firm or person engaged in soliciting or accepting orders for the purchase or sale of futures contracts. A futures commission merchant accepts cash or securities for margin trading, subject to the rules of a futures exchange, and must be licensed by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission.
an individual, firm, or trust that acts as a broker in futures market transactions, which include futures contracts and futures options, and that accepts money or other assets from customers in connection with such orders. FCMs, sometimes called commission firms, futures commission firms, or commodity brokerage firms must be registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). They have two basic account types: fully disclosed accounts are carried in the names of individual customers, while omnibus accounts are opened in the name of one FCM at another FCM and comprise multiple individual accounts whose names are not disclosed.
