Source: https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/17/4.13
Timestamp: 2019-07-18 07:10:46
Document Index: 435493958

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 4', '§ 4', '§ 4', '§ 5', '§ 190', '§ 230', '§ 270', '§ 4', '§ 4', '§ 4', '§ 1', '§ 4', '§ 4', '§ 4']

17 CFR § 4.13 - Exemption from registration as a commodity pool operator. | CFR | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute
Subpart A. General Provisions, Definitions and Exemptions
Section 4.13. Exemption from registration as a commodity pool operator.
17 CFR § 4.13 - Exemption from registration as a commodity pool operator.
This section is organized as follows: Paragraph (a) of this section specifies the criteria that must be met to qualify for exemption from registration under this section; paragraph (b) of this section governs the notice that must be filed to claim exemption from registration; paragraph (c) of this section sets forth the continuing obligations of a person who has claimed exemption under this section; paragraph (d) of this section specifies information certain persons must provide if they subsequently register; paragraph (e) of this section specifies the effect of registration on a person who has claimed an exemption from registration under this section or who is eligible to claim an exemption from registration hereunder; and paragraph (f) of this section specifies the effect of this section on § 4.5 of this chapter.
(a) A person is not required to register under the Act as a commodity pool operator if:
(i) It does not receive any compensation or other payment, directly or indirectly, for operating the pool, except reimbursement for the ordinary administrative expenses of operating the pool;
(ii) It operates only one commodity pool at any time;
(iii) It is not otherwise required to register with the Commission and is not a business affiliate of any person required to register with the Commission; and
(iv) Neither the person nor any other person involved with the pool does any advertising in connection with the pool (for purposes of this section, advertising includes the systematic solicitation of prospective participants by telephone or seminar presentation);
(i) None of the pools operated by it has more than 15 participants at any time; and
(ii) The total gross capital contributions it receives for units of participation in all of the pools it operates or that it intends to operate do not in the aggregate exceed $400,000.
(iii) For the purpose of determining eligibility for exemption under paragraph (a)(2) of this section, the person may exclude the following participants and their contributions:
(A) The pool's operator, commodity trading advisor, and the principals thereof;
(C) The spouse of any participant specified in paragraph (a)(2)(iii)(A) or (B) of this section; and
(D) Any relative of a participant specified in paragraph (a)(2)(iii)(A), (B) or (C) of this section, its spouse or a relative of its spouse, who has the same principal residence as such participant;
(3) For each pool for which the person claims exemption from registration under this paragraph (a)(3):
(i) Interests in the pool are exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933, and such interests are offered and sold without marketing to the public in the United States;
(ii) At all times, the pool meets one or the other of the following tests with respect to its commodity interest positions, including positions in security futures products, whether entered into for bona fide hedging purposes or otherwise:
(A) The aggregate initial margin, premiums, and required minimum security deposit for retail forex transactions (as defined in § 5.1(m) of this chapter) required to establish such positions, determined at the time the most recent position was established, will not exceed 5 percent of the liquidation value of the pool's portfolio, after taking into account unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such positions it has entered into; Provided, That in the case of an option that is in-the-money at the time of purchase, the in-the-money amount as defined in § 190.01(x) of this chapter may be excluded in computing such 5 percent; or
(B) The aggregate net notional value of such positions, determined at the time the most recent position was established, does not exceed 100 percent of the liquidation value of the pool's portfolio, after taking into account unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such positions it has entered into. For the purpose of this paragraph:
(iii) The person reasonably believes, at the time of investment (or, in the case of an existing pool, at the time of conversion to a pool meeting the criteria of paragraph (a)(3) of this section), that each person who participates in the pool is:
(A) An “accredited investor,” as that term is defined in § 230.501 of this title;
(B) A trust that is not an accredited investor but that was formed by an accredited investor for the benefit of a family member;
(C) A “knowledgeable employee,” as that term is defined in § 270.3c-5 of this title;
(D) A “qualified eligible person,” as that term is defined in § 4.7(a)(2)(viii)(A) of this chapter; or
(E) A person eligible to participate in a pool for which the pool operator can claim exemption from registration under paragraph (a)(4) of this section; and
(iv) Participations in the pool are not marketed as or in a vehicle for trading in the commodity futures or commodity options markets; Provided, That nothing in paragraph (a)(3) of this section shall prohibit the person from claiming an exemption under this section if it additionally operates one or more pools for which it meets the criteria of paragraph (a)(4) of this section;
(5) The person is acting as a director or trustee with respect to a pool whose operator is registered as a commodity pool operator and is eligible to claim relief under § 4.12(c) of this chapter, Provided, however, that:
(i) The person acts in such capacity solely to comply with the requirements under section 10A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and any Securities and Exchange Commission rules and exchange listing requirements adopted pursuant thereto, that the pool have an audit committee comprised exclusively of independent directors or trustees;
(i) Eligibility for exemption under paragraph (a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(3) or (a)(4) of this section is subject to the person furnishing in written communication physically delivered or delivered through electronic transmission to each prospective participant in the pool:
(1) Any person who desires to claim the relief from registration provided by this section, must file electronically a notice of exemption from commodity pool operator registration with the National Futures Association through its electronic exemption filing system. The notice must:
(i) Provide the name, main business address, main business telephone number, main facsimile number and main email address of the person claiming the exemption and the name of the pool for which it is claiming exemption;
(2) The person must file the notice by no later than the time that the pool operator delivers a subscription agreement for the pool to a prospective participant in the pool; Provided, however, that in the case of a claim for relief under § 4.13(a)(5), the person must file the notice by the later of the effective date of the pool's registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933 or the date on which the person first becomes a director or trustee; and Provided, further, that where a person registered with the Commission as a commodity pool operator intends to withdraw from registration in order to claim exemption hereunder, the person must notify its pool's participants in written communication physically delivered or delivered through electronic transmission that it intends to withdraw from registration and claim the exemption, and it must provide each such participant with a right to redeem its interest in the pool prior to the person filing a notice of exemption from registration
(3) The notice will be effective upon filing, provided the notice is materially complete.
