NIBA - Celebrating 35 Years

NIBA Journal

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

Member Announcements
2 min read

DePaul University Derivatives Briefing Summary, NFA Cybersecurity Requirements

On July 14, 2016, NIBA hosted a cybersecurity panel focused on the new NFA requirements that became effective on March 1, 2016. Dale Spoljaric of NFA, Gil Vega of CME and Matt Kluchenek of Baker McKenzie addressed various issues and practical considerations associated with the new requirements. The panel was moderated by Jeff Henderson of Greenberg Traurig.   Dale Spoljaric focused on the new requirements and the approach that NFA is taking in connection with its audit of member firms’ policies and procedures. Mr. Spoljaric emphasized that NFA plans to provide education to its members as the new requirements are phased in, and also plans to be flexible, recognizing that a one-size-fits-all approach is not practical in light of the size and operating differences among firms. NFA recognizes the rapidly changing nature of technology and the threat to information systems, and as result encourages its members to be continually vigilant...

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Trading Technology
2 min read

Utilities Look Beyond Fintech to Create Innovation in the Market

Fintech is more than just a buzzword. Fintech represents the innovation in services and technology that will disrupt business models, business processes and software applications in the coming years, in nearly every financial services business globally. Examples abound in digital strategy and transformation, blockchain and distributed ledgers, and more. But where do industry utilities fit into this exciting new world of innovation? Utilities are another form of innovation that take the operations and technology processing that is replicated over and over again in the industry and consolidate it into a single, standardized operating model. The goal of utilities is to shift the responsibility for maintaining and investing in non-differentiating processes and technology to vendors, so seeing the words “utility” and “innovation” in the same sentence may seem like a contradiction in terms, but I beg to differ. Utilities are incentivized to make further investments in technology automation to achieve the...

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Member Announcements
1 min read

Thank you DePaul University & Exchange Analytics

Thank you DePaul University & Exchange Analytics   Over 130 industry professionals and supporters were registered for the NIBA Joint Briefing at the Chicago downtown campus of DePaul University, July 14. Thank you to co-sponsors DePaul University -- especially Dr. Carl Luft, Alex Perry and Kelly Bakas of DePaul’s Arditti Center, and Exchange Analytics.   Both business sessions were videotaped by DePaul personnel and will be available to members on the NIBA website. Coupons provided by Exchange Analytics can be redeemed for FREE AML & Cybersecurity Training within 30 days of the meeting. Questions regarding the training or the coupons should be directed to Larry Israel, lisrael@xanalytics.com.   Jerry Nolan, County Cork LLC, and member of the NIBA Board of Directors, chaired this event. His committee included Mark Washack, Wedbush Futures, Steve Petillo, NIBA, Mike Burke, HighGround Trading, Tom Sandy, Rice Dairy LLC, Carla Peterson, Stewart-Peterson Group, Holli Kranz, Gate...

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Member Announcements
1 min read

Save-the-Date: September 14, NIBA Membership Meeting - CME Group Bldg. Chicago

Registration is open now for the Annual NIBA Membership Meeting. CME Group will host the Association at 20 So. Wacker, Chicago. This meeting is a full-day event of six business session which include, among others: - Sessions specifically for CTAs -  Compliance updates on hot topic Regulation -  NFA IB & CTA Representatives Report to the NIBA   Our day includes a Continental Breakfast, Lunch, all breaks and a networking reception. NIBA members attend FREE.   Ryan Griffeth, Postrock Brokerage & Steve Petillo, NIBA co-chair this event along with Brian Gaffud, Rosenthal Collins Group. We are still forming the full committee and welcome suggestions and volunteers. Please contact Ryan, ryan.griffeth@postrockbrokerage.com or Steve, stevepetillo@gmail.com.   Mark your calendars now to attend the NIBA Annual Membership Meeting, September 14 at the CME Group Building, Chicago.  

