Opening remarks of Walt Lukken, President and CEO of FIA, at the International Futures Industry Conference in Boca Raton, Fla., on 10 March 2025. As prepared for delivery.
Welcome to Boca50.
As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Boca conference, we arrive in Florida at a time of reflection and great anticipation.
We reflect on the many industry milestones that we celebrate in 2025, including FIA’s five decades at this resort, the 50th anniversary of the CFTC and the 70th anniversary of the FIA.
We reflect on the innovators and deal-makers that have roamed these grounds over the decades. We stand in awe of their grit and creativity that built the foundations of our markets.
And we will celebrate a special group of these pioneers on Wednesday with the induction of the 20th Anniversary Class of the FIA Hall of Fame.
We reflect on what makes Boca special. Boca is where the magic happens.
Now, I have a good friend Gail, who is originally from Dublin, Ireland and now lives in Washington, DC. A few years back, Gail helped organize a trip of five close DC families to go to Killarney Ireland.
For us Americans, our instincts were to over-plan and over-schedule the visit. But Gail kept warning us in her Gaelic accent to slow down and “Let the Magic Happen.”
We took her advice and next thing you know, we found ourselves singing with the locals at a small Irish pub with the Guinness flowing and the ukuleles playing.
This unplanned moment became the memory we all cherished. And Let the Magic Happen became the motto for our trip.
It should be our motto for Boca50 as well.
Boca is the place where mergers are announced, where products are launched and where competition rears its head in unexpected ways. Big things happen here.
Credit default swaps were infamously invented at the Boca Resort in the 1990s.
Veterans of this conference remember early morning counterbids being slipped under room doors during the exchange merger years.
Significant regulatory advancements have happened here. Even today, global regulators and exchanges abide by the Boca Declaration, which regulators created during this conference to improve information sharing in the wake of the Barings and Sumitomo crises.
Past Bocas were known for exchange competitors throwing lavish parties that featured musical legends, like Tony Bennet, Chaka Khan and KC and the Sunshine Band.
Boca50 will honor this musical tradition with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band Cheap Trick performing at tomorrow’s Boca Late Night.
We all have our favorite Boca memories. For some, it was the pink tower coming into view as you drove up or the beach towel giveaways. For others, it was the late-night cigar parties or the card on the ceiling trick at the Magic Bar. Hell, we even had a CFTC Chairman who shall remain nameless caught swing dancing at the Luna bar.
Now it would be easy to reminisce about the good old days of Bocas’ past. But this misses the point. This conference has always been about looking forward.
Boca is about What’s Next.
And that’s where the anticipation comes in.
From the moment you step off the plane into the south Florida sunshine, the anticipation starts to course through your veins.
Will the exchange leaders spar or play nice? Who will make big announcements? What executives will be caught whispering late-night at the Palm Court bar?
This anticipation permeates the week. We never quite know what’s in store, but we do know it will be special. We know there will be magic!
But we need to follow my friend Gail’s advice and be in the right mindset for Boca50. Only then, can the magic occur.
So, I want you to join me in this pledge.
Repeat after me:
- I Promise to Keep an Open Mind
- Even when I’m Right
- I Promise to Meet New People
- I Promise to Stay Hydrated
- And Not Overconsume
- Before Noon
- And I Promise to Let the Magic Happen
Now that you are properly warmed up, I want to share three issues that I believe will generate the buzz, and maybe some magic, at Boca50.
Not surprising, my first one is the obvious red elephant in the room—the new Trump Administration.
Now eight weeks into governing, the President is delivering on his promise to shake up Washington and the global power structure. And boy is he.
President Trump and his team have hit the ground running, surprising even his most ardent supporters on the pace and breadth of his agenda.
Our markets have mixed feelings about the policies of the new Administration. FIA and Coalition Greenwich partnered to survey our members on their views surrounding the Trump transition.
The survey identified tariffs as the number one concern that could negatively impact our markets. This is followed by strong support for his business-friendly approach to regulation.
The markets and our industry will be sorting through these policy cross-currents. They will present opportunities but also challenges.
Our industry must stay engaged during this time of change or risk being left behind.
Part of that agenda includes improving government efficiency and cutting bureaucratic waste. I would not be surprised if the Administration looked at whether the SEC and CFTC should merge.
Admittedly, I’m a skeptic. As a former Acting Chair of the CFTC, I believe the Commission brings specialized expertise. It also has a flexible, principles-based regulatory regime that lends itself to global market oversight.