(4)Annual notice. Each person who has filed a notice of exemption from registration under this section must affirm on an annual basis the notice of exemption from registration, withdraw such exemption due to the cessation of activities requiring registration or exemption therefrom, or withdraw such exemption and apply for registration within 60 days of the calendar year end through National Futures Association's electronic exemption filing system.
(5) Each person who has filed a notice of exemption from registration under this section must, in the event that any of the information contained or representations made in the notice becomes inaccurate or incomplete, amend the notice through National Futures Association's electronic exemption filing system as may be necessary to render the notice accurate and complete. This amendment must be filed electronically within 15 business days after the pool operator becomes aware of the occurrence of such event.
(1) Each person who has filed a notice of exemption from registration under this section must:
(i) Make and keep all books and records prepared in connection with its activities as a pool operator for a period of five years from the date of preparation;
(ii) Keep such books and records readily accessible during the first two years of the five-year period. All such books and records must be available for inspection upon the request of any representative of the Commission, the United States Department of Justice, or any other appropriate regulatory agency; and
(iii) Submit to such special calls as the Commission may make to demonstrate eligibility for and compliance with the applicable criteria for exemption under this section.
(2) Each person who has filed a notice of exemption from registration pursuant to paragraph (a)(1) or (a)(2) of this section must:
(i) Promptly furnish to each participant in the pool a copy of each monthly statement for the pool that the pool operator received from a futures commission merchant pursuant to § 1.33 of this chapter; and
(ii) Clearly show on such statement, or on an accompanying supplemental statement, the net profit or loss on all commodity interests closed since the date of the previous statement.
(d) Each person who applies for registration as a commodity pool operator subsequent to claiming relief under paragraph (a)(1) or (a)(2) of this section must include with its application the financial statements and other information required by § 4.22(c)(1) through (5) for each pool that it has operated as an operator exempt from registration. That information must be presented and computed in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles consistently applied. If the person is granted registration as a commodity pool operator, it must comply with the provisions of this part with respect to each such pool.
(1) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (e)(2) of this section, if a person who is eligible for exemption from registration as a commodity pool operator under this section nonetheless registers as a commodity pool operator, the person must comply with the provisions of this part with respect to each commodity pool identified on its registration application or supplement thereto.
(iii)Provides each existing participant in a pool that the person elects to operate as described in paragraph (a)(3) of this section a right to redeem the participant's interest in the pool, and informs each such participant of that right no later than the time the person commences to operate the pool as described in paragraph (a)(3) of this section.
(f) The filing of a notice of exemption from registration under this section will not affect the ability of a person to qualify for exclusion from the definition of the term “commodity pool operator” under § 4.5 in connection with its operation of another trading vehicle that is not covered under this § 4.13.
[46 FR 26013, May 8, 1981, as amended at 46 FR 63035, Dec. 30, 1981; 47 FR 57011, Dec. 22, 1982; 50 FR 15883, Apr. 23, 1985; 67 FR 77411, Dec. 18, 2002; 68 FR 47231, Aug. 8, 2003; 68 FR 59113, Oct. 14, 2003; 69 FR 41426, July 9, 2004; 72 FR 1663, Jan. 16, 2007; 74 FR 57590, Nov. 9, 2009; 75 FR 55428, Sept. 10, 2010; 76 FR 28645, May 18, 2011; 77 FR 11284, Feb. 24, 2012; 77 FR 17329, Mar. 26, 2012]