The Framework
Foundations of Financial-Markets Law
U.S. financial markets are governed by an interconnected framework of statutes, federal and state regulations, self-regulatory rules, disciplinary authority, and a body of substantive law that has accreted over nearly a century. Counsel, market participants, and clients facing financial-markets matters generally encounter this framework through six distinct but related areas.
The first, market regulation, identifies the regulators — the SEC, CFTC, FINRA, and NFA — and the statutes that give them their authority. The second, trading conduct and supervision, addresses the substantive duties those regulators impose on registered persons and their employers. The third, disputes and enforcement, covers the procedures by which conduct is policed and disagreements are resolved — regulatory proceedings, arbitration, and litigation. The fourth, expert witness practice, addresses the methodology and qualifications that govern testimony in financial-markets disputes.
The fifth, whistleblower programs, structures the federal architecture through which insiders report violations and may receive monetary awards — the SEC, CFTC, FinCEN, and the Department of Justice Criminal Division programs, with their distinct subject-matter jurisdictions and award mechanisms. The sixth, futures, FX, and trading conduct, addresses trade-level conduct in U.S. derivatives markets — manipulation, spoofing, microstructure issues, the FX Global Code, and account-level disputes under the CFTC and NFA framework.
Together, these foundations cover the regulatory architecture, the conduct standards that flow from it, the dispute mechanisms that enforce them, the expert practice that interprets them, the federal whistleblower programs that surface violations, and the derivatives-market conduct that animates much of modern financial-markets enforcement — forming the conceptual map any participant in U.S. financial markets ought to know.
The six foundations
Each foundation links to a detailed guide covering the relevant regulators, statutes, procedures, and authorities.
Foundation One
Market Regulation
The regulators that oversee U.S. financial markets — the SEC, CFTC, NFA, and FINRA — and the often overlapping authority that governs market participants, products, and conduct.
Foundation Two
Trading Conduct & Supervision
The duties owed by registered persons and their supervisors — conduct standards, supervisory obligations, recordkeeping, and the rules governing customer relationships and firm operations.
Foundation Three
Disputes & Enforcement
The procedures through which conduct is policed and disagreements resolved — SRO arbitration, regulatory enforcement, civil litigation, and the limited grounds for vacatur of arbitral awards.
Foundation Four
Expert Witness Practice
The methodology and qualifications that govern testimony in financial-markets disputes — Daubert, expert reports, and the ethical standards that apply to opinion testimony in regulatory and arbitral proceedings.
Foundation Five
Whistleblower Programs
Federal programs that convert insider knowledge into enforcement information — the SEC, CFTC, FinCEN, and DOJ Criminal Division Corporate Whistleblower programs, with their award structures and anti-retaliation protections.
Foundation Six
Futures, FX & Trading Conduct
The CFTC and NFA framework for futures, swaps, and foreign exchange — manipulation, spoofing, microstructure issues, the FX Global Code, account-level disputes, and the conduct standards governing derivatives markets.