The SEC Office of Investor Education and Advocacy issued an investor alert to warn investors about fraudsters who may misrepresent their backgrounds and experience to lure investors into investment schemes. The SEC explained that in order to attract investors and gain trust, fraudsters may boast and exaggerate about credentials they do not have. Specifically, the SEC noted that they might fabricate, exaggerate, or hide facts about their backgrounds to portray themselves as successful professionals and make investors believe that their offers are legitimate. The SEC recommended investors verify

Kraft Foods Group, Inc. ("Kraft") and Mondelēz Global LLC (collectively, the "Firms") filed a motion with the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division to dismiss a case stemming from the CFTC's complaint on April 1, 2015. The complaint alleged that the Firms manipulated the prices of cash wheat and wheat futures and attempted to "deceive the market." In the motion to dismiss, the Firms argue that the CFTC failed to prove Kraft's intention to manipulate the wheat cash market by taking long positions in wheat futures. They argue that the CFTC's

The Alternative Investment Management Association ("AIMA") published an updated edition of its due diligence questionnaire ("DDQ"). The questionnaire is designed to be used by pension funds and other investors when selecting fund-of-hedge-funds managers. The DDQ includes questions related to a management firm's investment philosophy and style, governance practices, operational infrastructure, risk management procedures and potential conflicts of interest.

The CFTC announced that it is seeking public comment on a petition submitted by ASX Clear (Futures) Pty Limited, an Australian entity ("ASX Clear"), for exemption from registration as a derivatives clearing organization. Comments should be submitted no later than June 17, 2015. See: CFTC Press Release.

CFTC Chair Timothy Massad delivered remarks before the Global Exchange and Brokerage Conference. He spoke about the next steps to be taken in certain Dodd-Frank rulemaking initiatives, as well as the CFTC's policy perspectives regarding high-frequency trading ("HFT"). According to Chair Massad, one of the most important priorities regarding the general oversight of major market players will be to look at the swap dealer de minimis threshold. He explained that the CFTC must take data-driven action "well in advance" of the December 2017 date, when the threshold for determining who is a swap