[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 237 (Tuesday, December 10, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 67355-67370]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-26162]


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COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION

17 CFR Part 4

RIN 3038-AE76


Registration and Compliance Requirements for Commodity Pool 
Operators (CPOs) and Commodity Trading Advisors: Family Offices and 
Exempt CPOs

AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission) 
is adopting certain amendments to its regulations applicable to 
commodity pool operators (CPOs) and commodity trading advisors (CTAs). 
The amendments (Final Rules) are consistent with no-action and 
exemptive letters issued by the Commission's Division of Swap Dealer 
and Intermediary Oversight (DSIO). The amendments provide an exemption 
from registration for CPOs and CTAs of family offices; adopt exemptive 
relief consistent with the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 
by permitting general solicitation under applicable Commission 
regulations; and clarify that non-U.S. persons, regardless of financial 
sophistication, are permitted participants in pools exempt under the 
applicable Commission regulation.

DATES: This rule is effective January 9, 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joshua Sterling, Director, at 202-418-
6056 or [email protected]; Amanda Olear, Associate Director, at 202-
418-5283 or [email protected]; Elizabeth Groover, Special Counsel, at 
202-418-5985 or [email protected]; Chang Jung, Special Counsel, at 202-
418-5202 or [email protected]; and Michael Ehrstein, Special Counsel, at 
202-418-5957 or [email protected], Division of Swap Dealer and 
Intermediary Oversight, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Three 
Lafayette Centre, 1151 21st Street NW, Washington, DC 20581.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. Background
    a. Statutory and Regulatory Background
    i. Existing Statutory and Regulatory Authorities
    ii. The October 2018 Proposal
    b. Public Comments and Ex Parte Meetings
    c. Scope of the Final Rules
II. Final Rules
    a. Family Offices
    i. The Proposed Exemptions
    ii. No Notice Required for the Family Office CPO Exemption
    iii. The CTA Exemption: No Bifurcation Needed and No Notices 
Required
    iv. Responses to Miscellaneous Comments
    v. The Effect of the Final Amendments on CFTC Staff Letters 12-
37 and 14-143: The CPO and CTA Family Office No-Action Letters
    b. JOBS Act Amendments: Expanding Marketing and Advertising for 
Qualifying Exempt CPOs and Certain Exempt Pools
    i. Background of the JOBS Act and the Proposed Amendments
    ii. Comments Received and Final Amendments
    iii. The Effect of the Final Amendments on CFTC Letter 14-116: 
The JOBS Act Relief Letter
    c. Permitting Non-U.S. Person Investors in De Minimis Exempt 
Pools
III. Related Matters
    a. Regulatory Flexibility Act
    b. Paperwork Reduction Act
    i. Revisions to the Collections of Information
    (a) OMB Control Number 3038-0005
    (b) OMB Control Number 3038-0023
    ii. Information Collection Comments
    c. Cost-Benefit Considerations
    i. General Costs and Benefits
    (a) Summary of the Final Rule
    (b) Benefits of the Final Rule Amendments
    (c) Costs of the Final Rule Amendments
    ii. Section 15(a)
    (a) Factor 1: Protection of Market Participants and the Public
    (b) Factor 2: Efficiency, Competitiveness, and Financial 
Integrity of Markets
    (c) Factor 3: Price Discovery
    (d) Factor 4: Sound Risk Management
    (e) Factor 5: Other Public Interest Considerations
    d. Antitrust Considerations

I. Background

a. Statutory and Regulatory Background

i. Existing Statutory and Regulatory Authorities
    Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer 
Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) \1\ established a statutory framework 
to reduce risk, increase transparency, and promote market integrity 
within the financial system by regulating the swaps market. As amended 
by the Dodd-Frank Act, section 1a(11) of the Commodity Exchange Act 
(CEA or the Act) defines the term ``commodity pool operator,'' as any 
person \2\ engaged in a business that is of the nature of a commodity 
pool, investment trust, syndicate, or similar form of enterprise, and 
who, with respect to that commodity pool, solicits, accepts, or 
receives from others, funds, securities, or property, either directly 
or through capital contributions, the sale of stock or other forms of 
securities, or otherwise, for the purpose of trading in commodity 
interests.\3\ CEA section 1a(12) defines a ``commodity trading 
advisor,'' as any person who, for compensation or profit, engages in 
the business of advising others, either directly or through 
publications, writings, or electronic media, as to the value of or the 
advisability of trading in commodity interests.\4\ CEA section 4m(1) 
generally requires each person who satisfies the CPO or CTA definitions 
to register as such with the Commission.\5\ With respect to CPOs, the 
CEA also authorizes the Commission, acting by rule or regulation, to 
include within or exclude from the term ``commodity pool operator,'' 
any person engaged in the business of operating a commodity pool, if 
the Commission determines that the rule or regulation

