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By Stephen A. Keen & Andrew P. Cross

In this, the twelfth installment of our review of the compliance requirements of new Rule 18f‑4, we leave the peripheral transactions addressed in the rule (i.e., delayed-delivery transactions, reverse repurchase agreements, and unfunded commitment agreements) and plunge into the core of the rule: “derivatives…

The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) has further supplemented its Legal Guidelines for Smart Derivatives Contracts series with guidelines focused on credit and foreign exchange (FX) derivatives contracts.

A “smart derivatives contract” is a derivative contract that incorporates software code to automate aspects of the derivative transaction and operates on a distributed ledger, such…

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) today issued an “FAQ” to financial institutions entitled, Frequently Asked Questions for Financial Institutions Affected by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Referred to as COVID-19).

The FDIC has highlighted the following items in respect of this FAQ:

  • The FDIC encourages financial institutions to work with customers affected by COVID-19 in a prudent manner, especially borrowers from industry sectors particularly vulnerable to the volatility in the current economic environment and small businesses and independent contractors that are reliant on affected industries.
  • A financial institution’s prudent efforts to modify the terms on existing loans for affected customers will not be subject to examiner criticism.

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Continue Reading Payment Accommodations Under Commercial Loans by Banks to Borrowers: Remember the Related Interest Rate Hedge Documentation

Mutual fund complexes relying on the exemption under Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) Regulation 4.5 from commodity pool operator (CPO) registration have to file:

(1) An initial notice of eligibility to claim that exemption; and

(2) An annual affirmation of continued reliance on the exemption within 60 days of each calendar year end.

In our experience, many mutual fund complexes “update” their Regulation 4.5 eligibility notices during the last two weeks of February.

This blog post is a reminder to clients and friends that the CFTC has recently amended its Regulation 4.5 to clarify that the registered investment adviser (the “RIA”) to a registered investment company is that company’s CPO.  This clarification will be of interest to any mutual fund complex that may have had an entity other than the RIA claim the CPO exemption with respect to the operation of a registered investment company.   …

Continue Reading Mutual Fund Corner: A Reminder for Firms Updating CFTC Regulation 4.5 Exemptions – The Fund’s Adviser is Its CPO

This post is Part 2 of a series of posts that addresses the impact of recent regulatory developments on the use of limited recourse provisions in futures customer agreements entered into between a futures commission merchant (an “FCM”) and an investment manager on behalf of one or more of the manager’s clients.

In this post, we provide an overview of recent regulatory pronouncements from two divisions of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) and the Joint Audit Committee (the“JAC”) of several large futures exchanges and the National Futures Association that prohibit the use of limited recourse provisions in futures customer agreements.
Continue Reading Limited Recourse Provisions in Futures Customer Agreements: Part 2 – I Cannot Guarantee Your Client’s Losses

Historically, many investment managers have negotiated limited recourse provisions into derivatives trading agreements entered into by the managers on behalf of their clients with banks, broker-dealers, and futures commission merchants (FCMs).  In short, these provisions state that only the assets in the specified account under the control of that particular manager can be used to make the other party to the agreement whole for losses and costs that relate to the specified account.

However, recent regulatory pronouncements from two divisions of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) and the Joint Audit Committee (the “JAC”) of several large futures exchanges and the National Futures Association prohibit the use of limited recourse provisions in futures customer agreements.  This blog post is Part 1 of a series of posts that will address the impact of these recent regulatory developments on investment managers.

We start with the basics – investment management relationships and the use of limited recourse provisions in derivatives trading documents.  Additional posts in this series will address the regulatory pronouncements and how those pronouncements may impact relationships that investment managers have with their clients and the FCMs through which the managers are trading on behalf of their clients. …
Continue Reading Limited Recourse Provisions in Futures Customer Agreements: Part 1 – I Only Control My AUM

On December 21, 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced enforcement actions against two robo-advisers, Wealthfront Advisors LLC (“Wealthfront”) and Hedgeable Inc. (“Hedgeable”), for making false statements about investment products and publishing misleading advertising. “Robo-advisers” are investment advisers that provide automated, software-based portfolio management services. In a press release related to these actions,…