Tag Archives: Commodity Trading Advisor

CTA Expo 2011 Chicago

Ronnie Lott Keynote Speaker at CTA Conference

We are gearing up for the CTA Expo in Chicago next month. The CTA Expo, which is also held in New York and London, has become the go-to event for CTAs and others member of the managed futures industry. As always, the NIBA will be having its own conference the day before the CTA Expo and there will be a joint NIBA/CTA Cocktail Party.

The NIBA event will be September 12, 2011 and the agenda includes:

  • Rules, Regulations, Revenue: Round III with Moderator Steve Pherson from Schuyler Roche
  • Grow Your Business by Hiring the Right People by Pat Lunkes of Parkway Consulting Group
  • Marketing Strategy Makeover by Candyce Edelen & Phil Donaldson of Propel Growth
  • A Bubble in Commodities: What to Look for by Darin Newsom of Telvent DTN
  • Anatomy of an Online Marketing Campaign: Generating Leads Online by Shane Stiles of Gate 39 Media

The CTA Expo will be September 13, 2011 and the  agenda includes:

  • Welcoming Remarks by Bucky Isaacson and Frank Pusateri
  • Maximizing the Value of your Conference Attendance by Ron Suber of Merlin Securities
  • Successful Marketing in Asia by Rumi Morales of the CME Group
  • Reputation – Creating Power Through Personal Branding by Lida Citroen
  • Keynote Speach by Ronnie Lott of All Stars Helping Kids<

    /a> – Professional Sports and Business – Lessons Learned

  • Marketing Managed Futures in Europe –

    Tips from the Trenches by Simon Rostron of Rostron Parry

  • The Regulatory Environment in 2011 and Beyond by Dan Driscoll of the National Futures Association
  • The Role of Emerging Managers in a Portfolio by Joseph Schlater of Busara Advisors
  • Institutional Investors and What They Look For in a Manager by Keith Palzer of Bank of America Merrill Lynch
  • The Marketing Impact of a Professional Back Office by Dana Comolli of DMAXX
  • Promoting Managed Futures as an Investment by Mark Melin of High Performance Managed Futures

Cole-Frieman & Mallon LLP has been a sponsor of the CTA Expo since 2009 and this year we will be introducing Ron Suber of Merlin Securities on Tuesday morning.  For more information on the events, please see the CTA Expo program and NIBA Conference schedule.

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Cole-Frieman & Mallon LLP provides legal advice to CTAs and CPOs, including NFA compliance and regulatory guidance.  For more information, please see our CTA and CPO Registration and Compliance Guide or call Bart Mallon directly at 415-868-5345.

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CTA Lead List Basics

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By Bart Mallon, Esq. (www.colefrieman.com)

“Purchased Lead Lists and How to Use Them”

A good resource for CTAs that are actively trying to raise money are lead lists – lists of names and contact information of potential future clients or investors.  This overview is for the CTA Expo 2009 program entitled Purchased Lead Lists and How to Use Them.  The program was sponsored by Patke & Associates and featured Jacques DeRouen of Pinnacle Alternative Investments.

Jacques started off by telling all of the CTAs that they need to get out and market to investors.  The point is to get your story to willing listening.  He then provided us with a brief background of how he got involved with lists and how he learned to use lists effectively.  The biggest takeaway is that getting good at using lead lists takes time and dedication – but don’t let the list intimidate you.  From here he discussed a number of items about lead lists in general.

Lead Lists in General

There are many different types of lists and the lists come in a variety of different formats and include various different types of information.  CTAs should research exactly what they will get with these lists and some questions which the purchaser should ask include the following:

  • Has the list maker described their list and what they provide?
  • What is the reputation of the list maker?
  • Does the list have references, if no, then why?
  • Is there a free sample?
  • What information is on the list – key contact names, size of the investor, email addresses.

