The CFTC Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (DSIO) issued a no-action letter that provides certain futures commission merchants (FCMs) with limited relief as to the scope of the requirements of the annual report that the firm's chief compliance officer (CCO) must prepare and submit pursuant to CFTC Rule 3.3. The relief provided in the no-action letter would allow CCO to submit annual reports that did not satisfy all of the requirements of Rule 3.3(e) and (f); provided that the reports satisfied the conditions set forth in the no-action letter. The relief is available to all

The SEC's Division of Trading and Markets issued a no-action letter to FundersClub Inc. and FundersClub Management LLC from the broker-dealer registration provisions of Exchange Act Section 15(a)(1). The FundersClub entities function as venture capital fund advisers that solely advise venture capital funds as defined in Advisers ActRule 203(l)-(1) ("Venture Capital Fund Defined"). As compensation for their advisory activities, the FundersClub entities may receive carried interest, i.e., a percentage of any profit realized upon liquidation of an advised fund. Applicable conditions include

SIFMA announced that Matt Nevins has joined SIFMA as managing director and associate general counsel with SIFMA's Asset Management Group ("AMG"). Prior to joining SIFMA, Mr. Nevins was vice president and associate general counsel at Fidelity Investments, where he was responsible for supporting Fidelity Asset Management's Equity Division in its derivatives and trading activities. The areas he covered in this role included: swaps, options and futures, commodity investments, foreign exchange transactions, and equity trading. In addition, he supported Fidelity's Counterparty Research group, as

New SRO rules and rule proposals have been announced by the SEC. Click on the links below to view the SEC's notices of each rule change and proposal. BATS: Effective Immediately - Rule Change Related to Fees for Use of BATS Exchange, Inc. (See also: Exhibit 5) BATS: Effective Immediately - Rule Change Related to Fees for Use of BATS Exchange, Inc. (See also: Exhibit 5) CBOE: Effective Immediately - Rule Change to Amend Order Type and Auction Rules in Advance of Mini-Option Launch (See also: Exhibit 5) NASDAQ: Effective Immediately - Rule Change Relating to Fees and Rebates for Mini Options

The Futures Industry Association ("FIA") submitted comments to IOSCO regarding its recommendations in its Protection of Client Assets Consultation Report. In the letter, FIA states that while it generally supports the principles, it has concerns with two proposals. Principle 5 would require intermediaries, such as futures commission merchants, to highlight to their customers the material differences in client asset protection and/or insolvency regimes outside of their home jurisdictions. FIA cautioned that the intermediary is not in the position of a legal advisor to its clients. FIA also