We are proud to announce our professional relationship with The Fred Arditti Center for Risk Management at DePaul University in Chicago. Earlier this year, NIBA met with members of the DePaul facility to learn about several initiatives recently developed in their financial services department, and DePaul hosted the January meeting of our Board of Directors. We felt several of their newly developed programs would be of interest and value to NIBA members. The Arditti Center hosts a risk management-oriented breakfast meeting once a month on the downtown-Jackson Boulevard Campus. Those meetings are announced on the NIBA website and is free....
Questions for the NFA? Comments for NFA? No problem just call the NIBA!
The NIBA is now offering a premium service for its members and will be acting as a liaison between the association’s membership and the NFA. Do you have something you want to bring to the NFA but are hesitant to do so directly, let the NIBA do it for you. The NIBA is your advocate in the industry. We encourage all members to bring their issues to us. In turn, we will address each and every concern anonymously with the NFA. We have found all registrants periodically have questions on business practices, compliance, registrations, etc on which they....
Announcing the Arditti Risk Management Leadership Program
The Arditti Center is pleased to announce the launch of the Risk Management Leadership Program—a two-day executive course in the heart of downtown Chicago that provides advanced risk management leadership skills to high-level executives and board members. Developing and maintaining superior performance in corporate risk management, which is both effective in taking high-stakes decisions and fail-safe in times of stress, requires executive leadership. This interactive program focuses on the critical areas of risk management infrastructure, strategy, and decision-making. Designed and taught by industry and academic experts Steve Lindo and Dr. Mark Frigo, the program provides senior leaders with greater understanding....
Happy Anniversary, RJO!
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....
CTA Insights: Tyche Capital Advisors on Institutional and High Net Worth Asset raising from a CTA’s standpoint.
The last few years have been a very challenging playing field to navigate. As a CTA one has to wear multiple hats while trying to grow a business. While our specialty is trading and risk management one has to realize this is a business that has to be run like one and while a CTA may be a great trader they also have to run a good business. The last few years have brought more challenges in raising assets for a CTA than trying to navigate a political solution with Vladimir Putin. MF Global was a serious setback for the....
CTA/CPO Capital Requirements; More Harm than Good?
In late January 2014 the National Futures Association (“NFA”) announced to its membership they were: “…reviewing the current regulatory structure applicable to Commodity Pool Operator (“CPO”) and Commodity Trading Advisor (“CTA”) operations. In particular, NFA is looking at ways to strengthen the regulatory structure governing CPO operations to provide greater protection for customer funds… [and] exploring ways to ensure that CPOs and CTAs have sufficient assets to operate as a going concern.” NFA then solicited input from its membership (now the general public) regarding the concept of imposing a capital requirement on its CPO and CTA members for the first....
AG & Investment Services, Inc. | NIBA Member Spotlight
Firm Name: AG & Investment Services, Inc. Founded: 1986 Number of Brokers: 3 IB Status: Guaranteed NIBA Member Since: Since first year of organization, 1991 Address: 644 First Street, Suite 2, Webster City, Iowa 50595 Web: AGandInvestments.com This month’s featured member is Ag. & Investment Services, Inc. The firm has been an NFA member continuously registered since 1987. The firm’s President, Sue Martin was kind enough to provide NIBA with the information you will read below on the firm, its principal, history and operations. Sue has over 25 years of experience in the finance industry. Sue can be heard on....
CFTC Recording Requirements
New recording requirements went into effect in January. Although some IBs are exempted, many are not. The NIBA has opposed this requirement from its beginnings, noting that enforcement is difficult — if not impossible, it requires new expenses for many offices, and requirements for recording of transactions vary greatly from state-to-state. We want to revisit this issue with the CFTC. Will you send us a note explaining how the requirement is affecting you? Please include additional costs (equipment, legal advice, extra staff, etc), you have expended and expect to spend to stay in compliance; and, other issues you are running....
Managing Risk in a Complex Agriculture Supply Chain
The disruptions and extreme complexities of the commodity supply chain create great risk that needs to be managed, as well as equally great opportunities if prices move in a favorable direction. The interior (North America) agricultural commodity supply chain is heavily based on various events, such as weather impacting supply and transportation, scheduled/unscheduled maintenance of railroad tracks, and planned and required federal transportation restrictions. Global demand for agricultural commodities, the impact of regional weather, and economic and geopolitical events can also dictate interior transportation requirements. As with other commodities, transportation and storage costs can have an adverse impact on agricultural....
CTA Insights: Clarke Capital Management on Asset Raising from a Broker’s Perspective
As the world’s investors become more sophisticated, the quest for portfolio diversification using more advanced strategies is growing. Investors from Wall Street to Main Street are seeking to include strategies that give them a low correlation to the stock market. Managed futures is an ideal asset class to fill this niche, providing good opportunities for market professionals such as Introducing Brokers to expand their business to include managed futures products for their client base. Clarke Capital Management (CCM) has found this to be an effective business model. Founded in 1993, CCM offers six different managed account programs with the longest....