[[Page 67356]]

will effectuate the purposes of the Act.\6\ CEA section 1a(12)(B) 
provides multiple exclusions from the CTA definition, and similarly 
affords the Commission the authority to exclude such other persons not 
within the intent of that provision, as the Commission may specify by 
rule, regulation, or order.\7\
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    \1\ Public Law 111-203, 124 Stat. 1376 (2010), available at: 
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-111publ203/pdf/PLAW-111publ203.pdf (last retrieved Jul. 17, 2019).
    \2\ Regulation 1.3 defines ``person'' as including individuals, 
associations, partnerships, corporations, and trusts. 17 CFR 1.3. 
The Commission's regulations are found at 17 CFR Chapter I (2019).
    \3\ 7 U.S.C. 1a(11). The CEA is found at 7 U.S.C. 1, et seq. 
(2019). Both the Act and the Commission's regulations are accessible 
through the Commission's website, https://www.cftc.gov.
    \4\ 7 U.S.C. 1a(12)(A)(i). The CTA definition also includes any 
person who for compensation or profit, and as part of a regular 
business, issues or promulgates analyses or reports concerning the 
value of or advisability of trading in commodity interests, and any 
person that is registered with the Commission as a CTA. 7 U.S.C. 
1a(12)(A)(ii)-(iii).
    \5\ 7 U.S.C. 6m(1).
    \6\ 7 U.S.C. 1a(11)(B).
    \7\ 7 U.S.C. 1a(12)(B)(vii). The Commission most recently relied 
on the authority in this provision in issuing an Order excluding 
Farm Credit System institutions from that definition, due to their 
similarities to banks, a type of entity that is already excluded by 
CEA section 1a(12)(B)(i). See Order Excluding Farm Credit System 
Institutions From the Commodity Exchange Act's Definition of 
``Commodity Trading Advisor,'' 81 FR 89447 (Dec. 12, 2016). CEA 
section 1a(12)(C) requires that the exclusions in CEA section 
1a(12)(B) only apply if the furnishing of such excluded CTA services 
by such persons is solely incidental to the conduct of their 
business or profession. 7 U.S.C. 1a(12)(C).
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    Part 4 of the Commission's regulations governs the operations and 
activities of CPOs and CTAs.\8\ Those regulations implement the 
statutory authority provided to the Commission by the CEA and establish 
multiple registration exemptions and exclusions for CPOs and CTAs.\9\ 
Part 4 also contains regulations that establish the ongoing compliance 
obligations applicable to CPOs and CTAs registered or required to be 
registered. These requirements relate to the commodity pools and 
separate accounts that the CPOs and CTAs operate and advise, and among 
other things, provide customer protection, disclosure and reporting of 
certain information to a registrant's commodity pool participants or 
advisory clients.
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    \8\ See generally 17 CFR part 4.
    \9\ See, e.g., 17 CFR 4.13 and 4.14 (providing multiple 
registration exemptions to qualifying persons meeting the CPO and 
CTA definitions, respectively).
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ii. The October 2018 Proposal
    In response to information received from members of the public, as 
well as CFTC staff's own internal review of the Commission's regulatory 
regime, the Commission published for public comment in the Federal 
Register on October 18, 2018, a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM, or 
the Proposal), proposing several amendments to the regulations 
applicable to CPOs and CTAs.\10\ Specifically, the Commission proposed 
regulatory amendments that would add to 17 CFR part 4:
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    \10\ See Registration and Compliance Requirements for Commodity 
Pool Operators and Commodity Trading Advisors, 83 FR 52902 (Oct. 18, 
2018) (Proposal).
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    (1) An exemption from registration in Regulation 4.13(a)(4) that is 
generally consistent with the terms of Staff Advisory 18-96; \11\
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    \11\ Offshore Commodity Pools Relief for Certain Registered CPOs 
from Rules 4.21, 4.22, and 4.23(a)(10) and (a)(11) and From the 
Books and Records Requirement of Rule 4.23, Commodity Futures 
Trading Commission, Division of Trading & Markets (Apr. 11, 1996), 
available at: https://www.cftc.gov/sites/default/files/tm/advisory18-96.htm (last retrieved Oct. 10, 2019) (Staff Advisory 18-
96).
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    (2) A requirement in Regulation 4.13 that any person claiming or 
affirming an exemption from CPO registration pursuant to Regulations 
4.13(a)(1)-(a)(5) certify that neither the claimant nor its principals 
are statutorily disqualified pursuant to CEA sections 8a(2) or 8a(3);
    (3) An exemption from the recordkeeping requirements in Regulation 
4.23 for U.S.-based CPOs of offshore commodity pools that permits the 
CPO to maintain the pool's original books and records in the pool's 
offshore location;
    (4) An exemption from registration in Regulations 4.13 and 4.14 for 
persons acting as CPOs or CTAs for family offices and/or their family 
clients, as those terms are defined in regulations adopted by the 
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC);
    (5) A clarification that the exclusion from the CPO definition 
currently provided by Regulation 4.5(a)(1) for a registered investment 
company (RIC) should be claimed by the entity most commonly understood 
to solicit for or ``operate'' the RIC, i.e., the RIC's investment 
adviser;
    (6) An exclusion in Regulation 4.5 from the CPO definition for the 
investment advisers of business development companies (BDCs);
    (7) Relief permitting general solicitation in commodity pools 
offered by CPOs pursuant to exemptions in Regulations 4.7 and 
4.13(a)(3), consistent with the Jumpstart Our Business Start-ups Act of 
2012 (JOBS Act); and
    (8) Amendments to the ``Reporting Person'' definition in Regulation 
4.27 that would eliminate the filing requirements for Forms CPO-PQR and 
CTA-PR for certain classes of CPOs and CTAs.\12\
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    \12\ Proposal, 83 FR 52903-52904.
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    Several of the proposed amendments are consistent with, or 
expansions of relief that is currently available through a staff 
advisory or through no-action and exemptive letters issued over the 
years by staff of the Commission's DSIO and its predecessors. The 
Commission proposed these amendments intending to simplify the 
regulatory landscape for CPOs and CTAs without reducing the protections 
or benefits provided by those regulations, to increase public awareness 
about available relief by incorporating commonly relied upon no-action 
or exemptive relief in Commission regulations, and to generally reduce 
the regulatory burden without sacrificing the Commission's customer 
protection and other regulatory interests.