CTA managers should think about making some calls to the investors on the sample lists which are released.  Basically the manager wants to make sure that the list is not something that was simply culled from the phone book – the leads need to be warmer.  If they are providing a general list of investors, this is ok but it will probably take you more time.

Budget

The biggest thing to consider is your budget.  If you don’t have money in the budget to buy a list, then don’t buy it.  A CTA should always be aware of the fees coming in and be able to justify any expenses, which includes a list.

Prepping an Investor Database

When you get a lead list it will typically be in some sort of spreadsheet like excel and it will be up to the CTA to clean up the data and make it user friendly.  There are a number of different ways to establish databases that will work for keeping track of investors contacted and to contact.  After formatting a database or input, the CTA should always back-up the new, manipulated data.  From here the CTA will want to export the manipulated data to a CRM.  There are a number of customer relationship management (CRM) software solutions which allow managers to manipulate large raw sets of data, such as the lead lists. It is very important for the CTA to take good notes about the interactions with the leads.

Notes About Emailing Investors from Lead Lists

Emailing your marketing presentation can be a very effective way to market to some of the investors on the lead lists.  However, CTAs should not send every piece of marketing material that they have.  A CTA may want to think about emailing a summary presentation with bullett points.  A teaser like this sets the plate so that when the CTA follows up with the lead (with a phone call), the lead has a little bit of background on the manager, but is not overwhelmed (or worse, annoyed).  CTAs should be aware that even with the best lead lists there is likely to be some email kickback from natural changes in the composition of the company.  The best systems are likely to have 2-3% kickback, the middle tiered lists are likely to have 5-10% kickback and the lower quality lists are likely to have much more.

Approaching Fund of Fund Investors

While many fund of fund investors don’t actively advertise that they allocate to emerging managers, they do and CTA firms should be calling these managers.  Even if a FOF manager decided not to invest with the CTA manager, calling is still a good way to connect and develop a relationship – potentially that relationship can develop down the line.  Fund of fund managers do like CTA and other emerging managers not only because of the potential returns but also because the FOF managers are likely to be able to negotiate carve-outs of the CTA manager’s future capacity.

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This article first appeared in the CTA Expo Blog run by Bart Mallon, Esq.  Mr. Mallon also runs the Hedge Fund Law Blog and is committed to providing useful and easy to understand information for CTAs and CPOs which can be found in our CTA and CPO Registration and Compliance Guide. For more information on CTA registration or compliance services please contact Mr. Mallon at 415-868-5345.

CTA Advertising and Marketing Issues to Consider

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By Bart Mallon, Esq. (www.colefrieman.com)

Marketing for Small CTAs

For small commodity trading advisory (CTA) firms, marketing and advertising the expertise of the principals is a central way to gain new clients and make more money.  This overview is for the CTA Expo 2009 program entitled Marketing for Small CTAs. The program was sponsored by Traderview and featured Frank Pusateri of Adirondack Portfolios as well as Bucky Isaacson of Future Funding Consultants. While I was unable to catch this beginning session of the CTA expo 2009, I was able to catch the last ten to fifteen minutes of the session, which I found to be particularly helpful (for small and start up CTAs) as well as interesting.  It seemed like many of the participants were engaged as well.

General Background on CTA Advertising

CTAs are allowed to market and advertise their services.  Unlike hedge fund managers, who are prohibited from marketing pursuant to Regulation D and other federal and state regulations, CTA advertising has the potential to reach a large portion of the investing population – CTAs can and should take advantage of such marketing rules.  [Note: we will be providing information at a later date regarding some of the legal and compliance issues that CTAs should be aware of when developing a marketing program.]

A good marketing program will be multi-faceted and will include a website (including potentially a blog), direct email campaigns, listings in CTA databases, and networking events among other items.  The rest of this article will focus on CTA websites.

CTA Websites and Visitor Information

One way for CTAs to advertise is to put up a good and effective website advertising the manager’s services.  While it will take the manager some time to create the initial content and layout of the website, there is relatively little additional time needed to maintain the webiste.  Many of the updating functions can be outsourced as well, so the manager can concentrate on trading.

