CFTC Issues Six Exemptive No-Action Letters Regarding CPO Disclosure and Reporting Requirements (CFTC Letters 15-31 - 15-36)

The CFTC issued six no-action letters that provide exemptive relief to Commodity Pool Operators ("CPOs") from reporting and disclosure requirements.

Letters 15-31, 15-32 and 15-35 provide exemptive relief to the CPO of a pool with a segregated portfolio from the audit requirements of CFTC Rule 4.22(d) regarding financial statements in the portfolio's 2014 annual report. The relief is conditioned on the following: (i) the fund must file and distribute an annual report with the NFA within 90 days of the fund's 2014 fiscal year, and (ii) the fund must file and distribute an annual report with the NFA within 90 days of its 2015 fiscal year.

Letter 15-33 extends the exemptive relief that was provided in No-Action Letters 14-35 and 14-36 involving CFTC Rules 4.21, 4.22 and 4.25 to the successor CPO of the trusts and series in those letters. The relief is subject to the following conditions:

• the material business terms of the trusts and series do not change;
• the investment experience of the shareholders does not change;
• the only material change is the substitution of the CPO;
• the representations made by the CPO in CFTC Letters 14-35 and 14-36 remain applicable; and
• the successor CPO complies with the terms and conditions for relief set forth in the previous letters.

Letter 15-34 grants exemptive relief to the CPO of a pool from the audit requirements of CFTC Rule 4.22(d) regarding financial statements in the pool's annual reports. The participants in the pool are three charitable remainder trusts formed by the sole owner and the CEO of the CPO, who is also the sole income beneficiary of the trusts. The trustee of the trusts is the President of the CPO.

Letter 15-36 extends the exemptive relief in CFTC Letter 14-49 that was granted with respect to: (i) additional proprietary commodity pools operated by a CPO referenced in that letter, and (ii) a proprietary commodity pool operated by another CPO referenced in that letter. The CPOs provided the same representations that were provided in CFTC Letter 14-49, and represented that they would comply with the conditions of the relief provided in that letter.

See: Letter 15-31; Letter 15-32; Letter 15-33; Letter 15-34; Letter 15-35, Letter 13-36.Related news: CFTC Issues No-Action Relief to CPOs from Reporting Requirements (CFTC Letters 14-48 and 14-49) (April 17, 2014); CFTC Issues Two No-Action Letters Providing Relief to CPOs of Pools Organized as Delaware Statutory Trusts (CFTC Letters 14-35 and 14-36) (March 25, 2014).