NFA Proposes Amendments to Member Questionnaire Rule

The NFA proposed amending its annual member questionnaire rules to end a requirement that the signer must also be a registered associated person ("AP"). 

The Member Questionnaire is an annual filing through which members report their activities and operations and that feeds the NFA's risk-monitoring systems. In 2024, the NFA began requiring that, for most member categories, an individual who was both a registered AP and a listed principal sign the questionnaire.

The proposed amendments to Compliance Rule 2-52 ("NFA Member Questionnaire Requirements") and related Interpretive Notice 9082 would let a listed principal or another knowledgeable senior officer review, sign, and submit a member firm's Member Questionnaire.

NFA said that member firms found the requirement difficult to meet because the person most knowledgeable about the questionnaire (often the chief compliance officer) is typically not an AP and has no reason to solicit orders or supervise those who do. The amendment lets a listed principal, or any other senior individual sufficiently knowledgeable about the firm's operations, complete the filing, and also removes the need for that individual to pass the Series 3 examination.

The amendments would be effective 10 days after the CFTC receives the submission, unless the agency decides to further review the proposal for approval.