Court Threw CFTC’s Case Against a Prop Firm, Now MyFunded Futures Wants Its Greenlight

MyFunded Futures, a proprietary trading platform based in the United States, is now moving towards becoming a “fully licensed Introducing Broker (IB)” regulated by the National Futures Association (NFA) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

A Job Post Reveals MyFunded Futures’ Plans

Revealed in a recent job post on LinkedIn, the prop platform is looking to hire a “Director of Brokerage Operations – Futures Brokerage,” who will be based in the US.

“The Director of Brokerage Operations will lead our brokerage infrastructure as we complete our IB registration and establish supervisory practices,” the job description states.

The company, however, does not yet appear to be registered with the NFA or CFTC. A search in the Background Affiliation Status Information Centre (BASIC) database using the terms “MyFunded Futures” or “MyFunded” does not return any results.

Read CFTC's previous tussle with a prop firm: In a Blow to the CFTC, US Court Throws Out My Forex Funds Lawsuit

An IB is the sales and client-facing arm of the US futures and retail forex market. It finds and onboards traders, guides them through the account forms, and passes every order directly to a carrying Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) or, in the case of retail forex, to a Retail Foreign Exchange Dealer (RFED). The IB may offer a trading platform and market commentary but never holds client money; all funds, margin, and clearing risk remain with the FCM.

In the US, an IB operates under two models – guaranteed or independent. A guaranteed IB relies on one FCM for capital support, whereas an independent IB must meet a minimum net capital requirement of around USD 45,000. The IB earns a portion of each trade’s commission and must also register separately as a Commodity Trading Advisor or Pool Operator before giving personal advice or managing client funds.

The specifics of MyFunded Futures’ IB business remain undisclosed at this time.

FinanceMagnates.com approached Matthew Leech, the CEO of MyFunded Futures, for details on the platform’s IB operations, but as of press time, no response had been received.

Props Becoming Brokers Is a Trend

Leech entered the prop trading business with another platform, MyFundedFX, which has since been rebranded to SeacrestFunded. That prop platform also has a brokerage unit, Seacrest Markets, which operates under a South African licence.

Although several prop trading platforms have now obtained brokerage licences, most seem to be using them to meet technological requirements, such as obtaining MetaTrader licences. Additionally, most of these registrations are issued in St Lucia, which does not have a dedicated brokerage license regime, or in the controversial jurisdiction of Comoros. Only a few of these prop firms appear to be offering standalone brokerage services.

However, MyFunded Futures’ move to become an IB in the US appears to be a first.