) | 9 |
| BD-15 | Distribution, Product & Client Management | Commercial | 16 |
| BD-16 | Enterprise Governance & Accountability | Cross-cutting (corporate) | 5 |
| BD-17 | Corporate Services & Resources | Cross-cutting (corporate) | 10 |
OpenIM is a firm-level reference model. It links to specialist standards where their concepts match:
glue is prior art for open buy-side data modelling. Its repository was archived in 2023.See PRIOR-ART.md for the detailed comparison and source links.
exports/ contains formats for architecture and data tooling, including graph use cases. ArchiMate, JSON Schema, OWL, SHACL and property-graph exports are generated from the model source for each release.
The two BPMN files are hand-authored, non-normative illustrations. They are not generated from the model and may lag it. Each export README explains its scope and loading instructions.
The model is plain Markdown and can be read on GitHub without installing anything. Python 3.9 or later is required to run the structural validator:
git clone https://github.com/antikas/open-investment-model.git
cd open-investment-model
python tools/openim-validate/validate.py
The validator checks identifiers, links, required sections and cross-file counts. Exit code 0 means those structural checks passed. See the validator guide for details.
The read-only OpenIM MCP server lets compatible tools search and retrieve the released model with source links and version provenance:
npx -y @openinvestmentmodel/openim-mcp
The server exposes model retrieval. Investment advice and transaction execution sit outside its scope.
The canonical machine-readable project identity is metadata/openim.json.
open-investment-model/
|-- README.md Project introduction and reader route
|-- PRIOR-ART.md Relationship to adjacent standards and models
|-- CONTRIBUTING.md Contribution process
|-- CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md Community standards
|-- GOVERNANCE.md Decision and release governance
|-- CITATION.cff Citation metadata
|-- LICENSE MIT licence
|-- metadata/ Canonical project identity
|-- model/ Reference-model source
| |-- service-domains/ Business and Service Domain map
| |-- entities/ Core entities and specialisation packs
| |-- diagrams/ Model-derived visual views
| |-- glossary.md Domain vocabulary
| |-- ownership-map.md Entity ownership by Service Domain
| `-- fibo-alignment.md Entity-level FIBO alignment
|-- exports/ Generated formats and illustrative BPMN
`-- tools/
|-- openim-validate/ Structural validator
`-- diagrams/ Diagram generation
Read CONTRIBUTING.md before proposing a model change. GOVERNANCE.md explains how decisions and releases are handled. Prior-art corrections are especially useful when they include a primary source.
OpenIM is available under the MIT licence. It is maintained by Georgios Antikatzidis, an enterprise architect with more than 25 years in financial services.
Source-derived launch command. Check the maintainer’s required arguments and credentials before running:
npx -y @openinvestmentmodel/openim-mcpMerge this template into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json. Keep existing servers. Add any arguments, credentials, and permissions required by the maintainer; this template has not been install-tested.
{
"mcpServers": {
"io-github-antikas-openim": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@openinvestmentmodel/openim-mcp"
]
}
}
}Restart Claude Desktop completely for changes to take effect. Confirm the server appears connected in the client’s tool list, then try a read-only example from its documentation.
Claude Desktop setup reference@openinvestmentmodel/openim-mcpnpmOpen Investment Model works with any MCP-compatible client. Copy the config snippet from the Configuration section above and add it to the file shown for your client, then restart the application.
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.jsonRestart Claude Desktop completely for changes to take effect.~/.cursor/mcp.jsonRestart Cursor for changes to take effect..vscode/mcp.jsonReload VS Code window for changes to take effect.~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.jsonRestart Windsurf for changes to take effect..mcp.jsonSave at the project root, then start Claude Code in that project and review the MCP server approval prompt. Keep real credentials out of shared files.