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Member Announcements
1 min read

2016 NIBA DePaul Futures Panel Introduction

Marketing and raising assets for managed futures is more than talking to investors and explaining your respective fund. It also includes adhering to proper compliance, regulations and operational activities to market managed futures. Your portfolio may find an interest with investors, but could your operations and processes turn investors away or worse? This panel will discuss some of the do’s and don’ts and resources from a compliance / operational standpoint of marketing managed futures. You will hear discussions from a very experienced panel of practitioners involved in different aspects of the industry. This topic is important to industry participants in various segments of the industry including portfolio management/ research, marketing, legal, accounting, compliance, operations and due diligence. The panel includes: -Mike Coglianese, Michael Coglianese CPA, PC -Carl Gilmore, Integritas Financial Consulting -John Brand, NFA -Brian Clark, Ascent -David Rayna, R.J. OASIS Moderator: Mark Shore, Shore Capital Research LLC & DePaul...

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Member Announcements
1 min read

CME Cattle Volatility FAQ

CME Group addresses increased volatility within the livestock sector and answers the most frequently asked questions. CME Group values our relationship with the cattle community and is committed to helping producers and other cattle market participants manage their price risk.  Since the NCBA’s convention in January, we’ve implemented a messaging efficiency policy in our CME livestock contracts, formed a joint NCBA-CME working group to better understand the industry’s concerns and further enhance CME livestock markets, and taken other steps to address customer concerns about cattle market volatility.  We recognize this continues to be a concern for some customers and wanted to address some of the most frequently asked questions we’ve received about volatility in cattle markets. Click here to view the PDF

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Housekeeping
3 min read

Housekeeping, Reminders and Updates

Late Fee for CTA and CPO Quarterly Reports On June 21, 2016, the National Futures Association (“NFA”) announced an amendment to NFA Compliance Rule 2-46 (“Rule 2-46”), which will a impose late fee for commodity trading advisors (“CTAs”) and commodity pool operators (“CPOs”) quarterly reports filed after the due date. Form PQR is the quarterly report for CPOs and Form PR is the quarterly report for CTAs. As per the amendment, CTAs and CPOs will be fined $200 for each business day the quarterly report is past due. The effective date of the amendment to Rule 2-46 will begin with the third quarter reports for 2016. The NFA Notice to Members I-16-16 announced the amendment to Rule 2-46. The proposed amendment to Rule 2-46 was submitted to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) in May 2016. COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION Final Cross-Border Margin Rule In Press Release PR 73730-16, the...

By NIBARead article
2 min read

Ask the NFA

NIBA: Ask NFA June 2016 As your industry advocate, the NIBA provides many services which help your business stay in compliance with NFA regulations. "Ask the NFA," is the way you can ask questions about those regulations and compliance requirements without having to call NFA directly. Just email us at nfacomments@theniba.com and we will get the answers for you. Please keep in mind the purpose of this contact is to keep the lines of communication between the NFA and NIBA members. The answers were supplies by NFA staff. This month's questions were selected from those submitted by NIBA members. The answers were supplied by NFA staff. What is the general focus of an NFA audit for a CTA? Because each firm has its own risks, the focus of CTA examinations is determined on a case-by-case basis. In general, during a CTA examination, NFA looks to ensure that the CTA is...

By NIBARead article
2 min read

Notice to Members I-16-16

Effective date of amendment to Compliance Rule 2-46: Late fee for NFA Forms PQR and PR filings NFA recently amended NFA Compliance Rule 2-46 to impose a $200 late fee on commodity pool operator (CPO) and commodity trading advisor (CTA) Members for each business day the Member files its quarterly NFA Form PQR or PR after the due date. The late fee is effective for all NFA Forms PQR and PR required under NFA Compliance Rule 2-46 beginning with reports dated September 30, 2016 and later. For Form PQR, the late fee will apply to the CPO entity and will not be assessed on each pool operated by the CPO that has a late filing. NFA is imposing this late fee to encourage the limited number of CPOs and CTAs that file late reports to make timely filings. A late fee for these reports is consistent with NFA's practice of...

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Marketing
1 min read

CME QuikStrike

CME Group is excited to partner with QuikStrike to provide customers with a free interactive option pricing and analysis tool. This resource provides a view into a large breadth of our options contracts, in addition to visibility into current and historical volatility (by strike), concise volume and open interest information, delta sheets, options pricing analysis, spread analysis & risk graphs. Visit cmegroup.com/quikstrike for more information. Video Link

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