NIBA Journal

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

June 14, 2018

CME Group Education: Managed Futures

Educational Course: About Managed Futures Since the advent of investing, participants have always faced a dilemma: where, among the many asset classes, should an investor allocate their money. Layered on top of this important question are additional challenges facing the investor, like where to find global diversification, liquidity, non-correlation, transparency, and long and short strategies. Very few investments encompass all of these features, illustrated in figure 1 below. But managed futures satisfy many, if not all, of the prerequisites an investor needs. View Educational Course.

DePaul/NIBA Summer Symposium

The 5th annual joint NIBA/DePaul University Symposium to take place on Wednesday, August 8, at the DePaul University’s downtown campus located at 1 E. Jackson Blvd, Chicago, from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Doors open at 1:30 p.m., and the program ends with a wonderful cocktail reception starting at 5:00 p.m., on DePaul’s beautiful rooftop patio. A line up of special guest speakers will discuss a variety current and relevant topics that you’ll find interesting and informative. Space is filling up quickly so Please register soon for this special event! REGISTER HERE

Chairman's Letter - June 2018

Scholars generally agree that June is named after Lucius Junius Brutus (545-509 BC), the soldier-legislator credited with founding the Roman Republic after he overthrew its longstanding monarchy. In addition to being the most popular month for weddings in the United States, June also includes National Ice Cream Soda Day (June 20) and National Take Your Dog to Work Day (June 23). On June 5, NFA announced its intent to develop proficiency requirements for individuals who engage in swaps activities. The program will be applicable to all APs at FCMs, IBs, CTAs, CPOs and APs at swaps dealers and accessible online. NFA has formed an Advisory Committee to develop the requirements, and invites members to provide input or suggestions. Call Kristen Scaletta, Associate Director of Communications at (312)781-7860 or send her an email, kscaletta@nfa.futures.org. The CFTC held an open meeting on June 4 to discuss among other issues: (i) proposed rule...

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May 30, 2018

1 min read

NIBA @ NFA DC

On May 17, I represented the NIBA at the U.S. House Agricultural Committee Reception hosted by the NFA. This annual event takes during the days NFA holds its board meeting in Washington. Mike Burke and Scott Stewart, IIB representative and GIB representatives respectively were both in DC for these meetings. While in Washington, Mike and I visited with the CFTC to discuss issues suggested by NIBA members. A summary of that meeting will be posted in a future newsletter. Discussions were also held with members of the legislature, the FIA and to further the planning for both our DePaul Symposium and September member meetings.

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May 30, 2018

1 min read

2018 GDPR

The US is not the only part of the world with new regulation to comply with. The EU has recently put forth the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). If you do not do business in the EU an do not have any customers from that region - this is as far as you need to read. However, if you do have EU based customers or offices in the EU, please refer to the link below for additional information regarding the GDPR and how it comes into play for your operation. If you have questions or concerns please feel free to let us know and we can suggest one of our service providers in the legal and compliance areas that are well versed in this area of regulation. GDPR INFORMATION

Registration Open - DePaul Summer Event

The 5th annaul joint DePaul/NIBA Summer Symposium is set to take place on August 8th. Registration is now open! Be sure to secure your spot now as space will be limited. Check back as we announce more detail about this year's program. REGISTER HERE

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Housekeeping, Reminders and Updates - May 2018

May 30, 2018

3 min read

Housekeeping, Reminders and Updates - May 2018

Written by: Mark E. Ruddy, Esq. Maria Fielding National Futures Association (“NFA”) Stays Virtual Currency Reporting Requirements NFA announced on December 14, 2017 that it would require additional reporting requirements from commodity pool operators (“CPOs”) and commodity trading advisors (“CTAs”) who are involved in virtual currency transactions and introducing brokers (“IBs”) who accept orders in virtual currency derivatives. On March 27, 2018, NFA released Notice to Members I-18-07 to inform CPOs, CTAs, and IBs that they are currently not required to file the additional reporting requirements previously announced in December 2017. NFA cautioned, however, that it may contact individual firms for additional information. The NFA announced the additional reporting requirements for CPOs and CTAs in Notice to Members I-17-28 and the additional reporting requirements for IBs in Notice to Members I-17-29. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) Updates Jurisdictions with Deficiencies On April 27, 2018, FinCEN released an advisory updating their...

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May 30, 2018

1 min read

CME Market Regulation Team

CME Group's Market Regulation Department works to protect the market integrity of all four of its Exchanges - CME, CBOT, NYMEX & COMEX. Take a look at the "Meet the Team" video below produced by CME. These videos are very informative and make for great content when educating new brokers or market participants. NIBA will be publishing more video content on a regular basis and we encourage our members to utilize these tools on their websites and other mediums.

CME SOFR Futures

CME Group: Now Available: SOFR Futures Based on extensive customer input, CME Group has launched 3-Month and 1-Month SOFR futures contracts. Endorsed by the Alternative Reference Rate Committee (ARRC) in June 2017, the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) is a broad Treasuries overnight repo financing rate published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in cooperation with the U.S. Office of Financial Research starting April 3, 2018. SOFR Futures trade alongside highly-liquid Eurodollar, Fed Fund and Treasury futures to offer enhanced spread trading capabilities via CME Globex intercommodity spreads and capital efficiencies through margin offsets. Launched May 7, in the first two days of trading, sixty global firms participated in trading activity and open interest reached 2,500 contracts. Learn more

Chairman's Letter - May 2018

During the late Russian Empire (about 211-476 CE), May or “mayovka” literally referred to a picnic in the countryside in the early days of the month. Will complying with NFA Anti-Money Laundering regulation changes be a “picnic in the countryside” for registrants? Under the changes FCMs and IBs must identify, and be able to verify the identity of the beneficial owners of legal entity customers opening new accounts after the effective date of the rule change, May 11, 2018. Additionally, FCMs and IBs must include risk-based ongoing Customer Due Diligence (CDD) procedures in their AML programs. Many FCMs began modifying systems and requirements to implement these changes from approximately August, 2016 when they were announced by FinCEN, so for many IBs, rule change will not cause difficulties. Contact your FCM for assistance in understanding the requirement and implementation. Also on May 11, NFA issued a Notice to Members regarding a...

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