NIBA adds its congratulations to those of the industry on the anniversary of RJ O’Brien’s 100 years in business. As the last surviving founding member of the CME, RJ O’Brien is responsible for a number of industry milestones including hiring the first woman to ever work on the trading floor and taking the first deliver of a Live Cattle contract, the first live animal commodity traded. Founded as John V. McCarthy & Co. in October of 1914, the firm began as butter and egg merchants. By the time Robert O’Brien, Sr. became the president of the firm in 1959, he…...

March 6, 2014: 2:00pm – 7:00pm Sessions Begin: 2:30pm Marriott Newport Beach There will be two information sessions followed by a networking reception with the speakers, CME Group, NFA representatives and the NIBA. There is no cost for this event – all futures industry participants are invited, but you must register in advance. Session 1: Why Smart Money Invests in Managed Futures – CME Group’s Initiatives Going Forward: Presented by David Lerman, Senior Director, Client Development & Sales, Asset Managers, CME Group Session 2: Compliance Issues featuring the NFA: Presented by Patricia Cushing, Director Compliance, National Futures Association and Matt Reynolds,…...

On December 4, 2013, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an advisory announcing that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) had updated its list of jurisdictions with strategic AML/CFT deficiencies. NFA Member FCMs and IBs should review this Advisory to ensure that their AML programs have the most current information on FATF identified jurisdictions with AML/CFT deficiencies and revise their AML programs accordingly. A copy of the Advisory is available through FinCEN’s website at: http://www.fincen.gov/statutes_regs/guidance/html/FIN-2013-A008.html...

On November 11, 2013, a class action law suit was filed against U.S. Bank, one of the largest American banks, on behalf of introducing brokers that did business with PFG Best. The action, filed in the Northern District of Illinois and docketed as Fintec Group, Inc. v. U.S. Bank, N.A., aims to recover for IB losses resulting from PFG’s collapse, including unpaid commissions, security deposits and potentially other amounts. One of the attorneys representing the lead plaintiff in that suit, Larry Landsman, would like to communicate with any IBs impacted by the PFG bankruptcy to deepen his understanding of the…...

By Rusty von Sternberg Program Manager for The NIBA Benefits PPACA Certified & Registered for the Federal Exchanges ObamaCare. Love it or hate it, one thing is true… the landscape of employer-sponsored health insurance is changing. Many of the Affordable Care Act (“ObamaCare”) provisions strongly favor the individual health insurance market, making “Defined Contribution” the ideal health insurance solution for most (if not all) US employers. To understand, there are four key ObamaCare changes happening January 1, 2014 that make the shift from defined benefits (group health insurance) to pure defined contribution simply… irresistible. Guaranteed-Issue Individual Health Plans Beginning January…...

We have little doubt the proposed fee increases, particularly for market data access, will have a profoundly negative impact on the number of industry service personal (IBs and Aps) as well as retail speculators. Consequently, we suspect the changes could trigger a potential drop in trading volume in our particular book of business by 20% to 30%. Additionally, small operations such as ourselves could be driven out of business at the hands of decreased volume and substantially higher fixed costs in the form of data fees. Here are some comments and concerns we would like to express: Data fees per…...

As a director of an IB, my greatest concern is that our clients get good value for their money. With transaction fees increasing by as much as 20%, I would expect that the CME would provide a similar increase in value for the customers. I fear that this is simply going to be an increased source of revenue without a corresponding increase in service. To that end, I would ask the CME to justify these increases to our (and the CME’s) customers. Without such justification, I would expect that customers will push back against the fee increases, which will have…...

It was very disappointing to hear of the massive price increases for CME data feed. There are eight of us in our office and upon analysis we believe that if we keep our current 7 quote systems, 7 electronic order platforms and 3 spreaders the extra yearly cost will be $6500 per employee! There is no telling how much it will cost many of our customers (who will likely ask us for lower rates as a result) as well as RCG and other FCM?s (who will likely want to charge us more to recoup some of their costs). As with…...

“Providing Transparency in Alternative Investments: The Importance of the Advisor-Client Relationship”, is a new white paper that discusses investment transparency, the hot topic in the world of managed futures and hedge funds. Transparency builds stronger interactions and understanding between advisors and clients in the long-term pursuit of investment returns.  More than just providing a performance statement, transparency starts with the relationship and sets appropriate expectations for both parties. Written by Mark Shore, Adjunct Professor of Managed Futures at DePaul University and Research Principal of Shore Capital Management, this important white paper comes at a time of negative press coverage on…...

Dear Members- Well, get ready for some good news and some not so good news.  Good news #1. MF Global commodity customers are poised to get 100% back. On November 4, Trustee Giddens received approval from the MFG bankruptcy court for a plan that will repay customers in full. Neal Stevens’ article helps put this in perspective. Good news #2.  The CFTC received the go-ahead from a federal court for it’s lawsuit against U.S. Bank N.A, the bank which held Peregrine Financial Group’s segregated funds. That suit alleges the bank treated the account as if it were Peregrine’s own. Now…...