b. Public Comments and Ex Parte Meetings

    The Commission requested comment generally on all aspects of the 
Proposal, and also solicited comment through targeted questions about 
each of the proposed amendments. Overall, the Commission received 28 
individual comment letters responsive to the NPRM: Six from legal and 
market professional groups; 13 from law firms; seven from individual 
family offices; one from a government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) 
actively involved in the domestic housing market; and one from the 
National Futures Association (NFA), a registered futures 
association,\13\ who through delegation by the Commission, assists the 
Commission staff in administering the CPO and CTA regulatory 
program.\14\ Additionally, Commission staff participated in multiple ex 
parte meetings concerning the Proposal.\15\
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    \13\ See CEA section 17, 7 U.S.C. 21.
    \14\ Comments were submitted by the following entities: Alscott, 
Inc.* (Dec. 7, 2018); Alternative Investment Management Association 
(AIMA) (Letter 1: Dec. 17, 2018, and Letter 2: Oct. 7, 2019); 
Buchanan, Ingersoll, and Rooney, PC* (Dec. 12, 2018); Commodore 
Management Company* (Dec. 12, 2018); Dechert, LLP (Dechert) (Dec. 
17, 2018); Freddie Mac (Dec. 17, 2018); Fried, Frank, Harris, 
Shriver, & Jacobson, LLP (Fried Frank) (Dec. 17, 2018); Investment 
Adviser Association (IAA) (Dec. 17, 2018); Kramer, Levin, Naftalis, 
& Frankel, LLP* (Dec. 17, 2018); LBCW Investments* (Dec. 5, 2018); 
Managed Funds Association (MFA) (Dec. 14, 2018); Marshall Street 
Capital* (Dec. 13, 2018); McDermott, Will, & Emery, LLP* (Dec. 17, 
2018); McLaughlin & Stern, LLP* (Dec. 5, 2018); Moreland Management 
Company* (Dec. 13, 2018); Morgan, Lewis, & Bockius, LLP* (Dec. 18, 
2018); NFA (Dec. 17, 2018); New York City Bar Association, the 
Committee on Futures and Derivatives (NYC Bar Derivatives Committee) 
(Jan. 4, 2019); Norton, Rose, Fulbright US, LLP* (Dec. 17, 2018); 
Perkins Coie, LLP* (Dec. 17, 2018); the Private Investor Coalition, 
Inc. (PIC) (Nov. 28, 2018); Ridama Capital* (Dec. 13, 2018); Schiff 
Hardin, LLP (two offices)* (Dec. 13 and 17, 2018); the Securities 
Industry and Financial Management Association Asset Management Group 
(SIFMA AMG) (Letter 1: Dec. 17, 2018, and Letter 2: Sept. 13, 2019); 
Vorpal, LLC* (Dec. 17, 2018); Willkie, Farr, and Gallagher, LLP 
(Willkie) (Dec. 11, 2018); and Wilmer Hale, LLP (Wilmer Hale) (Dec. 
7, 2018). Those entities marked with an ``*'' submitted 
substantively identical, brief comments, specifically supporting the 
detailed comments and suggested edits submitted to the Commission by 
PIC.
    \15\ Comments for Proposed Rule 83 FR 52902, available at: 
https://comments.cftc.gov/PublicComments/CommentList.aspx?id=2925 
(last retrieved Oct. 15, 2019).
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c. Scope of the Final Rules

