As an IB, you may well have clients outside the US. In these cases, the need for non-US price data and currency conversions, time differences, language issues and more can arise. While the language issues may be difficult, and time differences inconvenient, software tools can help in other areas. As an example, a customer may wish to monitor their US futures position P&L in their own currency. A real time feed into a spreadsheet of both the futures price, say a near month gold contract, and a forward currency quote from a software package would work for this. As an…...

1. Introduction Regulation 1.25, promulgated by the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”), sets forth the types of products and instruments in which futures commission merchants (“FCMs”) and derivatives clearing organizations (“DCOs”) may invest customer funds held in segregated accounts (“Permissible Investments”).[1] Related regulations pertaining to “secured funds” (CFTC regulation 30.7), “cleared swap customer collateral funds–FCMs” (CFTC regulation 22.2), and “cleared swap customer collateral funds–DCOs” (CFTC regulation 22.3) require that investment of those categories of customer funds comply with CFTC regulation 1.25. Most recently, the CFTC amended the scope of Permissible Investments in accordance with the Dodd-Frank Wall Street…...

Overview of the Last Ten Years of Segregated Funds Data for US FCM’s: Source: CFTC, in Billion USD. 10 Year Evolution of Segregated Funds: As illustrated above, 2011 & 2009 are the only two years in the last 10 that the US segregated funds decreased, as published by the CFTC. The percentage decrease in 2011 was 4% and in 2009 the decrease was 15%. The total segregated funds at the end of December 2008, 2009, 2010 & 2011 were 158, 134, 151 & 145 billion respectively. Over the ten year period from 2002-2011 the customer segregated funds for US markets…...

Google AdWords is the most effective, budget-friendly, and powerful way to generate futures leads. Ads can be displayed not only on Google but on websites of all sizes from CNBC and Bloomberg to individual bloggers. Add the ability to view informative reports and set your own-budget (and stop-and-start on the fly) and you see why AdWords is the advertising method of choice. However, in the ongoing quest for futures leads, many of the brokers we speak with have tried Google AdWords or other Search Engine Marketing tools but have been disappointed with the results. Common complaints are that they spent…...

During a recent routine NFA audit of one of our Introducing Broker (IB) clients, it became apparent that NFA is enforcing the following: Security Deposits with your FCM are treated as 50% current and 50% noncurrent for capital purposes. Escrow Accounts (or other trading accounts) at your FCM are considered current for capital purposes but has a 50% haircut during the Net Capital Computation. If the Escrow account is being traded by your firm at a level equivalent to the dollars in the account, then the account is considered a firm trading account and the account balance is considered current…...

In the wake of the MF Global collapse, NFA is requiring CTAs and CPOs that managed assets at the failed FCM to make certain updates, disclosures and filings. CTAs must calculate their performance capsules in accordance with NFA Notice to Members I-12-04. That notice essentially provides that CTAs with programs involving MF Global managed accounts that were not notionally funded and that were frozen by the bankruptcy should not include the MF Global account performance in the program’s track record if the program also had accounts at one or more other FCMs or if the CTA was forced to close…...

ICE Futures U.S. now lists weekly option contracts on Sugar No. 11®, Cotton No. 2® and Coffee “C”® futures contracts. The new weekly option contracts are short-life options that share most of the contract terms of the existing monthly option contracts – including strike price, minimum price quote, trading hours and exercise and assignment provisions. The weekly options, however, expire on a different date than the monthly options, providing an expiration on each Friday that is not already the expiration date for a monthly option on the relevant futures contracts. For each product, three weekly option expirations are listed concurrently,…...

The National Introducing Brokers Association has been the leading nexus between futures industry professionals since 1991. In keeping with its networking spirit the NIBA is excited to announce the new Service Provider/Vendor category of membership to encompass companies that supply products and services to our members. NIBA’s service and vendor providers understand the unique needs of futures professionals and can be found in the Association tab of the NIBA website under Service Providers. Here you will find a wealth of services that are tailored to your industry specific needs. In the directory you will find: Online Marketing Solutions Attorneys &…...

New Contracts Listed Reflect Market Participant Demand ICE Futures Canada will introduce three new futures and options contracts for durum wheat, milling wheat and barley January 23. The contracts are being launched following the end of the Canadian Wheat Board’s legal monopoly to market all wheat, durum wheat and barley grown in Western Canada and destined for human consumption or export. The new ICE contracts take advantage of the changed regulatory environment that allows these Western Canadian grains to be freely traded for the first time in nearly 70 years. Domestic and international market participants have expressed substantial demand for…...

Relative Strength, sometimes called comparative Relative Strength, can measure the relationship between two securities, between a security and an index, or between two indexes. This does not refer to the popular indicator called Relative Strength Index. The RSI measures the performance of a security or index against itself by producing a normalized measurement of “up closes” versus “down closes” across a chosen time period. Comparative Relative Strength is used in futures markets in inter-market situations, say comparing European wheat prices to Chicago corn prices as a spread or a ratio. We also see intra-market calendar spreads, another form of measuring…...