NIBA - Celebrating 35 Years

NIBA Journal

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

Focus on the Membership
4 min read

Telvent DTN | Focus on the Membership, February 2012

Primary Business Telvent DTN is a global, industry-leading provider of commodity trading tools and information. Its flagship product, DTN ProphetX®, helps clients make the most profitable trading and risk management decisions possible, across a wide range of commodities, including grains, softs, energy and metals. DTN ProphetX also provides subscribers with sophisticated technical and fundamental analysis, extensive charting features, commodity focused news wires, streaming real-time quotes, and historical data feeds. By employing the largest and most highly-awarded news team in agriculture, Telvent DTN covers the breaking news that drives both the OTC and futures markets to 700,000 subscribers in over 30 countries worldwide, including every major market participant like Bunge, Louis Dreyfus, FCStone, ECOM, Cargill, Noble Resources, Kingsman Sugar and J.P. Morgan. www.telvent.com/trading By whom, and how was the firm started? DTN was founded in 1984, and became part of Telvent in 2008. Telvent DTN became part of Schneider Electric in...

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Member Announcements
2 min read

Chairman's Message | February 2012

Dear Members - On April 18, 2012 you will have the opportunity to ask the CFTC what went wrong at MF Global. We are honored to have Commissioner Jill Sommers speaking to our membership at our annual spring conference. She is the Senior Commissioner with respect to MF Global matter and, as such, Ms. Sommers has testified before both U.S. House of Representatives and Senate committees. Her responsibilities in that matter include exercising executive and administrative authority of the commission in: The pending enforcement investigation The pending bankruptcy actions of both the MFG BD/FCM and the parent company Other actions to recover customer funds and determine reason for the shortfalls in customer funds In addition to Ms. Sommers’ session, the April 18 meeting will feature a discussion on: The pros and cons of cash v. exchange-traded forex How to evaluate the risk of doing business with your FCM A client-driven...

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Marketing
2 min read

ICE Futures U.S. Offers Weekly Option Contracts on Sugar No. 11, Cotton No. 2 and Coffee “C” Futures

ICE Futures U.S. now lists weekly option contracts on Sugar No. 11®, Cotton No. 2® and Coffee “C”® futures contracts. The new weekly option contracts are short-life options that share most of the contract terms of the existing monthly option contracts – including strike price, minimum price quote, trading hours and exercise and assignment provisions. The weekly options, however, expire on a different date than the monthly options, providing an expiration on each Friday that is not already the expiration date for a monthly option on the relevant futures contracts. For each product, three weekly option expirations are listed concurrently, so each weekly option has a trading life of approximately four weeks. A Frequently Asked Questions document is available for the weekly options that covers, for example, how to determine the underlying futures contract for a weekly option and the naming/product code convention for the ICE weekly options. You can...

By NIBARead article
Marketing
2 min read

NFA Requires Updates, Disclosures and Filings from CTAs and CPOs That Managed MF Global Assets

In the wake of the MF Global collapse, NFA is requiring CTAs and CPOs that managed assets at the failed FCM to make certain updates, disclosures and filings. CTAs must calculate their performance capsules in accordance with NFA Notice to Members I-12-04. That notice essentially provides that CTAs with programs involving MF Global managed accounts that were not notionally funded and that were frozen by the bankruptcy should not include the MF Global account performance in the program's track record if the program also had accounts at one or more other FCMs or if the CTA was forced to close positions and cease trading during November, 2011 after positions and margin cash were transferred. In the latter case, the track record should show "NT" for the month, and in the former case only the accounts at other FCMs should be used to calculate performance. If the program had only non-notionally...

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MF Global Updates
4 min read

CME Group Establishes $100M Fund to Provide Additional Protection for Family Farmers and Ranchers

Fund Launched as Initial Step in Restoring Confidence of Market Users CHICAGO, February 2, 2012 – CME Group today announced that it will establish a $100 million fund designed to provide further protection of customer segregated funds for U.S. family farmers and ranchers who hedge their business in CME Group futures markets. In light of the recent MF Global failure, in which a clearing firm violated CFTC regulations and misused customer monies that should have been kept segregated, CME Group is adding this extra security measure to protect the country’s food producers who are using CME Group futures markets to hedge their crops and livestock that feed the world. Under the Family Farmer and Rancher Protection Fund, expected to be in effect by March 1, 2012, farmers and ranchers using CME Group products will be eligible for up to $25,000 per account in the case of losses resulting from the...

