This chapter provides an introduction to fundamental concepts in trade operations for alternative investment funds. It begins by outlining the types of securities traded by alternative investment funds. The concept of trade idea generation compared to trading strategy is then discussed. The pre-trade processes including the use of a pre-trade blotter and pre-trade compliance checks are then discussed. Other topics addressed in this chapter include an overview of the trade confirmation, clearing, settlement and reconciliation processes. Finally, we discuss trade allocation- and trade compliance-associated trading risks