Frank noted that he had one CTA ask him what he thought about their website which cost $50,000. Frank said that it looked good but that the CTA firm did not ask for the visitor’s name, address or telephone number and that there was no place on the website to collect that information. This represents a lost opportunity because, presumably, visitors come to your website to find out more information about you – you in essence know that the people visiting your site are potential investors. Having visitors provide you with their basic contact information is equivalent to a warm lead and if you don’t even have a way to collect this then you are wasting opportunities.

Question Period

Frank was able to answer questions from the audience. One participant asked if Frank could name a CTA firm which did a good job at marketing themselves. He mentioned that he thought Northfield Trading did a pretty good job with much of their literature and marketing materials.

Many of the same issues, which were touched on during my brief time at this session, are discussed in later sessions in greater depth. We will examine these in turn.

The next article discusses Compliance in a Changing Environment which is sponsored by Woodfield Fund Administration and which featured Kate Dressel of Strategic Compliance Solutions as well as Patty Cushing of the National Futures Association.

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This article was first printed on the CTA Expo Blog.  Mr. Mallon also runs the hedge fund law blog and is committed to providing useful and easy to understand information for CTAs and CPOs which can be found in our CTA and CPO Registration and Compliance Guide. For more information on CTA registration or compliance services please contact Bart Mallon, Esq. at 415-868-5345.

CTA Expo 2009

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Commodity Trading Advisor Conference

Next week there will be a conference for Commodity Trading Advisors held in Chicago at the Hotel Monaco.  The conference, entitled the CTA Expo 2009, will be held on Wednesday and will feature a variety of topics of interest to CTAs.  The agenda includes:

I will be representing my firm, Cole-Frieman & Mallon LLP, at the conference and I look forward to meeting with the different traders and service providers at the event.  Each entrant will also receive a CTA Directory which will include a “tear sheet” on all of the groups which attended.  Please see the Cole-Frieman & Mallon LLP description of CTA services.

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Event information can be found here.  There is also a CTA Expo LinkedIn Group.

CTA EXPO 2009
October 21, 2009
Hotel Monaco Chicago, Illinois

CTA EXPO consists of a day of roundtables and seminars for Commodity Trading Advisors on marketing strategy combined with an all day schedule of thirty minute presentations by individual CTAS to small groups of professional money raisers, asset allocators and interested clients who are seeking to identify additional trading talent.

The debut conference in 2008 sold out in advance and was attended by over thirty-five CTAs and over sixty people who registered as professional money raisers and asset allocators. We have increased capacity for 2009 and interest in this year’s event has already been tremendous and we are anticipating another sold out event.

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The hedge fund law blog is committed to providing useful and easy to understand information for CTAs and CPOs which can be found in our CTA and CPO Registration and Compliance Guide.  For more information on registration or compliance services please contact Bart Mallon, Esq. at 415-868-5345.

CTA and CPO Registration and Compliance Guide

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Practical guidance for CTA and CPO firms

Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs) and Commodity Pool Operators (CPOs) have been contacting me with greater regularity and we have decided to provide those firms with more detailed information on their registration and compliance requirements. Over the course of the next few weeks we will be continually updating this page with more legal and business guidance for CTAs and CPOs. Specifically, we will be providing information on the following topics:

CTA and CPO Registration – this article discusses the how-to’s of registration with the CFTC. The article details the general requirements for firms, principals, and associated persons. Included in this discussion is information on CTA/CPO exam requirements and an overview of the registration process through the NFA’s electronic registration system.

CTA and CPO Registration Exemptions – while the Commodities Exchange Act will generally require CTA and CPO firms to register with the CFTC, there are some important exemptions from the registration provisions. Review this article to see if your firm might be able to claim an exemption from the registration provisions.