    As noted above, the Commission proposed to add to Regulation 4.13 
an exemption for qualifying CPOs

[[Page 67357]]

operating commodity pools outside of the U.S. consistent with 
Commission Staff Advisory 18-96, known in the Proposal as the ``18-96 
Exemption.'' In conjunction with that amendment, the Commission also 
proposed to add a prohibition against statutory disqualifications 
listed in CEA sections 8a(2) and 8a(3) that would apply generally to 
CPOs claiming a registration exemption under Regulation 4.13, as well 
as a number of technical and substantive changes to Regulation 4.23 
intended to preserve recordkeeping relief also provided by that 
advisory, and enhance the regulation's readability. The Commission 
received many comments regarding the proposed relief based on Staff 
Advisory 18-96 and the proposed prohibition on statutory 
disqualifications for certain exempt CPOs.
    Based on the comments received and the recommendations of 
Commission staff, the Commission is not finalizing or adopting these 
amendments at this time. Commenters noted the 18-96 Exemption, if 
adopted as proposed, could have a significant impact on the compliance 
burdens of CPOs operating outside of the United States. In 
consideration of the comments, the Commission is withdrawing that 
aspect of the Proposal, but may undertake a more comprehensive review 
of the extraterritorial application of Commission regulations in the 
CPO-CTA space in the future. Commenters also addressed the statutory 
disqualification prohibition in great detail,\16\ and the Commission 
believes those comments likewise require further consideration. 
Therefore, the Commission intends to reconsider these amendments in a 
future rulemaking.
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    \16\ The Commission received several comments raising logistical 
and scoping issues with respect to this particular proposed 
amendment. See, e.g., Dechert Letter, at 8; AIMA Letter, at 10; MFA 
Letter, at 4; SIFMA AMG Letter, at 19.
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II. Final Rules

