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
02/06/1997	97-04 ; Rules 4.26(a)(2), 4.22(a) and 4.22(c);; No-Action In connection with the solicitation of former limited partners of a commodity pool, the Division of Trading and Markets granted a registered CPO's request for relief from the prohibition in Rule 4.26(a)(2) against using a Disclosure Document that is dated more than nine months prior to the date of its use. The CPO represented that the commodity pool had not traded for 10 months, all former limited partners had redeemed their interests in the pool and there were no material changes to the Disclosure Document. The Division also granted the CPO's request for relief from providing the Account Statements required by Rule 4.22(a) and Annual Report required by Rule 4.22(c) for the 10-month period during which the pool suspended trading.
02/05/1997	97-07 ; Rule 4.10(d);; No-Action The Division of Trading and Markets confirmed that a limited partnership, formed for the purpose of investing in land rule estate, was not a commodity pool within the meaning and intent of Rule 4.10(d) where interests in the limited partnership were held by an individual and a family partnership solely consisting of immediate family members of the individual.
01/28/1997	97-08 ; Rule 4.7;; No-Action The Division of Trading and Markets would not recommend that the Commission bring an enforcement action against a commodity pool operator (CPO) based upon the CPO's operation of a partnership as a Rule 4.7 exempt pool notwithstanding the presence in the partnership of non-qualified eligible participant (QEP) partners where all the non-QEP partners had been members^ of the partnership for at least three years and all were accredited investors, members of the general partners' families or a trust created for the benefit of a partner's families or a trust created for the benefit of a general partner's family. The Division also would not recommend that an enforcement action be brought based upon the CPO's investment of more than ten percent of the partnership's assets in Rule 4.7 exempt pools. Relief was conditioned upon each non-QEP limited partner consenting to being treated as a QEP.
01/15/1997	97-03 ; Section 4(m)(1), Rule 4.31;; No-Action The Division of Trading and Markets provided relief to a Canadian person from the CPO registration requirements of section 4(m)(l) of the Commodity Exchange Act in connection with its operation of an off-shore pool. Participants in the pool would not be offered to any United States persons as defined in Rule 4.7(a). In addition, the Division granted an exemption from the disclosure document requirements of Rule 4.31 for the CTA of the foreign pool since the CTA and the operator of the pool are affiliated subsidiaries.
01/10/1997	97-02 ; Rule 4.7(a);; No-Action The Division of Trading and Markets permitted a registered CPO to claim relief under Rule 4.7(a), notwithstanding the presence of a non-QEP in its pool. The non-QEP is an active participant in the pool's management, a portfolio manager for all of the CPO's limited partnerships, a registered AP and an accredited investor. The relief is subject to the conditions that the non-QEP consents in writing to being treated as a QEP and has access to the pool's books and records.
12/24/1996	97-13 ; Section 4d(2);; No-Action The Division of Trading and Markets would not recommend that the Commission take any enforcement action against an introducing broker (IB) based solely on the IB's failure to register as an FCM where the IB effects a customer's transfer of funds from the customer's securities account to the customer's commodity interest account by the IB drawing a check from the securities account payable to the commodity interest account and depositing the check into the customer's commodity interest account. Relief was conditioned upon the IB's ability to provide certain documentation to the Commission's and the National Futures Association's auditors.
12/12/1996	97-01 ; Section 4(a);; No-Action A financial planner that proposed to sell gold coins and gold bullion to his clients was advised to carefully review all the facts and circumstances relating to the transactions to determine whether such transactions would constitute futures contracts or commodity options and thus be within the purview of the Commodity Exchange Act and Commission regulations promulgated thereunder.
12/04/1996	96-85 ; Rule 1.57(a)(1);; No-Action The Division of Trading and Markets granted a request by a guaranteed IB to permit its guarantor FCM to provide execution but not clearing services for certain institutional customers. The IB has a business relationship only with its guarantor FCM, the guarantor FCM is substantially capitalized and the guarantor FCM reaffirmed that it accepts joint and several liability as provided in the Guarantee Agreement it executed with the IB. In addition, the IB agreed to limit to $2 million the amount of money, securities, or property (or credit extended in lieu thereof) required by FCMs other than its guarantor FCM from these institutional customers to margin these "give-up" trades in commodity interest contracts.
12/03/1996	96-84 ; Rule 4.5 and 4.14(a)(8);; No-Action The Division of Trading and Markets granted a request by a registered investment adviser for confirmation that, subsequent to its registration as a CPO/CTA, it may continue to rely on Rules 4.5 and 4.14(a)(8), insofar as they provide relief from certain regulatory requirements of Part 4, other than antifraud prohibitions, with respect to its Rule 4.5-eligible clients. In addition, the Division confirmed that persons who exclusively solicit interest in Rule 4.5-eligible entities or discretionary accounts of Rule 4.5-eligible entities, and supervisors of any such activity, will not be subject to registration as APs under Rule 3.12(h)(3)(ii)(B) solely on the basis of such activities.
11/27/1996	97-14 ; Section 4m(1);; No-Action The Division of Trading and Markets would not recommend that the Commission bring an enforcement action for failure to register against a commodity trading advisor (CTA) that was organized in the United Kingdom and registered with the Securities and Futures Authority. Two of the three owners of the no-actioned CTA were listed with the Commission as principals of a registered CTA, and the third was in the process of registering as an AP of the registered CTA. Relief was conditioned upon receipt by the Division of joint and several liability acknowledgments executed by the no-actioned CTA and the registered CTA.