CFTC Grants Relief to CPOs from Audited Annual Financial Statement Requirements (CFTC Letters 16-35, 16-36, 16-37, 16-38 and 16-39)

The CFTC Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight ("DSIO") granted relief to several commodity pool operators ("CPOs") from the annual report filing requirement, and from the requirement that such reports contain an audited annual financial statement.

Letter 16-35 granted relief to the CPO of a commodity pool that operates as part of a master-feeder structure pursuant to an exemption under Rule 4.7 from the Annual Report filing requirement in CFTC Rule 4.7(b)(3). The relief allows the CPO to file a 13-month annual report for the period dating from December 1, 2015 (the date on which the pool began trading) through December 31, 2016 (the close of the pool's first fiscal year).

CFTC Letters 16-36, 16-37, 16-38 and 16-39 provide relief to the CPO of each respective commodity pool that operates pursuant to an exemption under Rule 4.7 from the requirement that they file, within 90 days of the close of the pool's fiscal year, an annual report with the NFA containing an audited financial statement concerning the pool that recognizes the "substantial cost" such requirements would impose upon the pool and, in the case of Letter 16-36, the "considerable and ongoing familiarity" of the two participants of the pool with its financial condition. The relief was conditioned in each case on the CPOs' distribution to pool participants, and on filing an annual report with the NFA for the fiscal year ending on December 31, 2015 (and in the case of Letter 16-38, for the windup period ending on February 4, 2016) that contains unaudited financial statements, as well as future annual reports in full compliance with applicable CFTC Rules.