CFTC Staff Letters Archive

CFTC Staff Letters Archive provides Letters from 2007 and earlier. For Letters published 2008 or later visit the All Letters page.

There are no Advisory Letters or Other Written Communications for 2007 or earlier.

Date	PDF and Description
09/21/2000	00-93 ; Section 5 and 5a of the Act;; No-Action The Division of Trading and Markets (Division) issued a letter granting no-action relief to permit OM London Exchange Limited (OM London) to make its electronic trading and order matching system, known as the OM Click Exchange System (OM Click), and its electronic clearing system, known as OM SECUR Clearing System (OM SECUR), available to exchange participants in the U.S. without obtaining contract market designation pursuant to Sections 5 and 5a of the CEA.
09/20/2000	00-92 ; Regulation 4.7(a);; No-Action The Division of Trading and Markets (Division) granted an exemption from the qualified eligible person (QEP) criteria of Rule 4.7 (a) so that a CPO and CTA of a fund could continue to operate the fund as an exempt pool, notwithstanding the participation in the fund of certain of the CPO/CTA's employees who do not meet the QEP criteria. This letter would incorporate other prior no-action letters granted to the CPO/CTA in connection with its operation of the fund, and differs from these prior grants of relief in that the CPO/CTA would now be registered in those capacities with the Commission. In addition, the CPO/CTA agreed to continue to comply with the conditions set forth in the prior grants of relief.
09/13/2000	00-91 ; Rule 1.46;; No-Action The Division of Trading and Markets took a "no-action" position permitting a registered CPO and CTA to use a combination of separate trading programs to trade the accounts of several commodity pools (including pools that it operated as well as pool's operated by unaffiliated registered CPOs), without requiring the FCMs handling any such pools account(s) to close out offsetting positions generated by operation of the combined trading programs of a particular pool client. The no-action position was taken even though the CPO/CTA did not clearly demonstrate that it separately marketed the trading programs involved, and the Division imposed conditions including, inter alia, maintenance of records of offsetting positions, no participation by the CPO/CTA in round turn brokerage fees generated by offsetting positions, prior written permission from unaffiliated CPOs or trading managers to maintain offsetting positions, and inclusion in CPO Disclosure Documents of a risk factor explaining that offsetting positions may be generated and the potential for incurring extra costs to be borne by the pool.
09/11/2000	00-89 ; CEAct ' 4m(1), Regulation 4.10(d)(1);; No-Action Intrepration that a limited partnership engaged in pork production that trades commodity interests solely to hedge against the price risks associated with that business is not a "pool" within the meaning and intent of Rule 4.10(d)(1), and that consequently, the general partner of the partnership is not a CPO thereof.
09/11/2000	00-88 ; Regulation 4.7(b);; No-Action The Division of Trading and Markets granted a registered CPO an exemption from Rules 4.7(b)(3) and (b)(4), such that the CPO was granted: (1) an extension of time in which to distribute and file the annual reports of specified pools that invest assets in offshore vehicles; and (2) permission to maintain certain original books and records for these pools at their respective trustee, administrator, or custodian.
09/11/2000	00-87 ; Regulation 4.21, 4.22;; No-Action The Division of Trading and Markets granted a registered CPO an exemption from the requirements of Rules 4.21 and 4.22 to distribute disclosure documents, periodic account statements, and annual reports, where the CPO is operating a "Master Fund" which limits participation to two "Feeder Funds" that are also operated by the CPO. The exemption was conditioned upon: (1) the CPO remaining the CPO of the Master Fund and Feeder Funds; (2) participation in the Master Fund being limited to the CPO and the Feeder Funds; (3) the CPO disclosing the master-feeder fund structure to current and potential investors in the Feeder Funds; and (4) the annual reports of the Feeder Funds containing financial statements that include the fees associated with the operation of the Master Fund.
08/30/2000	00-90 ; 4.22(c) and (d);; No-Action The CPO of a fund of fund pool liquidated its assets by the end of 1999. The CPO requested that the Fund be granted relief from filing an annual report and exemption from the requirement of Rule 4.22(d) that the pool's 1999 annual report be audited. The participants submitted consent waiver statements in support of the exemption. The Fund's request not to file an Annual Report was denied; however, the Fund was granted relief from certification upon condition that an unaudited 1999 annual report be provided.
08/11/2000	01-08 ; Section 4m(1);; No-Action The Division of Trading and Markets took CPO and CTA no-action positions permitting a registered investment adviser to manage and advise a pension plan group trust for employees of the adviser's parent or corporate affiliates, the general account of an insurance company subsidiary of the adviser's parent, a trust holding pension plan assets for employees of a spun-off subsidiary of the adviser's parent, two pension plans for Canadian employees of the adviser's corporate affiliates, and a United Kingdom pension plan trust for employees of the adviser's parent and affiliates. The Division declined to extend the no-action position to permit the entities managed or advised by the adviser to accept pension plan assets from entities unaffiliated with the adviser's parent.
08/09/2000	00-86 ; Rules 4.21, 4.22 and 4.23;; No-Action The Division of Trading and Markets exempted a registered CPO from specific disclosure, reporting and recordkeeping requirements where the CPO is the general partner of the holding company for a group of affiliated real estate and restaurant development, operation and management entities, and is also the general partner of the entity holding the group's liquid assets. All investors in the holding company are family members or business associates of the CPO's owner, who is a former commodity options (CBOT member) and who makes all commodity interest trades for the group's liquid assets subsidiary.
08/09/2000	00-85 ; Rule 4.7(b) and 4.22;; No-Action The Division of Trading and Markets provided exemptive relief in which a firm would not be required to provide periodic statements and an annual report to the participants in two sub-funds operated by the firm because: (1) the firm limits participation in the sub-funds to itself and the feeder funds it also operates, thereby prohibiting individual investors from participating in the funds; and (2) the firm is the CPO of the sub-funds and the feeder funds. Relief is subject to the conditions that: (1) the firm remains the CPO of the sub-funds and the feeder funds; (2) the firm limits participation in the sub-funds to itself and the feeder funds; and (3) the annual reports of the feeder funds contain financial statements that include, among other required information, the fees associated with the operation of the respective sub-fund.