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NIBA Journal

Insights, analysis, and updates from the National Introducing Brokers Association

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Member Announcements
3 min read

NFA Spreads Investor Education Message During The Fed's Money Smart Week

Coordinated by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, National Futures Association and other strategic partners such as the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Chicago Board Options Exchange and the CME Group, have come together to organize Money Smart Week. From April 21-28, more than 450 free educational classes, seminars and activities will be offered around the Chicagoland area focusing on financial topics for people of all walks of life. On Wednesday, April 25, NFA will join other regulatory and enforcement agencies at a Financial Regulators Fair at the State of Illinois Building, Thompson Center. Representatives from twelve agencies, including the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) will distribute information on financial protection, banking, credit and investing. The event will run from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. "When making important financial decisions, even simple...

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Member Announcements
3 min read

Gate 39 Media Launches Online Managed Futures Portfolio Management Tool—Clarity Portfolio Viewer™

Chicago, IL—April 17, 2012—Gate 39 Media, a web marketing and development firm specializing in online solutions for the futures industry, announces the launch of its Clarity Portfolio Viewer™. Clarity Portfolio Viewer provides investors with instant access to the daily performance of their managed futures investments online; and for futures brokerages and Futures Commission Merchants (FCMs) it provides data across the managed futures accounts they manage. Clarity Portfolio Viewer’s format is understandable, attractive, and easy to read. Upon login, investors are clearly presented with the performance of their entire futures portfolio on a single screen. At a glance, investors know the profitability of their managed futures investments. Investment data is updated daily—not monthly like a statement. Investors can easily access statistics and account information such as rate of return, margin to equity, drawdowns, and more. The Clarity Portfolio Viewer also allows investors to quickly access reports such as margins, drawdowns, and...

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Member Announcements
3 min read

Chairman's Message | April 2012

For the past several years, I have served a s Special Advisor to the IB Advisory Committee of the NFA. At last week’s meeting, NFA staff presented several proposals in response to the MF Global collapse. These proposals would enable the NFA to work more closely with other SROs to recognize warning signs of imminent FCM failing(s). These proposals also include means by which professionals and the trading public can access information about their FCM more easily and in a more transparent form. Here is a short summary. The IB Advisory Committee viewed these ideas as favorable. Some will begin to take affect as soon as late spring; others require further approval and cooperation among regulatory entities. Requiring all FCMs to file daily seg reports. This report is already required at the NFA; now this will be required at all SROs. (According to reports, MFG was on daily reporting to...

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Member Announcements
4 min read

Straits Financial Hires Carol Dannenhauer and Forms LW Managed Accounts Division

Straits Financial LLC, a member and brokerage arm of the CWT Group, today announced it has hired Ms. Carol Dannenhauer as Executive Vice President and Head of its newly formed LW Managed Accounts Division. Straits is a registered FCM and a clearing member firm with the CME, CBOT, NYMEX and COMEX. “Carol joining Straits is a dream come true” said Joseph Mazurek, President of Straits Financial LLC. “Carol knows managed futures and she is a trusted name in the industry having served under the Lind-Waldock banner most of her career. She and Straits share much in common so this is a natural partnership focusing on providing quality customer service. Straits does not proprietary trade; our focus is 100% on clients and the protection of their assets.” This expands our product offering and notwithstanding where your Lind-Waldock account was transferred to, you the customer can Come Home Again” adds Paul Fry,...

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Member Announcements
1 min read

CFTC Presents a Feature Session at the NIBA Conference

NIBA will hold its Spring Membership Conference April 18, 2012 in New York City at the NYMEX Building, 1 No. End Avenue. Registration and Coffee begin at 12:30pm; sessions begin at 1:15pm. Our featured speaker, the Honorable Jill Sommers, is the Senior CFTC Commissioner with regard to the MF Gobal matter. She will be discussing CFTC responses and proposals aimed at preventing another calamity such as resulted from MFG's failure and bankruptcy from ever happening again. In addition to the CFTC Session, the meeting also includes: NIBA's Semi-Annual Legal Review How to Assess the Risks of Doing Business with your FCM Forex: Exchange-Traded or Cash? The Market Update from Telvent DTN A joint NIBA/CTA Expo Networking/Cocktail Reception immediately follows the business sessions at the exchange building. NIBA members are invited to attend the April 18 meeting Free. Please register now. Space at the exchange building is quite limited and this...

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Member Announcements
2 min read

Chairman's Message | February 2012

Dear Members - On April 18, 2012 you will have the opportunity to ask the CFTC what went wrong at MF Global. We are honored to have Commissioner Jill Sommers speaking to our membership at our annual spring conference. She is the Senior Commissioner with respect to MF Global matter and, as such, Ms. Sommers has testified before both U.S. House of Representatives and Senate committees. Her responsibilities in that matter include exercising executive and administrative authority of the commission in: The pending enforcement investigation The pending bankruptcy actions of both the MFG BD/FCM and the parent company Other actions to recover customer funds and determine reason for the shortfalls in customer funds In addition to Ms. Sommers’ session, the April 18 meeting will feature a discussion on: The pros and cons of cash v. exchange-traded forex How to evaluate the risk of doing business with your FCM A client-driven...

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Member Announcements
3 min read

Marketing Thought Leaders Join For Lively Conversation

New YORK, New Jersey, Connecticut, Jan 20, 2012 -- Today's web-enabled customers have taken control of their buying process, researching online before speaking with a salesperson. These buyers are more savvy and wary of marketing hype. As a result, marketing is evolving from a one-way "push" model into a two-way engagement model. Marketers must now demonstrate value and build trust by educating prospects throughout their buying journey. However, this new era of marketing is still evolving. Many marketers struggle to grasp the new concepts, terms and methodologies that make up the new marketing landscape in an effort to meet customer need. There is now a great deal of controversy on the web regarding the roles of inbound marketing and content marketing as part of the overall marketing process. How do one define them? How do they relate to one another? How does one use them to drive revenue? On January...

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Member Announcements
2 min read

Chairman's Message | January 2012

Dear Members - With this issue, we are resuming our normal publication schedule of the NIBA Journal. The concerns surrounding the MF Global failure are far from over, and many NIBA members are still reeling from the abrupt transfer of their business and adjusting to new FCMs. NIBA will continue to fight for the rights of our members. During the first week of January, NIBA’s legal counsel called upon the MFG trustee to release the commission runs generated for October, 2011. We knew the runs were produced, but the trustee refused to distribute them. That caused reporting problems for many of our members. While the NFA has been somewhat flexible with regard to their requirements, filing accurate bankruptcy claims and federal taxes is difficult, if not impossible without these commission runs. Only three days after our demand, on January 6th, the trustee’s office agreed to our request. The procedure for...

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Member Announcements
2 min read

Membership Chairman Message

I'm sure that many of us in the futures industry are happy to see 2011 fade into the past. The MF Global failure and bankruptcy has caused much suffering and hardship for both brokers and clients alike. Unresolved issues surrounding the sovereign debt crisis and bank deleveraging along with and an increasing burdensome regulatory climate added to a challenging year. However, the new-year welcomes us with the same overhanging issues and specter of uncertainty and more challenging times ahead. It is at times such as this that the light shines bright on the benefits of your membership in the NIBA. The association took immediate action on behalf of the NIBA community in response to the MF Global situation. Our longtime legal advisors attended and participated in all court and trustee proceedings, we created a MF Global Update column on our website, and are working with other industry participants to work...

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