Notices to Members

December 19, 2006

Exemption Information Now Available on BASIC

NFA has enhanced its Background Affiliation Status Information Center (BASIC) system to provide additional information about exemptions from certain CFTC registration and reporting requirements. In particular, NFA Members and investors can now verify if a trading advisor or commodity pool operator has filed an exemption pursuant to Part 4 of the CFTC's Regulations because the person is not required to register with the CFTC, the pool's participants are sophisticated or high net worth investors, or the pool meets certain trading criteria.

You may search for exemption information on BASIC by pool or firm name (i.e., the name of the trading advisor or pool operator). After you enter all or part of the name into BASIC, the "Search Results" screen will display possible matches, including the name, NFA ID and status. If a firm or pool has no existing registration or exemption status, BASIC will display a message stating, "No Current Status."

Once you identify the pool or firm you are looking for, click on the specific firm name to go to the "Details" screen. If NFA has any exemptions on file for the pool or firm, the "Details" screen will contain an "Exemptions" field, which will include a "View Exemptions" link. Click on this link to see a list of the exemptions filed by the firm or for any pools that a firm operates.

If you have any questions regarding the exemption information, please contact NFA's Information Center at (800) 621-3570.