LongView, I too am probably going to use FundCount. Marco said they can add section 1256 contracts when needed. He and his team are extremely responsive. I emailed 3 of his customers and heard nothing but good things. Looking forward to getting up and running....
My advice is call the NFA directly. Their customer service is VERY helpful. They will most likely answer any specific questions you have regarding this issue....
We have been preparing ddocs for CTA for 20 years, and we still do it for $850, with no performance. Your only other costs will be $950. $200 for registration and $750 for membership. You can contact me by email or through our website at www.irfutures.com. It is not as expensive or as hard as you think! Dennis
A CTA or CPO are quite different from a hedge Fund or fund of funds Operator/Manager. Accounting and reporting issues are not the same by a long shot. A start up CTA with few accounts should be able to handle it on Excel. But you will soon grow out of it. As far as I know DMAXX is the only application out there specificaly designed for CTAs and CPO. Pricing depends on Funds under Management.
The Disclosure documents you can do yourslef. The NFA gives a specific guida as to what should be included. You can use samples of other documents to get some ideas. From what ive been told and from my experience, you should keep the disclosure docs. as simple as possible. The area which you might need an attorney is when you prepare your managed account paperwork. You should consult an attorney there because you don't want to leave yourself liable if something should go astray. This way you are covered in all areas.
What about the NFA guide to disclosure documents, which can be downloaded from their website? Basically tells you everything you're required to include....
As far as I know DMAXX is the only application out there specifically designed for CTAs and CPO. Which one is only fro CTA? And good web-base accounting & administration form for CTA?