NIBA Journal

NIBA in DC

On November 9, 2015, Steve Petillo, Mike Burke and I travelled to Washington, DC to meet with members of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission at their offices. Here’s a summary of that meeting as well as the other meetings we had while there. We brought three issues which were suggested by NIBA members to the attention of Chairman Massad and Commission Bowen. Both Commissioners, along with their staff, told us that monitoring the effectiveness of Regulation 1.35 (Recording Communication that may lead to a Transaction) and Regulation 1.22 (“Residual Interest”) is ongoing. We reiterated that we believe Reg. 1.35 in its final form may not have taken into account revenue numbers from all Introducing Brokers, only from IIBs. Both Commissioners agreed to look at any additional information we are able to provide. We voiced our support for pushing back the automatic start of next phase of Reg. 1.22, and renewed...

NIBA Advisory Group

The NIBA is committed to serving the derivatives industry and as such has created an advisory group to our board. This group of highly qualified industry professionals will help to make our association even better going into our 25th year and add additional value to our members. On December 2, 2015 the NIBA we will hold its inaugural Advisory Group (AG) meeting. The focus of the AG meeting will be to review the mission and actions of the NIBA from the member's individual expert viewpoint, and advise as to effectiveness and methodology. The individuals that have been invited to participate in the group come with diverse experiences throughout the industry. They represent exchanges, legal, compliance, operations, marketing and product research. We also feel it is important to get fresh eyes on new issues that are of concern to the futures industry and how the association should respond to them. We...

November Chairman Letter

Dear Members, As you receive this newsletter, the NIBA will be in Washington DC at the office of the CFTC. The talking points/agenda for the Commission, was developed from suggestions made by the membership, and includes: HFTs: What is the Commission’s definition, and what effect that could have on NIBA members. Follow-up on the economic impact of Regulations 1.35 (Recording of Communications which lead to a Transaction). Follow-up on the effect of Reg. 1.22 (“Residual Interest”) on Association members. NIBA is also meeting with the Commodity Markets Council and other industry participants based in DC. A summary of those November 9 meetings will be posted in the next Association newsletter. The NIBA Advisory Group will hold its first meeting December 2 in Chicago. The purpose of bringing this group of industry experts together is to discuss the changing role of the NIBA in today’s market and regulatory environment. Advisory Group...

Breaking News!

On November 9, NIBA traveled to DC to meet with CFTC Commissioner Bowen and CFTC Chairman Massad. Issues suggested by the NIBA membership were discussed -- HFT definitions and CFTC Regulations 1.35 and 1.22. Steve Petillo, Mike Burke and I prepared a list of talking points and delivered them in advance of our meeting. In addition to putting issues that are important to our membership in front of the Commission, these sessions with the CFTC serve the purpose of reminding the regulators that the NIBA is a very special trade association. Unlike most industry organizations, we don't have an office or staff in DC. In fact, the work of the association is done entirely by volunteers and the opinions expressed are voiced by working IBs and CTAs -- not paid representatives. When we talk about the effect of a rule or regulation on the IB/CTA community, we are speaking from...

CFTC Requires NFA Membership for Registered Intermediaries

The CFTC has adopted a final rule, CFTC Rule 170.17, which will require almost all IBs, CTAs and CPOs to become NFA Members. CFTC Rule 170.17 requires each person or entity registered as an IB, CTA or CPO to also be a member of a “registered futures association,” subject to a narrow exception for registered CTAs that meet the requirements of the exemption from registration set forth in CFTC Rule 4.14(a)(9). The NFA is the only registered futures association; thus, most CFTC registrants who are not NFA members will be required to become members of NFA or withdraw their registrations. Prior to the adoption of CFTC Rule 170.17, existing CFTC rules only required FCMs, CFTC-registered swap dealers and major swap participants to be members of a registered futures association. Specifically, CFTC Rule 170.15, in the case of FCMs, and CFTC Rule 170.16, in the case of Swap Dealers and Major...

October Chairman's Letter

Dear Members - On November 9, the NIBA will be in Washington, DC to meet with members of the CFTC, as well as other industry participants. Steve Petillo, Mike Burke and I want to bring those issues which are most important to YOU to the attention of the Commissioners. Please forward your suggestions and questions for the CFTC to anyone of us prior to October 30. On October 12, the University of Illinois sponsored a symposium entitled “How Should We Measure Futures Investment Performance?” Organized by Dr. Paul Peterson, U of I Urbana-Champaign featured four presentations -- two presented by our NIBA colleagues. Jerry Nolan (County Cork, LLC), NIBA Board Member discussed “The Russian Invasion of Crimea and the Perfect Storm in the Soybean Crush: Three Investor Experiences with a Discretionary Ag Program in 2014.” Mark Shore (Shore Capital Research, LLC), NIBA Advisory Group member, presented a study entitled “Risk...

NIBA Announces the Formation of its first-ever Advisory Group

NIBA is excited to announce the formation of the NIBA Advisory Group (AG). NIBA, now in its 25th year, is proud to have a distinguished group of individuals working together on initiatives which will grow the association, and help members service their customers more effectively. Individuals serving on the AG each have a unique knowledge of the futures industry, and each has agreed to share their expertise for the benefit of NIBA members. The Advisory Group (AG) will meet in Chicago early December; the term of membership is 2 years. AG Members for 2015 to 2017 include: * Dan Basse, AgResource * Matt Giarelli, BarChart * Kelly Hartman, CME Group * Dr. Carl Luft, DePaul University * Marc Nagel, Marc Nagel Consulting * Mark Ruddy, Ruddy Law, PLLC * Mark Shore, Shore Capital Research * Ginger Szala, Ginger Szala Ink * Ted. Theisen, UnitedLex NIBA board members serving on this...

NIBA in Washington, DC

On November 9, the NIBA will travel to Washington, DC to meet with various members of the CFTC as well as other industry participants, such as the CMC.  Melinda Schramm -- melinda@futuresrep.com, Steve Petillo -- petillo@coquest.com and Mike Burke -- mikeb@highgroundtrading.com will represent the NIBA in meetings with the Commissioners, staff and other personnel. Please contact Melinda, Steve or Mike if you have questions or issues you would like to have discussed. Your questions can be presented anonymously.

Upcoming DePaul University Cyber-Risk Conference and Arditti Center Open House

Symposium on "How Should We Measure Futures Investment Performance?"

Stock and bond investments have a number of commonly accepted performance benchmarks, such as the S&P 500 and the BarCap indexes. But with futures-related investments – particularly actively managed ones – evaluating performance can be challenging. Join us for an interesting and informative session that examines these issues from different points of view, with presentations by four recognized industry experts: Hilary Till, Solich Scholar, J.P. Morgan Center for Commodities, University of Colorado-Denver and Principal, Premia Capital Management LLC Galen Burghardt, Director of Research, COEX Partners Inc. Mark Shore, President and Chief Investment Officer, Shore Capital Management LLC Jerry Nolan, Director of Business Development, County Cork LLC Symposium on "How Should We Measure Futures Investment Performance?" Monday, October 12 – 10:00 AM to 3:30 PM (lunch provided) Illini Center (Illinois Room, 4th floor) 200 South Wacker Drive, Chicago Hosted by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Agricultural & Consumer...