NIBA Journal

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

May 27, 2011

NIBA Announcement | Three New Board Members

The NIBA announces the appointment of three Board Members effective May 15, 2011. Rodney Dow | President, The Dow Corporation, IIB located in Garrison, NY. Prior to founding The Dow Corp. in 1995, Mr. Dow established an FCM for CitiBank, the first of its kind to trade exclusively energy futures and options. He was a member of NYMEX for 14 years, and currently consults for energy markets, is a registered CTA in addition to the IIB registration and serves as a public member on the business conduct committee for the CME Group. The Dow Corp. has several clearing arrangements and has been an NIBA member since 2000. Marc Nagel | COO, Dorman Trading LLC, FCM based in Chicago, IL. Prior to joining Dorman in 2004, Mr. Nagel, a licensed attorney and CPA, traded futures and options on the CBOT floor as well as trading securities and arbitraging interest rates at...

American Association of Professional Technical Analysts 2011 Conference

April 8-9, 2011 In the mood for an intense, thought provoking two full days focused on technical analysis? You’ll find that and much more at the American Association of Professional Technical Analysts 2011 conference April 8th and 9th in Marina del Rey, California. To make the most of your networking time with more than 100 attendees from all fields of Technical Analysis, plan to arrive on the 7th and depart on the 10th. The cost for the entire conference is $425. But for various 1 day and companion pricing options please go to the www.aapta.com web site and click on the upper right hand hand tab for more 2011 conference information. The 2011 AAPTA conference will be held at the Marriott Marina Del Rey located at 4100 Admirality way, Marina Del Rey, CA 90922. Book your room directly with the hotel by calling 310-301-3000. AAPTA room rates are $189.00 plus...

Dynamic Strike Price Listing for Dairy, Livestock and Forest Product Options

Beginning June 6, 2011 In response to customer demand, dynamic strike price listing will be available for Livestock, Dairy and Forest product options on futures beginning June 6, 2011. Dynamic strike price listing provides customers with the ability to trade in a strike price that has not previously been listed. The dynamically listed strike price must be in a proper strike interval and will be listed the first day on the open outcry platform, before being available the next business day on CME Globex. » For more details and contact information click here Livestock, Dairy and Forest product options are listed with and subject to the rules and regulations of CME.

Managed Funds Association | Forum 2011

June 21-22, 2011 • Fairmont Millennium Park, Chicago Forum 2011 is MFA's 17th Annual Managed Futures and Global Macro Strategies conference. Forum 2011 is designed to engage MFA's members with institutional investors to discuss the economy, regulatory reforms, investment opportunities and investor needs. MFA's Forum 2011 will draw more than 400 senior level delegates including hedge fund advisers, commodity trading advisors, fund of funds, institutional investors and service providers to the alternative investment industry. Forum 2011 offers a rich educational program featuring industry thought leaders. The conference also provides ample networking opportunities and an informative exhibition hall. This year, MFA celebrates its 20-year Anniversary as the industry's leading advocate. Engage with a Distinguished Faculty of Speakers at Forum 2011 Please visit the Managed Funds website for more details about the Luncheon Presentations.

6th Annual FIA and OIC New York Equity Options Conference

New York Stock Exchange / New York Marriott Marquis* New York, NY September 13-14, 2011 *The Tuesday, September 13 opening session and reception will be held at the New York Stock Exchange; the Wednesday, September 14 sessions will be held at the NY Marriott Marquis. Last year, more than 340 business, trading, and legal options industry professionals from 120+ firms gathered to discuss market structure issues, hear from exchange CEOs, and network with peers in this program is planned by the industry for the industry. Contact Toni Vitale Chan at tvitale-chan@futuresindustry.org or 312.636.2919 for information on sponsorships and exhibits. FIA and OIC New York Equity Options Conference

