As hurricane season approaches, the securities and commodities industries’ principal regulators are effectively encouraging firms to do the equivalent of putting up storm shutters, stocking up on batteries and bottled water, and installing generators.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) issued a staff advisory on business continuity and disaster recovery planning. This advisory follows a joint review of the effects of Hurricane Sandy, which closed U.S. equity and options markets on October 29 and 30, 2012, and encourages firms to review and enhance their business continuity plans (“BCP”) to improve responses to, and reduce recovery time after, significant large-scale events.