All-New Initial Ethics Training

Course Overview

This completely redesigned course is specifically created for those who are new to the industry and recently registered with National Futures Association (NFA). It helps firms meet training requirements as mandated by the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regulations and NFA compliance rules. 

This training provides practical, scenario-based training in ethics and professionalism for the U.S. futures industry. It blends regulatory fundamentals with real‑world judgment, giving learners the insight, confidence, and practical skills needed to navigate gray areas, protect customers, and uphold the integrity of their firms and the markets.

This course was created by seasoned futures-industry professionals and independently reviewed by outside counsel with a background in cleared derivatives. 

Course duration: 90-120 minutes

Key Takeaways

Upon successful completion of the course, learners will:

• Gain a clear understanding of the U.S. derivatives regulatory structure.
• Develop the ethical reasoning skills that guide responsible conduct where rules leave off.
• Apply a practical decision‑making model to high‑stakes dilemmas.
• Appreciate individual accountability and personal responsibility.
• Understand the need to escalate concerns to compliance in a timely and appropriate manner.

Course Details

Across seven focused modules, learners move from understanding the U.S. regulatory structure to applying ethical reasoning in high‑stakes, real‑world scenarios. The course covers:

• How the U.S. derivatives system works—including the roles of the CFTC, NFA, exchanges, and SEFs, and who must register.
• How professionals think ethically, especially when rules don’t provide clear answers.
• A practical, repeatable model for ethical decision‑making that emphasizes escalation and sound judgment.
• Behavioral insights from real‑world dilemmas, showing how motivations and pressures shape ethical outcomes.
• Sales‑practice and supervision risks, including suitability, disclosures, hiring decisions, and oversight obligations.
• How personal online activities can create compliance risks, and how to maintain clear professional boundaries.
• Customer‑facing ethical challenges, including assessing readiness to trade, safeguarding confidentiality, managing conflicts of interest, and avoiding preferential treatment.

Who Should Take this Course?

This ethics training is designed for individuals involved in the futures markets who are responsible for upholding ethical and regulatory standards including:

• Associated Persons (APs) of NFA member firms who solicit or accept orders for futures, options, or swaps (including registered futures professionals required to maintain registration with NFA).

• Principals and Supervisors responsible for overseeing APs and compliance programs.

• Legal, Compliance, Risk, Operations and other Derivatives Professionals whose work affects or involves ethical and regulatory obligations.

 Upon successful completion, a training certificate will be available for download.