In the Future IBs and Financial Advisors Compete Head to Head

In the Future IBs and Financial Advisors Compete Head to Head By Mark Melin | Author High Performance Managed Futures and division director at PFGBest. In my last article, I mentioned that managed futures could grow to a $3 trillion industry rather quickly. This is an admittedly optimistic projection, but then I’ve been witnessing some very interesting developments that make this projection seem more plausible – and most of this is coming from the equity world. There are several well-known financial advisor-based firms that are preparing to descend on the managed futures industry with a force our industry has never seen. Essentially, these household names have figured it out. Managed futures is uncorrelated to the stock market at the performance driver level. Their investor client’s don’t need to understand this, but now that the equity world gets it they can start marketing investment portfolios not entirely tied to the performance...

Performance Reporting Back on the Front Burner for CTAs and CPOs

Earlier this year, the CFTC proposed the following amendments to certain Sections of Part 4 of the Regulations which affect the registration and reporting requirements of CTAs and CPOs, including: Requiring a new data collection system for CPOs and CTAs, including monthly and quarterly performance information for each commodity pool managed by a CPO. Rescinding the exemptions from registration of CPOs and CTAs. Increasing the threshold for qualification as a QEP. Requiring annual audited financial statements for previously exempted pools operating under Regulation §4.7. Require the annual filing of notices claiming exemptive relief. New risk disclosure requirements for CPOs and CTAs. The rescinding of the exemptions for registration may result in the newly registered CPOs and CTAs to comply with the performance reporting rules under Regulations §4.25 and §4.35. As a result of the proposed new registration and as a refresher for existing CTAs and CPOs, the following is a...

An Examination of CFTC Rule 1.71

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has proposed rule 1.71 that establishes conflicts of interest requirements for futures commission merchants (FCMs) and introducing brokers (IBs). The proposed rule is meant to deter non-research employees such as sales and trading personnel from influencing the content of research reports prepared by research analysts employed at the same company or an affiliate. The CFTC had a comment period which closed January 18th. There is no timeline for when a final rule may be published. The proposed rule was brought on by Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act), which directs FCMs and IBs to implement informational partitions between those researching or analyzing prices or markets for commodities and those involved in trading or clearing activities. Specifically, the rule in pertinent part requires: Persons researching or analyzing the price or market for any commodity are separated by...

By NIBARead article

May 12, 2011

2 min read

NFA | Notice: I-11-07

Recent Changes to NFA's Self-Examination Questionnaire and Interpretive Notice 9020 entitled Compliance Rules 2-9, 2-36 and 2-39: Self-Audit Questionnaires April 12, 2011 NFA requires all Members to review the Self-Examination Questionnaire on a yearly basis in order to help Members identify and correct any supervisory deficiencies. As originally drafted, the Questionnaire contained a general section for all Members as well as a supplemental section specifically tailored for FCMs, IBs, CPOs and CTAs. NFA recently added a section to the Questionnaire specifically tailored to an FDM's operations (e.g., trading systems, disclosure obligations and trading standards) and updated other Questionnaire sections to assist other Members engaging in forex transactions in reviewing their forex operations. In addition to these changes, NFA modified the Questionnaire as follows: Changed the format from a checklist to a questionnaire in order to generate a "yes" or "no" response from the Member completing the questionnaire; Identified CFTC and/or...

Five Quick Social Media Tips for IBs and CTAs

Last week, Phil and I spoke at the National Introducing Brokers Association (NIBA) New York conference. We discussed the topic of lead generation and how IBs (introducing brokers) can use social media to grow their businesses. After the session, we had opportunity to talk to a number of IBs and CTAs (commodity trading advisors) about the challenges they encounter in building their businesses. Most rely heavily on cold calling, seminars, and referrals to generate new business. The common complaint we heard over and over is that these IBs and CTAs lack the time and resources to dedicate to building a presence online. As we looked at several of their websites and LinkedIn profiles, we discovered some consistent issues: Their websites often include a lot of educational content, but there is no lead capture mechanism to identify prospects who are using that content. The only lead capture form on most sites...

By NIBARead article

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