Any CTA and/or CPO claiming an exemption from registration must reaffirm the exemption annually via the NFA’s website under Electronic Filings. These registration exemptions MUST be reaffirmed by March 1, 2017.
Failure to affirm an active exemption will result in it being withdrawn on March 1, 2017. For registered CPOs or CTAs, losing the exemption will result in being subject to Part 4 Requirements regardless of whether the entity otherwise remains eligible for the exemption. For non-registered CTAs and CPOs, the withdrawal may subject the person or entity to enforcement action by the CFTC.
Since exempt CPOs/CTAs have until March 1, 2017 to complete the affirmation process, NFA recognizes that it may be difficult for a Member to conclusively determine prior to March 1, 2017 if a previously exempt CPO/CTA continues to be eligible for a current exemption. Therefore, members that take reasonable steps to determine the registration and membership status of these previously exempt persons will not be in violation of NFA bylaw 1101 or Compliance Rule 2-36(d) if between January 1 and March 31, 2017, they transact customer business with a previously exempt person that fails to become registered and a Member of NFA, file a notice affirming its exemption from CPO/CTA registration, or provide a written representation as to why the person is not required to register or file the notice affirming the exemption.
How to identify whether an exempt CPO/CTA has affirmed its exemption
Members should compare their list of exempt CPO/CTAs with which the member transacts customer business to the information NFA makes available to assist Members in determining whether an exempt CPO/CTA has affirmed its exemptions.
- NFA Basic System, click the “View Exemptions” link
- Access a spreadsheet tht includes a list of all persons or entities that have exemptions on file with NFA. This can be found in the Member’s Annual Questionnaire which would require logging into the NFA system. If the exemption has been affirmed, the due date will change to March 1, 2018.
It’s simple to affirm exemptions. Just go to the NFA’s Exemption System through the Electronic Filings section of NFA’s website. Once logged in, exemptions requiring affirmation will be identified with an icon in the “Affirm” column. After clicking on the icon, a pop-up box will appear requesting affirmation that the exemption continues to be effective.
These affirmations must be completed on an annual basis within 60 days of the new year. The NFA will provide an email reminder of the affirmation process as the deadline nears, however, it is always a good idea to use an annual reminder.