Firms and managers who are registered with the CFTC must follow compliance rules by completing a self-examination checklist. Every year firms need to do a self-examination, and some firms are hoping to make this process easier for investment managers by creating more organized lists online. NFA checklists include rules to be followed by specific registration categories such as CTAs, CPOs, IBs, and FCMs, as well as general rules that need to be followed and tasks to be completed for all registered firms. Managers are finding it more difficult to stay organized and up-to-date with regulations, as well as informed of their own firm’s issues, and these checklists are designed to keep managers’ compliance issues limited.
Compliance is an important topic for investment managers to stay informed and organized with, but many compliance rules are extremely difficult for most managers to understand and follow. The CFTC has recently created new forex registration regulations, and CPOs, CTAs, and IBs are now required to stay in compliance after becoming registered. The NFA has provided a list of rules to be followed, that can be checked off as the firm goes through the process.
Many firms will find it easier to adjust the format and structure of these lists, in order to clarify their place in the NFA self-examination checklist and record any issues with an individual rule. Many managers need to be able to go back and forth between the checklist and other priorities without fear of losing their place in the self-examination or trying to remember what rule they need to check next.
There are also several appendices throughout the checklist that further explain a rule in greater detail, and these additional guidelines need to be kept in an accessible place for the firm or manager to refer to when needed. There are also mentions of several CFTC forms that need to be completed throughout the year, and managers will need to record the completion of these forms as well. Additionally, firms need to find a way to document that they have fulfilled the self-examination requirement each year for their own personal records.
With the release of the new forex regulations and the requirement for CPOs, CTAs, and IBs to become registered through forex registration, following compliance rules has become a greater issue. The yearly self-examination aims to offer both the firms and the NFA with ways to stay on track with new and changing rules.
Ariana Adams writes articles on forex registration. You can access more information by going to http://www.forexregistration.com