This year there were contested elections in the IB and CPO/CTA categories of NFA’s Board of Directors. Newly elected Board members in those categories and a complete list of the members of the 2013 Nominating Committee are as follows. Board of Directors IB Representative: Jeffrey D. Malec Chief Executive Officer and Founding Partner Attain Capital Management, LLC CPO/CTA Representatives: James L. Koutoulas Chief Executive Officer Typhon Capital Management, LLC John L. Roe President Roe Capital Management, Inc. 2013 Nominating Committee FCM Category: Bruce Beatus Assistant General Counsel Bank of America Merrill Lynch Chris Damilatis Vice President ADM Investor Services, Inc.…...

In February 2012, the CFTC issued final rules adopting CFTC Regulation 4.27 which, among other things, requires that all CTAs file a Form PR annual report with NFA within 45 days of the calendar year end. The Form PR requires each CTA to report on an annual basis general information about the CTA, its trading programs, the pool assets directed by the CTA and the identity of the CPOs that operate those pools. NFA has provided the Form PR template. The first annual Form PR report will be due by February 14, 2013 for the year ended December 31, 2012…...

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world’s leading questionnaire tool. The survey will remain open until September 10th and we’ll and share the final results at the NIBA Conference, Chicago September 12, 2012 and post online....

FROM THE NATIONAL FUTURES ASSOCIATION. View Original Posting here. —————————————————————————————————————————- On July 9, 2012, National Futures Association took an emergency enforcement action against Peregrine Financial Group, Inc. (PFG), an NFA Member futures commission merchant (FCM) and Forex Dealer Member (FDM) and Peregrine Asset Management, Inc. (PAM), an NFA Member commodity trading advisor (CTA) and commodity pool operator (CPO) which is closely affiliated with PFG. NFA took this action because NFA believes that PFG failed to maintain adequate funds in segregated accounts. The shortfall exceeds $200 million. In addition, PFG has filed false reports and has falsified bank records. It is…...

On Thursday July 12th 2012, Melinda Schramm, Founder and Chairman of the NIBA was iin Washington, DC to discuss with CFTC official issues surrounding the collapse of PFG including orderly liquidation of customer positions. “The NIBA is stunned and outraged by the apparent actions of PFG and its owner. The NIBA supports a thorough investigation into the apparent fraud and deceptions, and if warranted, the prosecution of those involved,” she said. Ms. Schramm added that, “The NIBA is continuing to work with the CME Group, the FCM community and other industry leaders to assure our customers that the industry is…...

From the FIA SmartBrief today: The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is set to adopt safeguards for client funds in the wake of a shortfall allegation against Peregrine Financial Group and the collapse of MF Global Holdings, sources said. The regulator is also expected to approve a rule intended to hold executives at futures brokers responsible for customer funds. Full article at: Bloomberg, Reuters    The Opinions expressed are the opinions of the author. The opinions, the trading styles, trading information and trading programs are not endorsed by the NIBA, but are the individual opinions, styles, information and programs of the author....

Recent Changes to NFA’s Self-Examination Questionnaire and Interpretive Notice 9020 entitled Compliance Rules 2-9, 2-36 and 2-39: Self-Audit Questionnaires April 12, 2011 NFA requires all Members to review the Self-Examination Questionnaire on a yearly basis in order to help Members identify and correct any supervisory deficiencies. As originally drafted, the Questionnaire contained a general section for all Members as well as a supplemental section specifically tailored for FCMs, IBs, CPOs and CTAs. NFA recently added a section to the Questionnaire specifically tailored to an FDM’s operations (e.g., trading systems, disclosure obligations and trading standards) and updated other Questionnaire sections to…...

On April 18th, I will be visiting the Commission in Washington D.C. with one purpose – to bring the opinions of NIBA’s members directly to the CFTC Commissioners. CFTC’s response to the Dodd-Frank legislation has resulted in over 30 proposed regulations so far. While some of those will primarily effect derivatives trading, swaps and forex, several proposals also result in increased recordkeeping and reporting for all NFA registrants. Proposals such as those which would regulate conflicts of interest in the research and analysis areas of your office have the potential to affect all of our members. The NIBA has been…...

As we all settle into a new year, the growth of your business is your obvious goal. However, the matrix of industry rules, regulations and compliance procedures continues to evolve. So keeping up with the times, and remaining aware and diligent of your regulatory and business obligations, is not be overlooked. Note that at the April 20, NIBA Conference in New York, I will be moderating a Panel of attorneys and industry professionals for an interactive panel discussion entitled Rules, Regulations and Your Revenue. The Conference also includes several other Panels and presents a wonderful opportunity for NIBA members to…...

It’s not overtly obvious, but these seemingly unrelated topics actually do have a connection. Let me explain. President Bush was at the Union League Club in Chicago last month promoting the release of his memoir Decision Points. According to Crown Publishers, Decision Points will offer “gripping, never-before-heard detail” on such historic events as the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Anyway, that got me thinking; thinking about all the horrible life-altering events of that day and the days that followed. It also got me thinking about how those events were the catalyst for some very important regulatory changes in the financial services…...