NIBA Journal

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

October 8, 2020

Cyber Security Update - October 2020

Work from Home has moved the front-line in cyber attacks from office desks to kitchen tables, and NFA member firms are responsible to follow the security guidelines of NFA 9070 no matter where they do business. Based on insurance claims, ransomware attacks and false-invoice scams are among the most common cyber crimes in 2020, with phishing emails and fake website links the most frequent paths for malware. The following steps will help you stay secure: Be very suspicious of email or website links you don’t recognize, and even be cautious of those that look familiar - it is simple for hackers to impersonate people and sites. Be very careful with work emails asking for urgent payments, especially if they provide new payment instructions. If you can, call to confirm. Turn on 2 Factor Authentication whenever possible. This sends a confirmation email or text when you login to a system, which...

By NIBARead article

August 20, 2020

8 min read

CFTC’S CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESPONSE

CFTC’s Coronavirus (COVID-19) Response By: Jua T. Tawah, Esq. As the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission) began taking action in response to the COVID-19 pandemic back in March, CFTC Chairman Heath Tarbert issued public remarks in which he laid out five key objectives of the agency’s pandemic response including:[1] Increasing monitoring and surveillance of derivatives markets and their participants; Leveraging the CFTC’s regulatory framework to promote orderly and liquid markets; Responding swiftly to changing conditions with practical, targeted relief; Communicating consistently and transparently with all stakeholders; and Maintaining the CFTC’s commitment to advancing the agency’s strategic goals. In his public remarks, Chairman Tarbert explained that the first objective was being met by the CFTC engaging with clearinghouses, exchanges and analyzing market activity; monitoring infrastructure essential to orderly trading; and surveying markets to detect and pursue potential misconduct.[2] Meanwhile, the second objective was being met by the Commission aggressively...

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CFTC Announces Finalization of 2020-2024 Strategic Plan

July 9, 2020

2 min read

CFTC Announces Finalization of 2020-2024 Strategic Plan

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced the finalization of the agency’s 2020-2024 Strategic Plan. The plan was unanimously approved by the Commission in May and was subject to a 30-day comment period that ended in June. “This is a bipartisan, consensus plan that can stand the test of time,” said CFTC Chairman Heath P. Tarbert. “I am proud of the hard work that went into developing the plan and the unanimous support it ultimately received. It will guide the last of the CFTC’s unfinished business to completion and better position the agency to tackle the unwritten future.” The strategic plan calls on the CFTC to focus its work on five strategic goals, each with clearly defined objectives: Strengthening the resilience and integrity of our derivatives markets while fostering their vibrancy; Regulating the derivatives markets to promote the interests of all Americans; Encouraging innovation and enhancing the regulatory experience for market...

Futures That Don’t Look Like Futures

The Small Exchange launched new futures products that pair the efficiency of futures with the simplicity of stocks, on June 1, 2020. Built on the pillars small, standard, and simple, the Smalls cover everything from stocks and bonds to commodities and foreign exchange in a way that is accessible to the everyday trader. After surveying the current landscape for active investing, CEO Donnie Roberts decided that traditional futures had not evolved to meet the needs of the self-directed trader. Small Exchange futures were designed with ease of use in mind, and they cut out the large notional sizes and inconsistent specifications from traditional futures while providing cost-efficient capital requirements. All products from the Small Exchange have the same minimum tick (0.01 that equates to $1) and expiration (third Friday of the month) to go along with a size that is more manageable than most existing futures contracts. Traders and investors...

Chairman's Letter July 2020

Dear Members - As we approach our 30th Anniversary Year, NIBA will look a bit different! Every one of us - IB, CTA, FCM or Service Provider, is crazy busy right now. Working remotely has presented its own challenges and opportunities. NIBA’s mission has always been to make sure you get the information and education you need to meet challenges, recognize opportunities and keep your business growing. NIBA Members have a right to be proud of the Association. At 30-years young, NIBA’s online broker listing is the place potential customers look to when they need a futures or options professional. Additionally, NIBA is among the first to be contacted when regulators want to talk about changes or updates to rules and policies. Although we’re not able to get together at our annual joint DePaul Symposium or catch-up at Rivers with a cocktail after our fall conference, NIBA continues our regular...

