Effective April 1, 2018, CME Group will increase the monthly Real Time: Professional Market Data Fee to $105 per month per exchange, from $85 per month per exchange. Please click here for details related to these fees. Additionally, CME Group will begin to charge market data fees for CME Direct users in Q2 2018. Clients who trade on CME Direct may be eligible for fee waivers based on trading activity. Final details will be available by end of Q1 2018. Please click here for details related to this new policy....
NFA Annual Member Meeting Report
In early February, NFA held its Annual Member Meeting. NIBA attended and asked NFA staff several questions suggested by NIBA association members. The answers to two of the questions asked was printed in our February newsletter. This is a third question, and NFA’s response. Q: What does the NFA do to monitor FCM Segregated Accounts? A: Investor protection is a key element of NFA’s mission, and the segregation of customer funds by an FCM is an important aspect of investor protection. Each FCM has a designated self-regulatory organization (DSRO) that is primarily responsible for monitoring that FCM for compliance with....
The Impact of US LNG Exports On The Global Gas Market
New Whitepaper: The Impact of US LNG Exports On The Global Gas Market The LNG market is undergoing a seismic shift driven primarily by the transformation in demand/supply dynamics and market structure. This has facilitated the greater integration of traditionally fragmented regional markets and accelerated the emergence of new market entrants. The combination of these factors has led to the growing commodization of LNG, which is evolving into a global commodity comparable to oil. The new landscape requires new portfolio optimization approaches and commercial considerations. Access Report to Learn More...
Chairman’s Letter – March 2018
March was named after Mars, the Roman god of war and an ancestor of the Roman people through his sons Romulus and Remus. March is the first month of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. March is widely thought of as the month when the earth becomes dry enough so that it is possible to cultivate in many cultures. In American culture, March Madness – my personal favorite time of the sports year – is a prominent theme! March is another busy month for the NIBA. Traditionally it is the time we reach out to all our sponsors and supporters with....
Scott Stewart, NFA Board of Directors (GIB)
Scott Stewart, CEO, Stewart-Peterson Group, was recently elected to the NFA Board of Directors representing the Guaranteed Introducing Brokers category. Stewart-Peterson Group, is an GIB located in West Bend, WI and registered with the NFA since 1985. Scott is a long-time friend of the NIBA, having served as President of the Association for several years. We asked him to “introduce” himself to the NIBA Newsletter readership, and talk about some of the issues at NFA which he feels are important to the IB community….. “I am honored to be on the NFA board of directors. For those of you who....
Ask NFA – Feb 2018
As your industry advocate, the NIBA provides many services which help your business stay in compliance with NFA regulations. “Ask the NFA,” is the way you can ask questions about those regulations and compliance requirements without having to call NFA directly. Just email us at [email protected] and we will get the answers for you. Please keep in mind the purpose of this contact is to keep the lines of communication between the NFA and NIBA members. This month’s questions were selected from those submitted by NIBA members. The answers were supplied by NFA staff. Q: What is the time frame....
Housekeeping, Reminders & Updates – Feb 2018
Written by: Mark E. Ruddy, Esq. Maria Fielding The National Futures Association (“NFA”) Adds Additional Questions on the Annual Financial Statement The NFA announced that as of October 31, 2017, there will be two additional yes/no questions added to the Annual Financial Statement. Both questions are related to virtual currency activities. The NFA announced the additional questions in Notice to Members I-18-03. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) Updates Jurisdictions with Deficiencies On February 9, 2018, FinCEN released an advisory updating their list of strategic anti-money laundering (“AML”) and combatting the financing of terrorism (“CFT”) deficiencies. Notably, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and....
3 Ways to Source a CTA
Growing Your Introducing Broker Business to Provide Value to Investors Imagine, if you would, that the managed futures space is a puzzle. Except that it is constantly adding new pieces into an unknown, multidimensional shape. For an Introducing Broker (IB), a piece in the middle of that puzzle, how one connects an investor to a commodity trading advisor (CTA) may be a simple interlock: the CTA performs one function, communicates with the IB, which then in turn performs another. Their only understanding of the other’s function is based upon the seam that connects them. Yet the managed futures space continues....
Broker Rebate Program for FANG+ Index Futures on ICE
ICE Futures U.S. introduced NYSE FANG+ Index futures in Q4 2017. The underlying NYSE FANG+ Index was developed by the NYSE and includes 10 actively traded stocks that represent some of the top innovators across today’s tech-oriented companies. The current index composition includes the five core FANG stocks – Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google (Alphabet) – plus another five actively-traded technology growth stocks – Alibaba, Baidu, NVIDIA, Tesla and Twitter. The index is equally weighted and reconstituted on a quarterly basis, providing a performance benchmark that allows participants to take direct advantage of the capital efficiency of futures. The....
NFA Annual Members Meeting
On Tuesday, February 6, the NFA held its annual members meeting. For the umpteenth year in a row, I was the only NFA member attending. I attended in order to present NFA staff members with questions from the NIBA membership – questions which IBs/CTAs might not want to ask the NFA directly. As they always are, NFA staff was very responsive, conducted themselves very professionally and responded to our inquiries. This year, our membership had several questions for NFA staff. Here are two of those questions and the answers. The others will be posted in upcoming newsletters. From an IB....