CTA and CPO Compliance Overview – CTAs and CPOs are subject to a number of laws, regulations and rules. Not only must CTAs and CPOs follow CFTC laws and regulations, but as Members of the NFA, these groups must also follow all of the rules developed by the NFA. We will be discussing compliance best practices, major examination issues, major deadlines and the CTA/CPO compliance manual. Being prepared for an NFA examination is of great importance.

Recent NFA Actions against CTA and CPO Managers – the NFA and the CFTC have been quite active lately. In this article we will be discussing some of the most recent actions against NFA member firms. This article will also provide common-sense advice on what managers can do the protect themselves from examination deficiencies.

Important NFA Rules for CTA and CPO Firms – there are a number of rules which the NFA has regarding the conduct of CTAs and CPOs. In general CTAs and CPOs must hold themselves out with the utmost professionalism. This article will detail this and other important NFA rules.

CTA and CPO advertising – there are a number of important rules regarding advertising for CTAs and CPOs. CPOs, especially, must be careful about advertising because of the restrictions under Rule 506 of Regulation D, an exemption that many CPOs utilize in offering their fund interests. Websites will be touched upon in this post and will also be discussed in greater depth in a subsequent posting.

CTA and CPO websites – many CTA firms utilize the internet to advertise their services. CPO firms will also sometimes have a (minimal) internet presence. This article will detail the considerations that both CTA and CPO firms face when creating and maintaining an internet presence and how to deal with internet based inquiries from potential investors.

NFA Exam Requirements for CTAs and CPOs – individuals of NFA member firms will generally need to have a Series 3 exam license and potentially a Series 30 exam. Some individuals may need to have a Series 31 exam license and, potentially in the future, forex CTAs and CPOs will need to have a Series 34 exam license. This article will discuss these exams and the process an individual will go through in order to register to take the exams.

CTA Expo Blog – the unofficial blog of the CTA Expo most recently held in October of 2009.  Information for CTA managers on business, legal and compliance issues.  Included is a directory of CTA firms and service providers.

Forex CTAs and CPOs – the regulatory light has been focused on retail spot forex managers recently. Read this article to get up to speed on recent CFTC and NFA pronouncements regarding this area of the industry. We will also provide information on Forex IBs and Forex FCMs.

In addition to the above topics we are hoping to add others over time. We welcome all feedback and encourage you to leave comments below. We will also attempt to answer CTA and CPO frequently asked questions.

If you are a manager or firm that needs to register as a CTA or CPO, or if you are contemplating registration, please contact Bart Mallon, Esq. of Cole-Frieman & Mallon LLP at 415-868-5345.

CPOs and CTAs Now Submit Disclosure Documents Electronically

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NFAs Electronic Filing System Went Live Yesterday

The NFAs new electronic filing system for CPO and CTA disclosure documents went live yesterday.  All NFA members are required to use the electronic system for filing their disclosure documents.   While I have not yet used the new system, it is expected to be a big improvement over the previous system which relied on emails to an anonymous system.  The NFA says that this new system should help both the NFA and the Member Firm by speeding up and streamlining the disclosure document approval process.

I will provide an update on whether this system does in fact make the process more efficient.  Also, I will provide updates on how this system works with the new forex registration requirements.  It is expected that forex CPOs and forex CTAs will also use this same electronic submission process for their forex disclosure documents.

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Notice I-09-09

March 26, 2009

Using NFA’s Electronic Disclosure Document Filing System becomes mandatory for CPOs and CTAs
Effective April 6, 2009, CPOs and CTAs filing a disclosure document with NFA for review will be required to submit the filing through NFA’s Electronic Disclosure Document Filing System. NFA will not accept any disclosure document filings through any other mode (i.e., email, fax, or regular mail) after this date. CPOs and CTAs are encouraged to begin using the new system prior to the effective date to make the transition as smooth as possible.

