The CFTC Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight ("DSIO") issued a no-action letter permitting a CTA not to register with the CFTC as such where its advisory activities were conducted as subadvisor to its parent company that was itself a fully registered CTA. The relief was subject to various conditions, but the gist of the letter is essentially that the subsidiary was completely controlled by the parent and was in many respects an alter ego of the parent. In addition to the fact that the parent wholly owned the subsidiary, the letter noted that the parent and subsidiary were

The CFTC’s Division of Market Oversight (“Division”) issued a no-action letter providing time-limited relief to Swap Dealers (“SDs”) and Major Swap Participants (“MSPs”) from the obligation to report valuation data for cleared swaps as required by Commission Regulation 45.4(b)(2)(ii) [Swap Data Reporting: Continuation Data]. The no-action letter provides that the Division will not recommend that the Commission take enforcement action against a SD or MSP for failure of such SD or MSP to comply with the requirements of regulation 45.4(b)(2)(ii) to report valuation data. The no-action relief

The Financial Services Authority has set out the final version of changes to its rules governing client assets to accommodate the provisions of European Market Infrastructure Regulation. For example, the current rules stipulate that the failure of a firm will trigger the pooling of all client monies for distribution, inclusive of any amounts payable by a central counterparty for a client transaction account. However, EMIR does not allow any client money held by a clearing member firm in a client transaction account at a central counterparty to be affected by such pooling and distribution.

MFA submitted the attached comment letter to the CFTC in response to its request for public comments on the portfolio margining petition submitted by ICE Clear Europe. MFA also supported ICE Clear Europe's petition request to hold customer positions in security-based CDS and index CDS (and related margin assets) in single customer omnibus accounts subject to CEA Section 4d(f). The letter further expresses support for the calculation of margin for such accounts on a portfolio basis pursuant to ICE Clear Europe's portfolio margining methodology. Click hereto view letter in full (links externally

The SEC charged a Connecticut-based investment adviser with falsely stating to clients that it was co-investing alongside them in two collateralized debt obligations ("CDOs"). See: SEC Order: Joseph A. Schlim; SEC Order: Aladdin Capital Management LLC and Aladdin Capital LLC. See also: SEC Press Release.