CFTC Staff Letters

The CPO of a commodity pool requested exemptive relief to permit it to file an Annual Report for the period from the inception of trading in October 2009 through December 31, 2010. The pool had one participant at the end of the pool’s fiscal year and a net asset value of $2XX,XXX. The CPO submitted a waiver from the participant evidencing her consent to the relief requested. DCIO granted relief pursuant to Commission Regulations 140.93 and 4.12(a).

The CPO of a commodity pool that operates pursuant to an exemption under Regulation 4.7 requested exemptive relief to permit it to file a final annual report for the period from January 1, 2009 through the permanent cessation of trading on March 31, 2010. The pool had five participants at the end of the pool’s fiscal year and a net asset value of $66,XXX,XXX. The CPO submitted waivers from the participants evidencing their consent to the relief requested. DCIO granted relief pursuant to Commission Regulations 140.93 and 4.12(a).

The CPO of a commodity pool requested relief from Commission Regulations 4.22(c) and (d), which require the filing and distribution of a certified Annual Report for the pool. The pool began trading in August 2008 and had a net asset value of $3XX,XXX. The CPO submitted signed waivers from the pool’s participants consenting to the exemption from the certified annual relief requirement. DCIO granted relief pursuant to Commission Regulations 140.93 and 4.12(a) conditioned upon the future filing and distribution of a certified Annual Report for the period from January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2010.

The CPO of a commodity pool requested relief from Commission Regulations 4.22(c) and (d), which require the filing and distribution of a certified Annual Report for the pool. Additionally, the CPO requested relief from the distribution and filing of an uncertified Annual Report. The pool began trading in June 2007 and had a net asset value of $2XX. The pool had no nonproprietary participants, and has plans to resume trading commodity interests and offering interests in the pool in 2010. DCIO granted relief pursuant to Commission Regulations 140.93 and 4.12(a) with respect to the request for relief from the certification requirement, conditioned upon the future filing and distribution of a certified Annual Report for the period from January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2010. DCIO, however, denied the remainder of the request as not being in the public interest.

The CPO of a commodity pool that operates pursuant to an exemption under Regulation 4.7 requested exemptive relief to permit it to file a final annual report for the period from September 2009 through December 31, 2010. Additionally, because the notice for the 4.7 exemption was not filed until after the close of the fiscal year, the CPO also requested relief from the certification requirement for the period from September 2009 through December 31, 2009. The pool had seven participants at the end of the pool’s fiscal year, three of which were proprietary, and a net asset value of $1,XXX,XXX. The CPO provided executed waivers from all of the nonproprietary participants. DCIO granted relief pursuant to Commission Regulations 140.93 and 4.12(a).

The CPO of a commodity pool that operates pursuant to an exemption under Regulation 4.7 requested exemptive relief to permit it to file an Annual Report for the period from October 15, 2009 through December 31, 2010. The pool had seven participants at the end of the pool’s fiscal year and a net asset value of $6,XXX,XXX. DCIO granted relief pursuant to Commission Regulations 140.93 and 4.12(a).

The CPO of a commodity pool requested relief from Commission Regulations 4.22(c) and (d), which require the filing and distribution of a certified Annual Report for the pool. Additionally, the CPO requested relief from the distribution and filing of an uncertified Annual Report and relief from the requirement that financial information for fiscal year 2009 be included in the Annual report for fiscal year 2010. The pool began trading in January 2004 and had a net asset value of $1X,XXX. The CPO submitted signed waivers from the pool’s participants, which consisted of the CPO and the pool’s CTA, consenting to the relief requested. DCIO granted relief pursuant to Commission Regulations 140.93 and 4.12(a) with respect to the request for relief from the certification requirement, conditioned upon the future filing and distribution of a certified Annual Report for the period from January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2010. DCIO, however, denied the remainder of the request as not being in the public interest.

The CPO of a commodity pool requested relief from Commission Regulations 4.22(c) and (d), which require the filing and distribution of a certified Annual Report for the pool. The pool began trading in May 2007 and had a net asset value of $8X,XXX. The CPO submitted signed waivers from the pool’s participants consenting to the exemption from the certified annual relief requirement. DCIO granted relief pursuant to Commission Regulations 140.93 and 4.12(a) conditioned upon the future filing and distribution of a certified Annual Report for the period from January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2010.

The CPO of a commodity pool that commenced operations in September of 2008 requested relief from Commission Regulations 4.22 (c) and (d), which require certification of the pool’s final Annual Report. The pool had only eight participants, total capital contributions of $3XX,XXX and, as of the pool’s liquidation date, $2X,XXX in net asset value. The CPO submitted signed waivers from each of the pool’s participants consenting to the exemption from the certified annual report requirement. DCIO granted relief pursuant to Commission Regulations 140.93 and 4.12(a).

The Division of Clearing and Intermediary Oversight took a CPO registration no-action position with respect to the independent trustees of a commodity pool where the independent trustees had no authority to perform CPO functions, the independent trustees were appointed solely to comply with audit committee requirements under the Sarbanes Oxley Act and exchange listing requirements, and a separate registered CPO was authorized to perform all commodity pool operator functions. The Division further granted exemptive relief from certain of the Part 4 regulations to the registered CPO of a commodity pool, whose shares the CPO intended to publicly offer and to list for trading on a national securities exchange. As is discussed in the letter, this relief was in the nature of substituted compliance with those regulations.