Institute for Financial Markets

The Institute for Financial Markets (IFM) is a nonprofit educational foundation that was founded in 1989. The IFM touts itself as a foundation that provides quality, unbiased information and education to increase public understanding of the importance of financial markets and financial service industry to the global economy and to improve the technical competence of those in the industry who deal with the public.

The IFM focuses its efforts in three core areas - education, ethics and data. It develops and delivers market-based educational programs, online training and data products that are used by financial industry professionals, investors, U.S. and international regulators, public-policy makers, and universities.

In addition, the IFM, in cooperation with Kent State University, sponsors special courses and publishes the Review of Futures Markets.^[1] The Review promotes global research and the study of financial engineering, derivatives markets and products, and includes insightful articles that appeal to a high-level audience including exchange professionals, market practitioners, financial engineers and academics among others.

In January 2012, the IFM and Eurex partnered to offer an educational initiative targeting Eurex exchange members, potential clients, and other members of the industry. The project provides webinars in English and Brazilian Portuguese.^[2]

Background

The IFM is an affiliate of the Futures Industry Association (FIA), but operates autonomously as an independent foundation. The IFM is governed by a board of trustees ^[3], separate and apart from the FIA Board of Directors. IFM trustees are drawn from the principal segments of the financial industry and provide policy guidance and direction to the foundation's staff.

The IFM has no members and does not engage in any lobbying activities. It funds its activities and the development of new programs and services from two sources: the sale of its products and services, and the generous support from a broad range of financial institutions, exchanges, brokerage firms and participants from a variety of market sectors. The IFM is exempt from income tax under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC). No taxable unrelated business income is generated and accordingly no provision for income taxes.

Products and Services

In May 2010, the IFM said it would fund six academic studies on trading, clearing and over-the counter derivatives. The move comes as legislation is being hammered out in Washington, DC that promised sweeping change to the way the futures and over-the-counter derivatives markets function. The research, completed by independent academics from Yale, University of Illinois, Singapore Management University, University of Delaware, HEC Paris, and Hong Kong Baptist University, and subjected to a rigorous peer-review process, were published in a special edition of the Review of Futures Markets.^[4]

Calendar of Events

The IFM offers a variety of live courses, customized in-house programs and Web courses. Clients include global investment banks, broker dealers, FCMs, hedge funds, portfolio and money managers, traders, investors, public-policy makers, regulators and exchanges. Courses range from basic to expert levels.^[5]

Education

The IFM provides customized education and specialized training to a wide cross-section of financial market users from investors to governments, exchanges, financial firms and multi-country member organizations. Courses range from basic to intermediate and expert level to meet the varied educational needs of those in the industry. All IFM courses are led by qualified, well-rounded educators who blend theory, practice and application into each program. In addition to customized, in-house education, the IFM offers open-enrollment courses offered in major financial centers.

The IFM also publishes introductory booklets and comprehensive self-study guides for various National Futures Association proficiency exams. These NFA exams ^[6] include;

• National Commodity Futures Examination - Series 3 exam
• Futures Managed Funds Examination - Series 31 exam
• Limited Futures Examination, Regulations -Series 32 exam

Ethics, Professional Conduct and AML Training

The IFM is a recognized leader in ethics and professional conduct training, and has provided training to more than 900,000 futures and security industry professionals worldwide. The IFM develops its training content from interviews with regulators and industry compliance professionals, through research and review of enforcement cases and client working groups.

The IFM offers an ethics and anti-money laundering compliance training programs that fulfill the regulatory obligations of firms and registrants as mandated by National Futures Association (NFA) and Compliance Rule 2-9.^[7] and the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA)^[8] In addition, the IFM authors educational content for customized professional conduct programs for regulators, exchanges and firms; conducts in-person training sessions; develops train-the-trainer materials; and provides coaching sessions for in-house staff.^[9]

Data

The IFM's Data Center was established with a grant from the Tudor Investment Corporation, founded by Paul Tudor Jones^[10]. The Data Center provides historical intra-day tick data on major futures contracts and U.S. equities and low-cost data services. ^[11] Subscription-based data services include:

• Exchange Trading Fees Databank, a service that provides futures commission merchants, broker/dealers and clearing organizations worldwide with a transparent means of collecting, monitoring and validating exchange, clearing and regulatory fees associated with global trading. Coverage includes more than 70 futures and options exchanges and platforms, and almost 30 equity options exchanges and platforms

• Futures & Options Factbook, an online guide to all products and contract specifications traded on 90 international exchanges, and includes a global holiday exchange calendar

• Security Futures Factbook, an online guide to single-stock futures, ETF and narrow-based index futures and options; and broad-based index futures and options traded globally.

• Position Limits Databank, a service that continously monitors and aggregates accountability levels, reporting levels and position limits data.

Finally, the IFM participates in the development of standards and fostering best practices initiatives in the financial services industry. One such initiative was a report to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Recommendations for Best Practice in Order Entry and Transmission of Exchange-Traded Futures and Options Transactions, completed by the IFM along with the NFA.^[12]

Key People

• Chairman, Peter F. Borish, CEO, Computer Trading Corporation
• Vice Chairman, Thomas A. Russo, Executive Vice President, Legal, Compliance, Regulatory Affairs and Government Affairs and General Counsel, American International Group, Inc. (AIG)
• Mark Holder, Product Development & Research Director, HKMEx, and MSFE Program Director, Kent State University

Members of the Board:

• Thomas F. Callahan, Executive Vice President,NYSE Euronext and CEO of NYSE Liffe U.S
• Fernando Centelles, Chief Executive Officer, MEFF (Mercado Español de Futuros Financieros)
• Alger "Duke" B. Chapman, Director, The Cambridge Group
• John M. Damgard, President, Futures Industry Association
• Michael C. Dawley, Managing Director, Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Futures Industry Association, Chairman
• Daniel A. Driscoll, Executive Vice President & Chief Compliance Officer, National Futures Association
• Laurie R. Ferber, Executive Vice President & General Counsel, MF Global, Ltd.
• Scott Gordon, Chief Executive Officer, Rosenthal Collins Group
• Arthur W. Hahn, Partner, Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP
• Edward A. Kwalwasser, Senior Counsel, Proskauer Rose LLP
• Robert G. Pickel, Chief Executive Officer, International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (ISDA)
• Neal A. Shear, Former Global Head of Securities, UBS Investment Bank
• Patricia Foshee (Ex Officio), Executive Vice President, IFM

Associates and Instructors:

• Kevin Baldwin
• Stanley Dash
• Neil J. McKenzie
• John H. O'Connell, CFA
• Polly J. Richter
• John Sanaghan
• Charlotte Scott
• Mayra Rodriguez Valladares
• Mehmet Yanilmaz, Ph.D.

References

1. ↑ Review of Futures Markets/Educational Research Foundation Symposia. IFM.
2. ↑ Eurex and IFM announce joint educational initiative. Deutsche Borse Group.
3. ↑ IFM Board of Trustees. IFM.
4. ↑ Clearing Corp Funds Derivatives Research. FT.com.
5. ↑ Calendar of Events. Institute for Financial Markets.
6. ↑ NFA Proficiency Requirement. NFA.
7. ↑ NFA Manual/Rules. NFA.
8. ↑ Commodity Exchange Act. CFTC.
9. ↑ Professional Conduct and Responsibility Programs. IFM.
10. ↑ Tudor Funds. Tudor Funds.
11. ↑ Data Center. IFM.
12. ↑ Recommendations for Best Practice in Order Entry and Transmission of Exchange-Traded Futures and Options Transactions. IFM.