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
05/30/2000	00-72 ; Rule 4.22;; No-Action The CPO of a small pool requested exemptive relieve from the above requirement in respect to the Annual Reports that Rule 4.22(c) specifies the CPO must distribute to participants and file with the Commission. The exemption was granted upon condition that the CPO distribute an unaudited Annual Report for 1999 and for the period ending upon the permanent cessation of trading that otherwise complies with the Rules 4.22 (c) and (d).
05/26/2000	00-71 ; Rule 4.7(a);; No-Action The Division of Trading and Markets provided exemptive relief to a registered CPO that permits the CPO to treat an employee of the parent organization of the majority owner and managing member of the CPO as if he satisfies the QEP criteria of Rule 4.7(a). The employee has over two years' experience in the financial services industry and is an accredited investor as that term is defined in Rule 501(a)(5) under the Securities Act of 1933.
05/26/2000	00-70 ; Rule 4.7(a);; No-Action The Division of Trading and Markets relieved a registered CPO, in connection with its operation of a master fund, from its obligation pursuant to Rule 4.7(a)(2)(ii) to deliver account statements to three feeder funds that were also operated by the CPO, on the conditions that: (1) the CPO remains the CPO of the master fund and the feeder funds, and (2) the CPO continue to comply with the requirements of Rule 4.7(a)(2)(ii) in connection with all other investors in the master fund.
05/26/2000	00-67 ; Rule 4.7(a) and 4.7(a)(1)(ii)(B)(2)(xi);; No-Action The Division of Trading and Markets confirmed effectiveness of prior no-action positions where a CPO operating investment vehicles for the benefit of its parent company's employees proposed to expand eligibility for participation in those investment vehicles to include employees who were not accredited investors. Confirmation was made subject to compliance with the following conditions and undertakings. Non-accredited investors would be required: (1) to have a combination of graduate or undergraduate degree and relevant professional experience; (2) to have income of $100,000 in most recent year and prospects to receive $140,000 in each subsequent year; and (3) to limit investment to no more than 15% of the investor's income. CPO undertook otherwise to comply with the terms of the prior no-action letters, to cause the investment vehicles to issue audited annual reports and an offering memorandum to participants and to provide the CFTC with a copy of the amended Order to be issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission under Section 6(b) of the Investment Company Act of 1940.
05/25/2000	00-73 ; Section 2(a);; No-Action No-Action letter allowing the OM Exchange Limited standardized and flexible futures contracts and the OM Stockholm standardized futures contract on the OMXCAP Index to be offered and sold in the United States.
05/22/2000	00-98 ; CEA ? 4m(1), Regulation 4.10(d)(1);; No-Action The Division of Trading and Markets confirmed that certain family limited partnerships would not be "pools" within the meaning and intent of Rule 4.10(d), and, consequently, the general partners of the partnerships would not be CPOs thereof. In addition, the Division also confirmed that none of the general partners would be required to register as CTAs either because: (1) they are not CTAs within the meaning in Section 1a(5) of the CEA, because they do not receive compensation or profit; or (2) they qualify for exemption from CTA registration under Section 4m(1) of the CEAct.
05/22/2000	00-69 ; Rule 4.7(a), 4.21, 4.22, 4.23(a)(3), 4.23(a)(10) and 4.23(a)(11);; No-Action The Division of Trading and Markets provided exemptive relief to a registered CPO that permits the CPO to continue to treat an employee partnership as if it satisfies the QEP criteria of Rule 4.7(a) and provided exemptive relief to the registered CPO of the employee partnership from Rules 4.21, 4.22, 4.23(a)(3), 4.23(a)(10) and (a)(11) in connection with his operation of the employee partnership, notwithstanding the addition of two non-QEP investors to the employee partnership, based on the representation that the non-QEP investors were "knowledgeable employees" as that term is defined in Rule 3c-5 under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
05/22/2000	00-68 ; Regulation 4.7(a);; No-Action The Division of Trading and Markets granted an exemption to a registered commodity pool operator (CPO) from the requirements of rule 4.7(a) to permit certain employees who are not qualified eligible participants (QEPs) but who are "knowledgeable employees" as defined in rule 3c-5 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 to invest in a commodity pool operated by the CPO.
05/16/2000	00-65 ; Section 4m(1);; No-Action The Division of Trading and Markets declined to take a CPO registration "no-action" position with respect to past acts by two individuals and certain entities operated by them, which acts would ordinarily trigger CPO registration requirements. The Division cited its long-standing practice of refusing to issue no-action or exemptive letters with retroactive application, and it specifically referred to language in the 1998 adopting release for Rule 140.99.
05/12/2000	00-63 ; Rule 4.7(a);; No-Action The Division of Trading and Markets granted an exemption to a registered commodity pool operator (CPO) from the requirements of rule 4.7(a) to permit certain employees who are not qualified eligible participants (QEPs) but who are "knowledgeable employees" as defined in rule 3c-5 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (17 C.F.R. 270.3c-5) to invest in three commodity pools operated by the CPO pursuant to rule 4.7(a).