NFA to Discuss Forex Registration in Vegas
The NFA announced a workshop to inform forex managers about the various registration and compliance matters that managers will need to be especially aware of during the registration process. While we do not yet know what the final rules will look like, we do know a few things and believe that managers will need to focus on the following issues:
- Series 34 exam – this is an exam specifically for forex managers. In addition to the Series 34, the managers will most likely need to have passed the Series 3 exam as well.
- Forex Compliance – all NFA registrants will need to make sure they are compliant with all CFTC laws and regulations in addition to NFA rules.
- Forex Disclosure Documents – all forex CTAs and CPOs will need disclosure documents. While these disclosure documents will be similar to traditional futures/commodities disclosure documents, there are some specific forex disclosures managers will also need to include in the documents. As always, managers should remember that the disclosure documents and the managed account agreement are legal documents and should be drafted by an attorney.
The full NFA announcement is reprinted below.
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Caesars Palace in Las Vegas
Saturday, September 25, 2010
In early 2010, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) published its proposed rules regarding the regulation of retail off-exchange foreign currency (forex) products. One component of the proposed rules requires all forex introducing brokers, account managers and pool operators to register with the CFTC as forex IBs, CTAs and CPOs and to become Members of National Futures Association (NFA).
In anticipation of the publication of the CFTC’s final rules, NFA will be offering registration/compliance workshops in conjunction with the upcoming Futures and Forex Expo to be held on September 23-25 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. These workshops will outline the registration process and discuss regulatory requirements for each registration category.
The schedule for the workshops is as follows:
- 8:30 – 10:30 a.m. Registration workshop for all registration categories. This session will cover who has to register and will present a walkthrough of the registration process.
- 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. General compliance workshop for all registration categories. This session will include discussion of NFA rules regarding promotional material/sales practices, supervisory procedures (including ethics training requirements, supervision of branch offices and disaster recovery/business continuity planning) and anti-money laundering requirements.
- 1:30 – 3:00 p.m. Disclosure documents/financial requirements workshop for CPOs and CTAs, including performance reporting.
- 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. NFA staff available for one-on-one consultations.
All workshops will be held in the Tribune Room in the Convention Center at Caesar’s Palace.
Although there is no fee to attend the workshops, advanced registration is recommended.
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Cole-Frieman & Mallon LLP provides legal support, registration and compliance services to all types of forex managers. Bart Mallon, Esq. can be reached directly at 415-868-5345.