That said, I would be a hypocrite if I didn’t follow my own pledge of keeping an open mind about what could be.
Could a new agency with a principles-based approach bring together the benefits of both agencies? Or would we simply be creating a larger “one-size-fits-none” bureaucracy?
These are the fundamental questions that need to be answered, but it is worth our thoughtful consideration. Our industry needs to be ready should DOGE come knocking.
The second issue worth discussing is bank capital reform. Getting this right is the key to unlocking our markets’ ability to grow in the years ahead.
For those of you who lost the plot, the 2008 financial crisis exposed major flaws in our financial regulation. This gave rise to three major policy recommendations to shore up the financial system.
First, policymakers brought swaps onto regulated clearinghouses. They also introduced transparency to OTC derivatives. The third leg of the stool focused on improving capital levels to mitigate bank defaults.
Policymakers accomplished the first two and much of the third. But prudential regulators continue to work on bank capital reforms.
The Basel “End Game” proposal from the last Administration would have punitively impacted the clearing of derivatives. If implemented, it would have curtailed the overall capacity of our markets to grow.
FIA has made great progress on this issue. We forcefully argued that capital should not penalize clearing.
Our messaging was finally getting through in the last Administration when the election occurred.
The good news is that the new Administration will likely revisit capital reforms to recognize the importance of clearing. Fed Chairman Powell has also indicated a willingness to reconsider other capital standards, including the supplemental leverage ratio.
I am thrilled we have former Comptroller of the Currency and current Chair of Citigroup, John Dugan, on our agenda tomorrow morning to hear his thoughts on where the capital debate will go. John and I served on the President’s Working Group for Financial Markets during the financial crisis and believe me, you are in for a treat.
I believe the last buzz topic for Boca50 will be the disruptive impact of new technology on traditional finance.
The meme stock and crypto movements, and the companies that support them, helped to democratize finance for many citizens that felt shut out of our investing markets. The combination of smartphones, gamification and convenient apps brought a new generation of investors to our markets during Covid.
The power of this new model, with its simplified market structure, challenged the ways of traditional finance. And it has the potential to revolutionize various segments of our market structure.
The impact of this is raising some fundamental questions that will need to be addressed by policymakers and market participants alike.
-
Will 2025 be the year that some traditional markets move to 24/7 trading, and if so, how will settlement cycles keep pace?
-
Will this be the year that digital asset legislation passes Congress and gives the CFTC significant jurisdiction over this trillion-dollar marketplace?
-
And will 2025 be the year we address the rules of the road regarding how exchanges, clearinghouses, FCMs and trading firms can exist under the same legal structure?
Any one of these topics could significantly disrupt our industry, and the way we do business.
Our natural instincts might be to oppose these changes because we have always done it a certain way. And we would be wrong. Remember our pledge to have an open mind and to accept change when it betters our markets.
That doesn’t mean that these ideas don’t need a real adult discussion. Economist Thomas Sowell once said, “There are no solutions, there are only trade-offs.”
For example, FIA has raised concerns about exchanges owning FCMs. We must address the conflicts of interest and the heightened risk that arises when one company owns the entire stack of the marketplace.
FIA believes in the fundamental regulatory principle of same activity, same risk, same rules. Customers should have the same protections, no matter which route they access our markets.
No doubt, many of these ideas are innovative but it’s important to fully debate the tradeoffs and risks that come with such new approaches.
We encourage the new Administration to lead on these important regulatory questions. Clarifying these first-impression policies could set off another era of growth for our markets. And Boca is the perfect place to envision the future and start these conversations.
I’ll conclude by thanking all of you for joining our Boca50 celebration. I am grateful that you put your trust in FIA. Your dedication to this conference is heart-warming.
As such, I want to ask any audience member that has attended at least 10 Bocas to stand and be recognized. Remain standing if you have attended at least 20 Bocas. 30?
Our industry’s strength comes from the collective contributions of our members.
I’d also like to give a shout-out to a group of volunteers who have shown exceptional leadership in advancing FIA initiatives this year. These individuals have received the FIA President’s Award due to their efforts.
Lastly, I want to thank the many sponsors and exhibitors that made this week possible. You are incredible partners for the industry. We cannot do this without you. Please join me in thanking these wonderful companies.
With that, I appreciate you being a part of Boca50.
And remember to channel my Irish friend Gail and Let the Magic Happen!
