Skip to content

News & Media

Newsfeed

Capital, Customer Funds and Margin After the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000

The Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 (“CFMA”) made fundamental changes in several federal acts, including the CEA, SEC “34 Act” and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940,6. This article focuses on changes affecting the financial responsibility requirements of broker-dealers, futures commission merchants, and introducing brokers as a result of CFMA and subsequent…

Supervision of Branch Offices, OSI’s and Offsite Brokers and Independent Contractors

Supervisory responsibilities in connection with branch offices, offices of supervisory jurisdiction (“OSJs”), and offsite brokers, including independent contractors, can be particularly challenging. Without on-site supervisors and compliance personnel, there are more opportunities for supervisory failures and sales practice abuse. The most serious of these problems is selling away of securities products or Ponzi…

The Post-Sale Duty to Warn and Recall: Are They Preempted When NHTSA or the CPSC Oversees the Manufacturer’s Conduct?

When the American Law Institute introduced the Restatement 3rd of Torts (the “Third Restatement”), which included, for the first time, sections proclaiming that sellers of commercial products had post-sale duties to consumers, it announced a manufacturer’s post-sale duty to warn of product risks, whether or not the product was defective at the…

Regulation of Electronic Communication, Execution and Delivery of Documents to FCM/BDs

The CFTC has taken a definitive position that electronic signatures are permitted for customer agreements, required disclosure consents and other documents where signatures were previously required. CFTC Rule 1.4, 17 C.F.R. 1.4. Neither the CFTC nor the National Futures Association (“NFA’) mandates customer agreements; however, they do mandate customer acknowledgment of margin…

When is an FCM, CTA or Pool a Securities Broker-Dealer, an Investment Adviser or an Investment Company Under the Securities Laws?

Futures Commission Merchants (“FCMs”), Commodity Trading Advisers (“CTAs”), Commodity Pool Operators (“CPOs”) and commodity pools frequently deal with securities incidental to futures and futures activities. Considerable uncertainty exists as to when these securities activities trigger registration as a broker-dealer, investment adviser or investment company. These uncertainties have increased dramatically in the last…

Lawrence Kamin maintains this website to provide general information about its services and legal expertise. While we try to keep the information timely and accurate, we make no guarantees. We make every effort to correct errors brought to our attention. Full Disclaimer
† Select attorneys have received this recognition