On December 1, the National Futures Association (NFA) released guidance pertaining to the annual affirmation requirement for persons or entities that claim an exemption or exclusion from commodity pool operator (CPO) registration under Commodity Futures Trading Commission Regulation 4.5, 4.13(a)(1), 4.13(a)(2), 4.13(a)(3) or 4.13(a)(5), or from commodity trading advisor (CTA) registration under CFTC Regulation 4.14(a)(8). Such persons or entities must affirm applicable exemptions or exclusions electronically through the NFA’s exemption system by February 29, 2016. Failure to affirm will result in the applicable exemption or exclusion being withdrawn on March 1, 2016. If a registered CPO or CTA fails to affirm an exemption or exclusion that it relies upon, the entity will become subject to the CFTC’s Part 4 Requirements even if the entity remains eligible for such exemption or exclusion. Non-registrants that fail to affirm an exemption or exclusion may face enforcement action by the CFTC. The renewal or withdrawal of an exemption or exclusion will be reflected on the NFA’s Background Affiliation Status Information Center (BASIC) system.

The NFA’s guidance can be found here.