NIBA - Celebrating 35 Years

NIBA Journal

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

Recap: “Forex Exchange Traded or Cash?” - April 18, 2012, New York City Conference
Marketing
2 min read

Recap: “Forex Exchange Traded or Cash?” - April 18, 2012, New York City Conference

The kick-off session at the April 18, Spring NIBA meeting in New York City was concentrated on Forex Transactions. The panel was sponsored by the CME Group and included Craig LeVeille, Executive Director, FX Products, CME Group, Steven Hatzakis, Steven Joseph Hatzakis, CTA and Raphael Savrnoch, Vice-President, Business Development, Alpari US. In the audience interactive discussion, we focused on four specific areas: 1. FX Market Developments in General 2. Challenges with both Forex OTC and Forex Futures 3. Reasons to Trade Spot FX On-Exchange 4. Reasons to Trade FX Off-Exchange The panel reported results of recent surveys which indicate that Spot Forex appears to be the most popular and fastest growing segment of foreign exchange. Spot FX on-exchange offers the reputation and creditworthiness of an exchanged-traded product, while off-exchange FX can provide the customized contract sizes and competitive pricing desired by some traders. From either point of view, the point...

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Interconti Limited | May 2012 - Focus on the Membership
Focus on the Membership
5 min read

Interconti Limited | May 2012 - Focus on the Membership

Primary Business Operating under a “Service Bureau” business model, Interconti provides Marketing, Research and Consulting services to the investment industry, specializing in, but not limited to, futures and managed futures products. As we don’t operate in a brokerage capacity, we don’t deal with end-users, preferring to operate on a strictly “B2B” basis. We view our primary market as smaller retail FCMs and IBs who desire to offer managed futures product/exposure to their clients but to do so without undertaking the potentially substantial capital allocation normally required, searching out appropriate internal department-head talent and suffering the almost inevitable reticence of IIBs and GIBs alike to share their hard-won client information, not to mention commission income, with representatives of the parent or clearing entity. A more complete description of methodology, practices & services can be found here: http://www.intercontilimited.com/interconti_services.pdf By whom, and how was the firm started? Interconti was originally founded by Tim...

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Bylaw 1101 Implications of the Recent CFTC Part 4 Changes
Marketing
2 min read

Bylaw 1101 Implications of the Recent CFTC Part 4 Changes

Recently, the CFTC issued rules to eliminate the 4.13(a)(4) exemption and add marketing and trading restrictions to the 4.5 exemption that exempted certain pool operators from registering as a CPO. Although the effective date of the 4.5 changes is still pending, entities that currently hold 4.13(a)(4) exemptions will only remain exempt until December 31, 2012. Prior to that date, exempt CPOs will need to consider whether their trading activities will qualify for an alternative exemption or whether they will need to become registered as a CPO. Another of the recently adopted changes requires an annual reaffirmation of the remaining exemptions. Exempt pool operators will have 60 days after the calendar year-end to complete the reaffirmation process. Failure to reaffirm an exemption will result in the automatic withdraw of the exemption after the 60 days. Pursuant to NFA Bylaw 1101, all NFA Members have the obligation to ensure that they are...

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TelventDTN Market Update
Marketing
1 min read

TelventDTN Market Update

DTN ProphetX is the flagship technical analysis and trading package offered by TelventDTN. In serving DTN ProphetX customers around the globe, we see new requirements every day. The software must handle higher volumes in just about all markets. We also continue to encounter new demands for data and specialized product capabilities. In meeting these challenges, we continue to add access to futures markets around the globe as well as adding more and more cash pricing data in grains, energies, industrial goods and more. Through periodic releases of the software, new features are added regularly.  We continue to add content and enhance our award winning news and weather delivery, and back it all up with world class technical support. Find more information about DTN ProphetX and the rest of the TelventDTN suite of products at http://www.telvent.com/en/business_areas/   The Opinions expressed are the opinions of the author. The opinions, the trading styles,...

By NIBARead article
NIBA’s Semi-Annual Legal Review Summary
Marketing
2 min read

NIBA’s Semi-Annual Legal Review Summary

Many introducing brokers (IBs) have claims in the MF Global Inc. (MFGI) SIPA liquidation. These claims have generally been for IB proprietary funds held in MFGI segregated futures accounts and for commissions earned during October 2011, although some IBs are also evaluating the potential for other claims based on damages and lost profits deriving from MFGI's collapse. Claims for funds held in futures accounts were commodity customer claims that needed to be filed by January 31, 2012. Claims for brokerage commissions earned during October 2011 are general unsecured claims that must be filed by June 2, 2012. The MFGI trustee has indicated that he will provide October 2011 commission run statements to IBs who request them to the extent the run statements are available. Claim traders are apparently offering around 20 cents on the dollar to purchase general unsecured claims, so IBs may be able to sell their claims for...

