January 31, 2013 Dear Members, We wanted to send you a personal update on all that has happened in the months following the collapse of Peregrine Financial Group Inc. (PFG), and let you know that we have taken steps to refine and improve our regulatory practices and better protect you, your customers and the industry in the wake of this tragic situation. As you know, in July 2012, PFG filed for bankruptcy following the attempted suicide of its former president and CEO Russell Wasendorf, Sr., and subsequent discovery that he had defrauded PFG customers by using segregated funds for his....
NIBA Winter Conference in Southern California Re-Cap
NIBA Winter Conference in Southern California January 24, 2013 I recently had the pleasure of attending the “Winter” NIBA conference in Southern California. I genuinely struggled to type the word “winter” in the title, as the weather greeting participants was a balmy 70 degrees. I’m sure that there was a tussle back in Chicago as to who was going to represent the CME and NFA for this event! Complementing the SoCal weather was the choice of venue, Flemings Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar. Anyone that knows the brand knows the restaurant’s service is first rate, coupled with great food and....
The Daily Electronic Confirmation of Customer Segregated Funds
For years, the futures industry had an impeccable reputation for safeguarding customer funds deposited at FCMs. Now, within a very short time frame, we are dealing with a shortfall in customer segregated funds at two FCMs, and their ensuing bankruptcies. Customers at both firms suffered real harm, the type of harm that all regulators attempt to prevent. The MF Global and Peregrine Financial Group customer losses are a painful reminder that regulators must continuously improve our surveillance, audit and fraud detection techniques to keep pace with changing technology and an ever-more-complicated financial marketplace. We know that we can never....
Peregrine CEO Wasendorf Gets Maximum
CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA — Disgraced financier Russell Wasendorf will be at least 107 years old by the time he’s eligible for release from prison under the 50-year sentence handed down Thursday in Cedar Rapids. The former head of the defunct Peregrine Financial Group futures and commodities brokerage stole $215 million from more than 13,000 customers over a 20-year period. The 64-year-old Marion native pilfered customer funds to live a lavish lifestyle and expand the business, which prosecutors said was never profitable on its own. Investor confidence in the sanctity of the $37 trillion futures market was shaken by details of....
Technology to Monitor FCM Segregation Requirements
Notice to Members I-13-05 January 30, 2013 Effective Date of Amendments to NFA Financial Requirements Section 4 Regarding Use of Technology to Monitor FCM Segregation Requirements NFA recently amended NFA Financial Requirements Section 4 to require FCMs that hold customer segregated funds under CFTC Regulation 1.20, customer secured amount funds under CFTC Regulation 30.7 or cleared swaps customer collateral under CFTC Regulation 22.2 (collectively “customer segregated funds”) to instruct the depositories holding these funds to report the balances in these accounts on a daily basis to a third party designated by NFA. The amendments also provide that a depository must....
What Is Link Building and Why Is It Important?
Whether you possess a wealth of knowledge in search engine optimization (SEO) or you’ve just heard about it in passing, you probably know the phrase “link building” and how crucial it is to your website’s success. If you don’t know about link building don’t sweat it, you’re in the right place. In general terms, search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of increasing your website’s visibility in a search engine’s (such as Google) un-paid (“organic”) search results. Search engines such as Google have algorithms that are applied to websites in order to rank them. The higher your page rank, the....
MF Global clients may get most of their money back
A bankruptcy court is set to consider a plan that would return 93% of MF Global customers’ money. That number is an improvement on the 80% that U.S. customers had previously received. Read the full article here. 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....
Some Filing Changes – NFA and IRS
In addition to the myriad of tax changes we’re facing as we go into the new year, here’s a reminder that CFTC Reg 4.27 requires all CTA’s to file a Form PR within 45 days of year end. This gives you a filing deadline of February 14, 2013 for the 2012 calendar year. This report must be filed using the NFA’s EasyFile System. Keep in mind that there is a proposal pending that this be expanded to a quarterly filing requirement. Here is the link detailing how to establish an EasyFile account Here is a link to a Form PR....
Notice of Newly Elected Members to NFA’s Board of Directors and 2013 Nominating Committee
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.....
Reminder: CFTC Regulation 4.27: CTA Reporting Requirements
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....