Chairman's Letter - Feb 2018

February: second and shortest month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars

In Old English, February was referred to both as “Solmounath” - a month of mud and Kale-mounath - a month of cabbage!

Mud and cabbage or not, February is a good month to set your reminders for several upcoming notable events Remember -- attendance at NIBA in-person symposiums and webinars is free for members. So, mark the following dates now:

April 19 - NIBA Forum, New York Athletic Club, NYC. Sessions include (i) marketing, (ii) short, critical answers to three of our most asked compliance questions and, (iii) a cryptocurrency panel. The program opens at 1:30pm. Registration is now open.
August 8 - 5th Annual NIBA/DePaul Joint Symposium, DePaul University (downtown campus), Chicago. The planning committee is focusing in on topics and speakers for this meeting. To volunteer for the committee contact me, melinda@futuresrep.com or Mike, mikeb@highgroundtrading.com.
September 13 - NIBA Annual Members Meeting, CME Group, Chicago. To volunteer for the committee, contact Ryan, ryan.griffeth@postrockbrokerage.com or Steve, spetillo@straitsfinancial.com.

The NFA Annual Members Meeting is scheduled for Feb. 6. I’ll ask staff questions you submitted, and report their answers in this newsletter.

CTA Expo takes place in NYC on the same day as NIBA forum, April 19. CTA Expo is a one-day event for money raisers and asset allocators who focus on, and promote, managed futures programs.

Registration is open for the CFTC Ag-Commodity Futures Conference to be held in April. CFTC and the Center for Risk Management Education and Research at Kansas State University are joint hosts for “Protecting America’s Agricultural Markets: An Agricultural Commodity Futures Conference” to be held April 5-6 in Overland Park, Kansas. Topics include presentations on current macro-economic trends/issues affecting our ag-futures markets. and “the importance of these markets for managing risk and protecting participants from manipulation, fraud and other unlawful activities.”

So, here’s to February. Whether you intend to take a roll in the mud or stuff yourself for 28 days with cabbage, take a few minutes this month to set-up your calendars and reminders for the industry events ahead.