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NFA Spreads Investor Education Message During The Fed's Money Smart Week
Member Announcements
3 min read

NFA Spreads Investor Education Message During The Fed's Money Smart Week

Coordinated by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, National Futures Association and other strategic partners such as the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Chicago Board Options Exchange and the CME Group, have come together to organize Money Smart Week. From April 21-28, more than 450 free educational classes, seminars and activities will be offered around the Chicagoland area focusing on financial topics for people of all walks of life. On Wednesday, April 25, NFA will join other regulatory and enforcement agencies at a Financial Regulators Fair at the State of Illinois Building, Thompson Center. Representatives from twelve agencies, including the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) will distribute information on financial protection, banking, credit and investing. The event will run from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. "When making important financial decisions, even simple...

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Gate 39 Media Launches Online Managed Futures Portfolio Management Tool—Clarity Portfolio Viewer™
Member Announcements
3 min read

Gate 39 Media Launches Online Managed Futures Portfolio Management Tool—Clarity Portfolio Viewer™

Chicago, IL—April 17, 2012—Gate 39 Media, a web marketing and development firm specializing in online solutions for the futures industry, announces the launch of its Clarity Portfolio Viewer™. Clarity Portfolio Viewer provides investors with instant access to the daily performance of their managed futures investments online; and for futures brokerages and Futures Commission Merchants (FCMs) it provides data across the managed futures accounts they manage. Clarity Portfolio Viewer’s format is understandable, attractive, and easy to read. Upon login, investors are clearly presented with the performance of their entire futures portfolio on a single screen. At a glance, investors know the profitability of their managed futures investments. Investment data is updated daily—not monthly like a statement. Investors can easily access statistics and account information such as rate of return, margin to equity, drawdowns, and more. The Clarity Portfolio Viewer also allows investors to quickly access reports such as margins, drawdowns, and...

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CME Group Family Farmer and Rancher Protection Fund Update
MF Global Updates
2 min read

CME Group Family Farmer and Rancher Protection Fund Update

By Bryan Durkin, CME Group Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director, Products & Services We are pleased to announce that registration resources are now available for the CME Group Family Farmer and Rancher Protection Fund. This $100 million program has been established to provide further protection of customer segregated funds for U.S. family farmers and ranchers who hedge their business in CME Group futures markets. For registration forms and further information, please consult www.cmegroup.com/familyfarmerfund. Under the terms of the Family Farmer and Rancher Protection Fund, farmers and ranchers using CME Group products will be eligible for up to $25,000 per participant in the case of losses resulting from the future insolvency of a clearing member or other market participant. Farming and ranching cooperatives also will be eligible for up to $100,000 per cooperative. Since the failure of MF Global, in which a clearing firm violated CFTC regulations and misused customer...

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FIA Special Report: House Financial Services Panel Holds Third MF Global Hearing
Marketing
6 min read

FIA Special Report: House Financial Services Panel Holds Third MF Global Hearing

Lawmakers on the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing on March 28 to investigate the events that led to the loss of customer funds at MF Global during its final days before going into bankruptcy. The witnesses included four current and former MF Global executives. At the start of the hearing, Representative Randy Neugebauer (R-Tex.), the chairman of the subcommittee, emphasized to the witnesses that his committee is simply trying to discover what took place. “This is a hearing and not a trial,” Neugebauer said at the onset of the three-hour hearing. “It's important that we understand what was going on corporately, what was going on from a regulatory standpoint, and really what was going on within the systems that support this entity and these businesses.” Representative Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.),the chairman of the full committee, also repeated that none of the witnesses have...

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Chairman's Message | April 2012
Member Announcements
3 min read

Chairman's Message | April 2012

For the past several years, I have served a s Special Advisor to the IB Advisory Committee of the NFA. At last week’s meeting, NFA staff presented several proposals in response to the MF Global collapse. These proposals would enable the NFA to work more closely with other SROs to recognize warning signs of imminent FCM failing(s). These proposals also include means by which professionals and the trading public can access information about their FCM more easily and in a more transparent form. Here is a short summary. The IB Advisory Committee viewed these ideas as favorable. Some will begin to take affect as soon as late spring; others require further approval and cooperation among regulatory entities. Requiring all FCMs to file daily seg reports. This report is already required at the NFA; now this will be required at all SROs. (According to reports, MFG was on daily reporting to...

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