The NYSE FANG+ Index and NYSE FANG+ Index Futures

A Comparison to Other Indexes* The NYSE FANG+ Index is up 27.6% so far in 2020 (as of June 12, 2020) vs. 10.7% for the Nasdaq-100 and -5.9% for the S&P 500 Since the low index levels in mid-March, the NYSE FANG+ Index has rebounded significantly more than the other indexes, rising by 54.4% versus 37.9% for the Nasdaq-100 and 35.9% for the S&P 500 The equal weighting scheme coupled with the strong performance of most NYSE FANG+ stocks have been the major factors in the NYSE FANG+ index’s relative outperformance Eight NYSE FANG+ stocks are in the Nasdaq-100 and seven are in the S&P 500 The NYSE FANG+ Index includes Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Google, and five other actively traded growth technology stocks NYSE FANG+ Index futures trade actively on ICE Futures U.S - Find out more… Key Points: Multiple market makers are streaming quotes and providing tight markets...

Midland Trust on Investor Sentiment

What Midland is seeing? As Director of Business Development at Midland Trust, the question that I am getting from everyone I speak to is, “what are your clients doing?”. Insight into investor sentiment is on everyone’s mind in financial services and wondering if they can still attract investors for their investment product. Midland Trust is a leader in providing IRAs for individuals to invest in alternative investments, such as hedge funds, commodity trading strategies, private equity, venture capital, real estate, and much more. Through all my discussions with investment managers and individual investors, I’m hoping to share some insight that you may find interesting. Back in mid-March when the Covid-19 lockdowns started to heat up and markets tanked, we at Midland didn’t know what to think. We had all the same questions that you had at that time with no idea how to prepare. Over the next couple of weeks...

Podcast Interview with Dr. Richard Sandor

The NIBA is proud and excited to announce its first ever podcast. NIBA had the pleasure of hosting an interview of AFX's Dr. Richard Sandor. Our friend and supporter John Nelson of Applied Research conducted a fantastic interview. [audio mp3="https://www.theniba.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/AFX-NIBA-Podcast-May-2020-1.mp3"][/audio]

Analysis of CFTC No Action Letter 20-15

Over the past several months, in ways we never could have imagined, our lives and businesses have changed due to the Coronavirus disease, COVID-19. The global pandemic declared in March 2020 by the World Health Organization has wreaked havoc on all lines of businesses, small and large, across the globe. The futures industry is no exception. Our industry is impacted by the state and local mandated quarantines, and the volatile markets resulting from the vast amount of uncertainty. Thanks to swift actions by our regulators, there has been relief provided to some of the regulatory requirements faced by many, if not all, CFTC registrants and NFA Members. One recent action was taken by the Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (“DSIO”) of the CFTC on April 13, 2020 (CFTC Letter No. 20-15) that came about in response to a joint request from the Futures Industry Association and NIBA on...

NIBA COVID Cyber Security Update by vSEC LLC

The COVID crisis is providing cover and distraction for many cyber attacks. Threats include criminals impersonating the CDC and other official groups to get people to click on links that automatically download malware, fraud attacks that take advantage of market disruptions and ‘Work From Home’ confusion to steal personal information or money, and a general risk that home computers and networks often have fewer security protections than those at work. Here are some suggestions for each. Impersonation Risks You may recognize the person sending you a message (but their email may have been hacked or spoofed), you may recognize the name of the organization (the name may be spoofed), or you may recognize the topic (“emergency credit line request”, “covid test results”). But - be suspicious and be careful. Rather than click on an attachment or link, for public information try to find it yourself via a Google search. Examine...

By NIBARead article

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