NIBA Journal

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

November 21, 2019

Chairman's Letter - November 2019

Turkey, Pumpkin Pie & Vodka Martinis It’s election time again. NFA has announced candidates for terms expiring -- you should have received their notice. This year, all candidates are running unopposed. Official results of that election will be announced in January. NFA is also launch several updates to the ORS system. The changes will include updates to applications and processes for both firm and individual registrations. NFA is holding a webinar on November 25 to explain updates - you must register to attend. NIBA also sent notice of two nominee candidates for our Board of Directors. Katie Tervin (Zaner Group) and John Roe (BTR Trading) are longtime members of NIBA - each has volunteered to plan and implement conferences and various other projects for years. The results of that election - along with various board-appointed positions, will be announced in December’s association newsletter. NIBA welcomes Phillip Capital as an Annual...

By NIBARead article

October 31, 2019

3 min read

GCSI 2019 Cyber Security Conference

GCSI is returning this year after bringing together executives, thought leaders, and experts from Chicago's F500 companies and government entities at our first conference in 2018. This year, we're are bringing together more than 200 high-level cybersecurity leaders, senior executives, C-level executives, CISOs, compliance specialists, and security officers for sessions focused on Cyber Security, Strategy, and Risk & Budgeting. The GCSI conference is a partnership between the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) and Pan Asian American Business council (PAABC). We will host our second GCSI conference from 9am to 6pm, Friday, November 13 at Chicago - Kent College of Law, 565 W. Adams St., Chicago. GCSI was organized in October 2016 to address the SEC and FINRA’s annual areas of concern for their member firms. Since then we've brought together hundreds of CXO leaders from companies like Wealthfront, VSEC, CNA Insurance, University of Chicago Medicine, Northern Trust, Paylocity, CISO Spotlight,...

NFA webinars for Swaps Proficiency Requirements Administrators

NFA's Swaps Proficiency Requirements will launch and become accessible online on January 31, 2020. For details regarding who must fulfill these requirements, see Notice to Members I-19-09. Each NFA Member with associated persons (AP) required to take these requirements must designate at least one Swaps Proficiency Requirements Administrator (SPR Admin) who will coordinate enrollment and track progress. An SPR Admin must also be an ORS Security Manager. An NFA Member may designate an SPR Admin(s) on or after November 1, 2019. NFA will email specific instructions and the relevant link to Members on November 1st. NFA will hold the first of three webinars for SPR Admins next Wednesday, October 23, 2019 at 9:30 a.m. CT/10:30 a.m. ET. If you've already registered, thank you. We look forward to your participation. If you are interested in attending and haven't yet signed up, register now. NFA will hold two additional, identical webinars on...

Seven Themes to Ponder as We Head for 2020

Seven Themes to Ponder as We Head for 2020 From the protracted trade war to productivity growth to low inflation, there are seven key factors dominating investors' decision-making going into 2020. Click Here to Read Full Report

Your Ideas Wanted....

Have you ever attended a conference or a meeting and thought “Wow, I could have come up with a better topic than that.” Well...here’s your chance! NIBA’s Annual NYC meeting is in the planning stages. Send us your suggestions for topics, speakers or issues. Better yet -- how about volunteering to help out on the steering committee and on the day of the event? Just contact Melinda, melinda@futuresrep.com or Steve, spetillo@straitsfinancial.com. The NIBA Annual NYC meeting will be held on April 22 at the New York Athletic Club. Business sessions begin at 1:30pm, immediately followed by cocktails. All of NIBA’s member programs are planned by the members, for the members. Maybe the time is right for you to get involved. Add, if NYC isn’t your thing, not a problem...committees will form soon for our 7th NIBA/DePaul Symposium (Chicago/July) and the 29th Annual Membership Meeting (Chicago/Sept). Just let Melinda or Steve...

Chairman's Letter - October 2019

National Pizza Month/Octoberfest Most NIBA members were severely affected - directly or as industry professionals - by MF Global’s failure under Jon Corzine’s leadership. We have all spent the last several years repairing the damage done to our businesses, our client relationships and to our industry’s reputation. On behalf of our membership, NIBA fully supported the decision to revoke Mr. Corzine’s license following the collapse of MF Global and we have voiced strong opposition to granting registration individually or to any company controlled by Corzine. Most of you likely signed the petition addressed to the SEC which CTA representatives to the NFA Board of Directors Doug Bry and Ernest Jaffarian circulated this summer. So, we were stunned when the SEC decided to grant a Corzine-controlled firm investment advisor registration status. True, the registration comes with some specific conditions negotiated by Mr. Corzine’s attorneys. But, even with those limitations, it is...

NYC Apr 22, 2020 Save the Date

NIBA will hold its 7th Annual New York City Conference, April 22 at the New York Athletic Club. The NYAC is located in midtown Manhattan. It’s a beautiful venue, easy to get to and just perfect for an afternoon of learning and networking with other derivatives professionals! Mark your calendar now for April 22. Space at NYAC is limited - you don’t want to miss out on what is sure to be a valuable, actionable and fun afternoon. To volunteer for the planning committee, contact Steve, spetillo@straitsfinancial.com or Melinda, melinda@futuresrep.com. PS: Check out the 2018 Annual NYC Conference video on the NIBA website. And email Steve or Melinda with suggestions for 2020 speakers, topics and sessions.

Chairman's Letter - September 2019

September - Better Breakfast Month Bourbon Heritage Month It is sometimes hard for me to believe that NIBA has been around for over a quarter of a century. Since its founding in 1991, we’ve had both boom and bust years - just like the markets themselves. While the membership and our focus issues have changed with the times, NIBA’s commitment to education has never changed. On September 12, we presented the 28th Annual Fall Members Meeting at IIT, Stuart School of Business in Chicago. The full-day meeting left attendees with information on marketing, compliance and much more. A video of the day’s events, including interviews with CME Group’s Bryan Durkin and Scott Parsons of Delta Strategies will be posted a theniba.com shortly. A check of the latest NFA registration numbers show that registered CTAs now outnumber registered IBs. CTA registrations as of the first of September are 1,536 while IBs...

NFA Launches Redesigned BASIC Tool

NFA's BASIC system is a free due diligence tool on NFA's website that allows the public to research the background and history of firms and individuals in the derivatives industry. Originally launched in 1999, BASIC contains current and historical CFTC registration and NFA membership information, NFA Member futures commission merchants' financial data, and NFA, CFTC and Exchange-contributed regulatory information, among other details. On average, there are nearly 200,000 BASIC searches performed each month. In response to feedback collected from BASIC users, NFA launched its updated BASIC system in August 2019. The rebuild incorporates mobile responsiveness, a more robust search, improved navigation and a modern, intuitive user interface. Click here to perform a BASIC search.

How Cash-Settled Fertilizer Futures Work

Read an overview of cash settled futures, including a comparison to physical delivery, a look at daily settlements, and more. Read Now Here

By NIBARead article

Page 11