As the IB voting for the NFA Board of Directors gets underway, we have been overwhelmed by the flood of responses we’ve received expressing the very frustrations we’ve struggled with, and a desire for reform. One response in particular really drove home why we believe it’s so important to get Jeff Malec and those like him fighting on behalf of the industry and investors onto the NFA Board, and we certainly hope you’ll agree. We thought we’d share, with a few edits to protect the identity of the individual from their concern of a potential retaliatory audit (the fact such concern exists is reason enough for change):

When I read the platforms that were included with the NFA ballot it was a “no-brainer.” Thank you for the stand you have taken for IB’s in our industry. It’s past time for someone to stand up with a voice to be heard. You articulated so well the issues and concerns we have to deal with in our interaction with NFA and their complex interpretative rules and regulations and especially, their audits with inexperienced staff.

We still use some order tickets and during an audit last November the NFA kids were clueless what to do with them. They didn’t know how to read them, and even after I taught them how to read, they had no idea what the data provided, what the problem areas may be, etc. I had to tell them. Their audit at our firm was a ‘fault’ finding mission not ‘fact’ finding. MF Global had just happened and they needed to find something wrong. If it weren’t available they could conjure up  something.”

I had copied material to my website direct from [an FCM] website and from a brochure printed by the CME. The kids required me to either take it down or make so many ridiculous changes that it wasn’t worth it.  And as much as we want to, that is the reason we do not use social media.

We need your platform at NFA—full of insight, truth, integrity, change, energy and powerfully written. […] I cast my vote for change in the next day’s mail. Wanted to make sure it got there on time. Thank you.