CFTC Grants Relief to CPOs from Audited Annual Financial Statement Requirements (CFTC Letters 16-40, 16-41, 16-42, 16-43, 16-44, 16-45 and 16-46)

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.

CFTC Letters 16-40, 16-44 and 16-45 provide relief to the CPO of each respective commodity pool from the audit requirement in CFTC Rules 4.7(b)(3) and 4.22(d)(1). The relief was conditioned in each case upon the filing and distribution of an uncertified 2015 annual report that otherwise complies with Rule 4.7(b)(3).

CFTC Letters 16-41, 16-42 and 16-43 requested exemptive relief from the annual report requirement in Rule 4.7(b)(3). The relief was conditioned in each case upon the future filing and distribution of a certified Annual Report covering the respective periods ranging from one year and two days to 14 months.

Additionally, CFTC Letter 16-46 granted no-action relief from CPO and CTA registration, and therefore from enforcement action pursuant to CEA Section 4m(1), to a family office that provides investment management and advisory services to a single family where one of the members is not a "family client," but rather is the sister-in-law of one of the family members. In that case, the CFTC granted relief to the family office of an "extended family."