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MF Global Updates
4 min read

Trading Program Performance Calculations and Presentation by CTAs with Client Assets held at MF Global, Inc.

Notice to Members I-12-04 January 27, 2012 Frequently Asked Questions - Trading Program Performance Calculations and Presentation by CTAs with Client Assets held at MF Global, Inc. As a result of the October 31, 2011 bankruptcy proceeding involving MF Global, Inc. (MFG), NFA has received a number of questions from CTAs regarding how to calculate and present performance information for Trading Programs with client managed accounts that were affected by the MFG bankruptcy proceeding. NFA is issuing this notice to address those frequently asked questions. 1. All of my managed client accounts were held at MFG. The open positions in those accounts were subsequently transferred to another FCM. After the transfer, I continued to trade the accounts according to the trading program. How do I reflect the performance results? Results should be based upon the assets under the CTA's control. Any customer assets that were not included in the transfer...

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MF Global Updates
1 min read

MF Global Trustee Continues Response to NIBA's Commission Run Request

Over 80 Introducing Brokers have contacted the MF Global Bankruptcy Trustee's office to date to request their October commission runs. The process for requesting your office run is posted in the NIBA update "IBS Granted Access to October Commission Runs" here. Introducing Brokers are able to receive their October MF Global commission runs as a result of a request made by NIBA through its legal advisors, Schuyler, Roche & Crisham, directly to the Trustee in behalf of our members.

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MF Global Updates
2 min read

IBS Granted Access to October Commission Runs

NIBA is pleased to announce that its efforts to gain the release to IBs of their October Commission Runs have been a success. In our ongoing efforts to represent our Members interests in the MF Global bankruptcy, Melinda Schramm worked with NIBA legal counsel Schuyler, Roche & Crisham (“SRC”) to send correspondence dated January 3, 2012, to the Trustee and the Bankruptcy Judge with copies to CFTC, NFA, CME and ICE (view full copy of the letter sent by SRC to the Trustee). The correspondence outlined the importance to the IB community of obtaining the October Commission Runs, for among other reasons, to facilitate the filing of accurate Proof of Claim forms with the bankruptcy court, an act necessary to recover any earned commission revenue. SRC reports that the Trustee’s attorneys understood the importance to our Members of the Commission Runs and were responsive and accommodating to NIBA’s request. Any...

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Member Announcements
3 min read

Marketing Thought Leaders Join For Lively Conversation

New YORK, New Jersey, Connecticut, Jan 20, 2012 -- Today's web-enabled customers have taken control of their buying process, researching online before speaking with a salesperson. These buyers are more savvy and wary of marketing hype. As a result, marketing is evolving from a one-way "push" model into a two-way engagement model. Marketers must now demonstrate value and build trust by educating prospects throughout their buying journey. However, this new era of marketing is still evolving. Many marketers struggle to grasp the new concepts, terms and methodologies that make up the new marketing landscape in an effort to meet customer need. There is now a great deal of controversy on the web regarding the roles of inbound marketing and content marketing as part of the overall marketing process. How do one define them? How do they relate to one another? How does one use them to drive revenue? On January...

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Focus on the Membership
3 min read

Coquest Inc. | Focus on the Membership. January 2012

About the Firm: How did you get started? Founded over 20 years ago as an energy brokerage and consulting firm, Coquest has grown to include a wide range of investment products and services. Do you provide additional services besides brokerage? Managed futures products, OTC & futures hedging services, CTA/CPO media design services. What are the biggest challenges your clients face today, and how do you help them? One of the issues facing our clients involved in managed products is the correct balance and allocation of programs. With volatility at record highs, we feel it’s our responsibility to work with our clients to have a balanced approach to their investment portfolios. For our hedging clients, it has become more complicated with the huge increase in available products. We make sure we take the time to design hedging programs that may have a diverse balance of exchange traded and OTC instruments. How...

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