How is the he Commodity Futures Trading Commission funded?

Answer 1

The Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is an independent regulatory agency funded by the United States government. It was created by congress in 1974.

I suspect by the nature of your question you might be curious about a common funding misconception in the futures industry.

What is often confusing in futures regulation is that there is a second, and in many views quite redundant "Watchdog" agency in Futures known as the National Futures Association.

Unlike the CFTC which receives government funding, the NFA funding scheme is "Per Trade." NFA receives a payment from each trade. As of January 1, 2011, the NFA assessment fee, payable by clearing firms (Known as Futures Clearing Merchants in Commodities or FCMs) with respect to futures contracts, is $.02 per side on each lot, invoiced and charged to the customers. The assessment fee on both exchange-traded and dealer options is $.02 per side. The assessment fee for NFA Forex Dealer Members is $0.02 per $10,000 of notional value.

The NFA was created in 1982 when volumes were much lower. The result of the payment scheme is that due to larger modern volumes, NFA is awash in cash. Their unique, cash rich funding scheme, their odd market position (self regulatory vs government watch dog), and their clear government granted power over the industry, oft creates confusion to futures outsiders.