The CFTC Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight ("DSIO") issued a no-action letter stating that it will not take enforcement action against a registered futures commission merchant ("FCM") that holds certain Regulation 30.7 customer accounts in London and Hong Kong. According to the letter, the FCM's London and Hong Kong 30.7 accounts have "bank exemptions" from client money rules; however, under the new amendments to CFTC Rule 30.7(c) ("Treatment of Foreign Futures or Foreign Options Secured Amount"), an FCM may not waive any protections afforded customer funds under the laws of

The CFTC Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight ("DSIO") issued three separate no-action letters providing relief to CPOs regarding the filing of their annual financial statements and reports, pursuant to CFTC Rule 4.7(b)(3) ("Exemption from Certain Part 4 Requirements for Commodity Pool Operators with Respect to Offerings to Qualified Eligible Persons and for Commodity Trading Advisors with Respect to Advising Qualified Eligible Persons") and Rule 4.22(d) ("Reporting to Pool Participants"). CFTC Letter 14-09 granted relief to a CPO that requested exemption from the requirement of

The SEC Office of Investor Education and Advocacy issued an Investor Bulletin to provide information regarding "the basics" of variable annuities. The bulletin stated that, before investing in a variable annuity, an investor should (i) know how variable annuities work, including why variable annuities are not appropriate for short-term investors, (ii) understand the key features of products, and (iii) realize that variable annuities carry a certain amount of risk which can lead an investor to lose money. See: SEC Investor Bulletin.

The SEC Division of Investment Management issued a no-action letter to the Managed Funds Association ("MFA") updating the SEC guidance on the definition of "knowledgeable employees" under Investment Company Act Rule 3c-5 ("Beneficial Ownership by Knowledgeable Employees and Certain Other Persons"). According to an MFA press release, the MFA Investor Adviser Committee worked with the SEC staff on the letter. The no-action letter includes updated guidance on a number of areas covered by the definition of "knowledgeable employees", including that: (i) the principal status of an adviser's unit

ISDA announced the launch of its new web site, ISDA SwapsInfo ( www.swapsinfo.org). According to ISDA, the SwapsInfo site aims to enhance transparency in over-the-counter ("OTC") derivatives markets by pulling together publicly available data on interest rate derivatives ("IRD") and credit default swaps ("CDS"). The web site allows for the transformation of the following data into interactive charts: IRD: daily volume-weighted average IRD prices (for select products) and trading volumes, measured by notionals and trade count, as of January 2013; and weekly notional outstanding and trade count