Photo of Douglas E. Arend

Douglas E. Arend

Douglas E. Arend focuses his practice on commodity futures, derivatives and securities, with an emphasis on managed funds. He represents registered and exempt investment advisers, commodity pools and hedge funds, proprietary trading firms, introducing brokers, futures commission merchants and broker-dealers. Douglas concentrates on complex transactional and regulatory matters, including public and private offerings, fund formation, business structuring, registration and compliance. His public fund experience includes SEC registered offerings, and compliance with the Securities Act of 1933, the Dodd-Frank Act, the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations.

On Feb. 25, the CFTC’s Division of Enforcement released an advisory highlighting the benefits of self-reporting, cooperation, and remediation for violations of the Commodities Exchange Act. It refines the Division’s approach, guiding how these factors influence enforcement recommendations.

Continue Reading CFTC Issues Enforcement Advisory on Benefits of Self-Reporting, Cooperation, and Remediation

On Sept. 12, 2024, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) took another step toward limiting the availability and scope of relief provided by CFTC Regulation 4.7 (Reg. 4.7) under the

Continue Reading CFTC Further Narrows Scope of Relief Under Regulation 4.7 ‘Registration Lite’


Continue Reading Commodity Futures Trading Commission Issues Time-Limited Relief from CFTC Rule 1.56


Continue Reading CFTC Proposes Expanding Exemption for Non-U.S. Commodity Pool Operators

On March 21, 2019, in Whitaker v. Wedbush Securities, an Illinois appellate court for the first time addressed the liability of a futures commission merchant (FCM) or broker-dealer (BD)
Continue Reading When Can Futures Commission Merchants and Broker-Dealers Be Deemed Banks?

The rise of blockchain technology ventures raising money preternaturally through initial coin offerings and token generation events (collectively, ICOs) is a capital formation disruptor, one which has and will continue
Continue Reading Regulators Weigh in on Digital Assets, Tokens, Securities, and Derivative Instruments Used in ICOs