This new system will benefit NFA’s CPO and CTA Members by creating a more efficient document review process. Electronic filing will allow NFA to identify issues sooner in the review process. Firms will also be able to track the status of their submissions online, in real-time, and will have instantaneous access to NFA’s comment and acceptance letters. Additionally, all correspondence, including filed disclosure documents and NFA’s comment or acceptance letters, will be archived in the system, creating an electronic file cabinet that will be easily accessible to CPOs and CTAs at any time.

To use the new electronic system, a security manager entering the system for the first time must designate himself as a disclosure document user in NFA’s Online Registration System (“ORS”). The security manager can also designate additional users to file disclosure documents through the system. Filers can access the system at https://www.nfa.futures.org/appentry/Redirect.aspx?app=DDOC. Once in the system, filers will be required to enter certain information specific to the filing and to upload the filing in either a PDF or Word format.

NFA also has prepared a web seminar to assist users with the new system. This online seminar is entitled “How to File CPO and CTA Disclosure Documents Electronically with NFA” and is available at: http://video.webcasts.com/events/pmny001/viewer/index.jsp?eventid=29268.
If you have any questions about the new filing system, please contact Susan Koprowski at [email protected] or (312) 781-1288 or Mary McHenry at [email protected] or (312) 781-1420.

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Other articles related to the CPO and CTA disclosure document filing process:

Bunched Orders and Separately Managed Accounts

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Separately Managed Account Managers May Bunch Orders for Better Execution

One reason why the hedge fund structure is so popular with investment managers is that a single investment strategy can be implemented in one account.  Separately managed account managers, however, often have multiple accounts and need to execute the same transaction in each of those separate accounts.  Not only is this more time consuming than entering a single trade, there is the possibility that some accounts would receive poorer execution than other accounts (if the trades cannot all be executed for the same prices).  To combat this problem, many brokers offer “bunched” orders which allow a manager to enter into a trade (or series of trades) and then allocate those trades to individual accounts pursuant to a pre-defined allocation method.  In this way trades are allocated to accounts in what may be deemed a more “fair” way.

Types of Bunched Account Allocation Methods

In the event a bunched order is not filled at one total price (called a “partial fill”), there are two central ways to allocate trades to individual accounts from a bunched order – average pricing or high-low.

Average Pricing

Under the average pricing method, the broker’s back end will add up all of the buys or sells at their particular price levels, multiply the trades by the number of contracts (or securities) at each particular price level, and divide by the total number of contracts (or securities) to determine an average price for the whole bunched order.  The trades are allocated to the individual accounts and the price for the trade will reflect the average price.

High low

Under the high-low method, the higher fill prices will be allocated to the higher account numbered clients for both buys and sells, and the lower fill prices to the lower account numbered clients for both purchases and sales.

Issues for CTAs and Investment Advisors

Generally, separately managed accounts fit within the realm of commodity trading advisors and investment advisors.  However, many hedge fund managers are beginning to take on separately managed account clients as well.  The central issue for any of these managers is going to be how the allocation process is described in the investment advisory brochure/contract, disclosure documents or offering documents.  Managers will need to make sure that this issue has been discussed with both the attorney and the broker so that everyone is aware of the actual mechanics of the allocation.  Additionally, I recommend that the broker’s back office review the disclosure documents to ensure that the allocation language is accurate and precise.  If the offering documents state one method and the broker uses another method, there may be some liability for the manager.  Additionally, if the manager is ever subject to examiniation by the SEC, NFA or state securities division, this could be a topic for review.

For hedge fund investors, part of your due diligence process should be to find out whether a hedge fund manager also manages separately managed accounts with the same investment program as the fund.  If so, the investors should ask the manager to explain the allocation process for trades.  While this should be disclosed in the offering documents I have a hunch that this issue is often overlooked by many funds – especially those funds which enter into the SMA agreements after the fund has been in business for a period of time.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions on this article or if you are interested in starting a hedge fund.  Other related articles include: