Derivatives & Trading: Moore & Van Allen

Overview

Moore & Van Allen’s Derivatives & Trading practice provides commercially focused counsel to clients operating across the full spectrum of traded products and asset classes, including interest rates, commodities, equities, foreign exchange, credit products, digital assets and tokenized assets, prediction markets, securities, and related financing structures. Our attorneys advise on OTC and cleared derivatives, physical commodity transactions, exchange-traded products, and trade-related financings, bringing practical judgment to transactional, regulatory, compliance, and investigation matters.

We represent a broad range of U.S. and non-U.S. market participants, including swap dealers, broker-dealers, security-based swap dealers, commodities trading firms, FX dealers and liquidity providers, private equity firms, clearing houses, futures commission merchants, designated contract markets and event contract exchanges, sovereign entities, pensions, hedge funds, commodity pools, financial institutions, trade associations, and corporate end-users across multiple industries.

Clients turn to us for guidance on the legal, regulatory, and commercial issues that arise throughout the lifecycle of trading activity, from product development and market entry to documentation, execution, ongoing compliance, and responses to regulatory scrutiny. We regularly advise leading global swap dealers and non-dealer liquidity and hedge providers, including participants in the foreign exchange, securities, digital asset, and prediction markets. Our practice is supported by lawyers across the firm’s financial services and litigation groups, allowing us to deliver integrated advice on sophisticated transactions, market structure developments, and complex disputes or investigations.

Documentation, Structuring & Financing

Our attorneys draft, negotiate, and advise on a wide range of trading and financing documentation, from traditional derivatives and securities to complex and novel structures. This includes swaps and options, FX forwards, digital assets and spot trading arrangements, security-based swaps, total return swaps, securities lending and repurchase agreements, and event contracts listed on CFTC-regulated exchanges. We also counsel clients on the use and treatment of interest rate, currency, equity, credit, and commodity derivatives in single-lender and syndicated credit facilities, asset securitizations, and other financing transactions.

Commodities, Energy & Emerging Products

In commodity and emerging product markets, we advise clients on physical and financial commodity trading, financing, transportation, storage, and related commercial arrangements involving energy, precious and base metals, soft commodities, renewable energy attributes, digital assets, tokenized assets, and other evolving products.

Regulatory, Compliance & Investigations

We also assist registered and non-registered entities in designing, enhancing, and reviewing internal compliance programs and in navigating governmental, self-regulatory, exchange, and internal investigations involving the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA), CFTC regulations, federal securities laws, SEC regulations, and exchange and SRO rules.

Representative Work

Transactional:

Negotiated ISDA Master Agreements, securities financing master agreements, and related trading documentation for domestic and international financial institutions, including in connection with multi-billion-dollar subscription facilities and ETF equity swap transactions
Conducted hedge reviews and advised on secured hedge provisions for syndicated lending and credit facilities across multiple banks
Advised on post-merger integration of derivatives businesses, expansion of FX sales and trading operations, and implementation of the 2026 ISDA FX Definitions
Structured and documented novel OTC derivatives transactions, including a first-of-its-kind OTC Compute derivatives product and bespoke master confirmation agreements for digital assets, equities, and perpetual derivatives
Developed and reviewed swap confirmation templates across multiple asset classes; including equities, commodities, FX, and digital assets, for swap dealers and banks
Advised financial institutions on secured commodity hedging in connection with asset-backed securitizations of oil and gas assets, deal-contingent interest rate hedging, and syndicated project finance lending
Represented natural gas, power, and renewable energy projects in the negotiation of secured commodity hedge agreements, physical offtake transactions, ISDA physical commodity annexes, and renewable energy attribute purchase and sale agreements
Represented trading affiliates of large financial institutions in commodity purchase, sale, and finance transactions involving base metals, natural gas, and precious metals, including allocated and unallocated precious metals trading documentation for a multi-billion-dollar private fund
Drafted netting opinions, advised on close-out netting and collateral enforceability matters, and counseled on bankruptcy and true sale issues related to secured derivatives hedging and commodity finance structures
Conducted UCC searches, reviews, and filings, and drafted general terms and conditions for commodity purchase and sale transactions for secured commodity finance providers

Regulatory:

Represented domestic and international swap dealers in CFTC investigations concerning swap data reporting under the Commodity Exchange Act, including regulatory interpretation and implementation matters across multiple institutions
Represented a swap dealer in a CFTC sweep focused on sales and trading practices in connection with interest rate swap transactions related to bond issuances, including potential price manipulation and insider trading
Represented swap dealers, futures commission merchants, and other market participants in exchange inquiries, investigations, and trading matters involving trading conduct, market-practice issues, and related supervisory and compliance obligations
Developed and delivered customized training programs for swap dealers, futures commission merchants, and other market participants on trading practices, supervisory obligations, exchange rules, internal controls, and lessons learned from recent enforcement actions
Advised multiple institutions on CFTC, NFA, SEC, and FINRA registration matters; including swap dealer, security-based swap dealer, broker-dealer, introducing broker, and commodity pool operator registration, exemptions, and no-action relief
Advised a global swap dealer on foreign exchange disclosures and pre-hedging policies, procedures, and training, and counseled a large bank on the use of Term SOFR derivatives and the 2026 ISDA FX Definitions
Advised a large bank on regulatory permissibility, compliance requirements, and documentation regarding physical commodity trading and financing activities, including the regulatory treatment of physically settled commodity forwards
Advised institutions on registration and compliance requirements associated with event contracts and on transacting in digital assets, including the tokenization of real-world assets
Advised a large bank on compliance requirements associated with the acquisition of a broker-dealer, including SEC and FINRA requirements concerning municipal securities
Advised funds and banks on CFTC no-action relief related to commodity pool operator registration and swap dealer registration for energy commodity end-user swaps