a. Family Offices

i. The Proposed Exemptions
    The Commission proposed amendments to Regulations 4.13 and 4.14 
that would establish CPO and CTA registration exemptions for persons 
meeting the definition of ``family office,'' (the Family Offices) 
consistent with the regulatory exclusion from the definition of 
``investment adviser,'' for Family Offices adopted by the SEC in 
2012.\17\ The proposed exemptions, which the Commission intends to 
adopt with certain modifications, are substantively similar to no-
action relief from CPO and CTA registration currently provided through 
CFTC Letter Nos. 12-37 and 14-143.\18\ Through the Proposal, the 
Commission intended that the exemptions would provide Family Offices 
regulatory certainty and make unnecessary the no-action relief program 
for Family Office CPOs and CTAs, administered by Commission staff since 
2012 and 2014, respectively.\19\ Thus, the Commission proposed to 
incorporate by reference the definitions of ``family office'' and 
``family client'' from Sec.  275.202(a)(11)(G)-1, as adopted by the 
SEC, into each of the proposed exemptions.\20\
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    \17\ See Proposal, 83 FR 52927 (proposing new CPO and CTA 
exemptions for qualifying Family Offices at Regulations 4.13(a)(8) 
and 4.14(a)(11), respectively).
    \18\ CFTC Letter No. 12-37 (Nov. 29, 2012), available at: 
https://www.cftc.gov/sites/default/files/idc/groups/public/@lrlettergeneral/documents/letter/12-37.pdf (last retrieved Oct. 10, 
2019) (CPO Family Office No-Action Letter); CFTC Letter No. 14-143 
(Nov. 5, 2014), available at: https://www.cftc.gov/sites/default/files/idc/groups/public/@lrlettergeneral/documents/letter/14-143.pdf 
(last retrieved Oct. 10, 2019) (CTA Family Office No-Action Letter).
    \19\ Proposal, 83 FR 52909 (citing Commission staff's experience 
``gained through the continued availability of the CPO Family Office 
No-Action Letter and the subsequent issuance and utilization by 
industry of the CTA Family Office No-Action Letter'').
    \20\ Id. at 52907-09, citing CPO Family Office No-Action Letter 
and CTA Family Office No-Action Letter (defining ``family offices'' 
and explaining the SEC exclusion for Family Offices and the 
available no-action relief).
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    Proposed Regulation 4.13(a)(8) would provide an exemption from CPO 
registration to a person with respect to a qualifying commodity pool, 
if: (a) Interests in the pool are exempt from registration under the 
Securities Act of 1933, and such interests are sold only to ``family 
clients;'' (b) the commodity pool qualifies as a ``family office;'' and 
(c) the person reasonably believes, at the time of investment, or at 
the time of conversion for an existing pool, that each person who 
participates in the pool is a ``family client'' of the ``family 
office.'' \21\ The Commission proposed to require that Family Offices 
claiming the CPO exemption submit an initial notice filing, to be 
affirmed on an annual basis, pursuant to Regulation 4.13(b).\22\ The 
Commission proposed this requirement to ``ensure at least an annual 
assessment of whether the CPO of the Family Office remains eligible to 
rely upon the proposed exemption.'' \23\
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    \21\ Id. at 52927.
    \22\ Id. (proposing to amend Regulation 4.13(b)(1)(ii) to add 
Proposed Regulation 4.13(a)(8), the CPO exemption for Family 
Offices); and 17 CFR 4.13(b)(1) and (b)(4).
    \23\ Proposal, 83 FR at 52915.
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    Proposed Regulation 4.14(a)(11) would provide an exemption from CTA 
registration to a person who directs commodity trading advice solely 
to, and for the sole use of, ``family clients.'' \24\ Like most of the 
other exemptions contained in Regulation 4.14, the Commission proposed 
to make this exemption self-executing, requiring no filing with the 
Commission or NFA prior to its efficacy. The Commission further 
explained in the Proposal that it thought certain CTA services provided 
to the exempt commodity pools of Family Offices would be covered by 
Regulation 4.14(a)(5), which currently provides an exemption from CTA 
registration to a person who: (a) Is also exempt from CPO registration; 
and (b) only advises pool(s) for which that person is so exempt.\25\ 
Therefore, the Commission limited the proposed CTA exemption for Family 
Offices to the commodity trading advice provided to ``individual Family 
Clients.'' \26\
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    \24\ Id. at 52927.
    \25\ Id. at 52915 (citing 17 CFR 4.14(a)(5)).
    \26\ Id. (explaining the Commission's preliminary belief that 
``Family Offices that are also claiming relief under proposed Sec.  
4.13(a)(8) would already be eligible for relief from CTA 
registration by virtue of the existing exemption in Sec.  
4.14(a)(5)'').
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    In addition to the general solicitation of comments, the Commission 
also posed several specific questions in the Proposal regarding the 
Family Office exemptions. The Commission solicited comment on the 
following issues:
    (1) Whether persons claiming the CPO exemption in Proposed 
Regulation 4.13(a)(8) should be required to annually recertify their 
ongoing eligibility for that exemption and what the costs of such a 
requirement would be;
    (2) Whether the identifying information submitted by Family Offices 
in order to claim the proposed CPO exemption should be included in 
NFA's Background Affiliation Status Information Center (``BASIC'') 
database, consistent with the treatment of other registered and exempt 
persons, or whether the limitation of their prospective and actual 
clients to non-public, ``family clients,'' warranted different 
treatment;
    (3) Whether the proposed bifurcation of relief for CTAs of Family 
Offices between existing Regulation 4.14(a)(5) for pools for which the 
CTA is also the exempt CPO and Proposed Regulation 4.14(a)(11) for 
other non-pool, individual ``family clients'' made sense, or whether a 
more efficient or effective approach was available; and
    (4) Whether the Commission should require persons claiming the 
exemption from CTA registration in Proposed Regulation 4.14(a)(11) to 
file any notice, initial, annual, or otherwise, and what

[[Page 67358]]

the costs of such a requirement would be.\27\
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    \27\ Proposal, 83 FR 52916-52917, questions 7-10.
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    The Commission received multiple comments in response to the 
proposed CPO and CTA exemptions for Family Offices. For instance, a 
detailed comment letter addressing each of the Commission's questions, 
as well as multiple other issues, was submitted by the Private Investor 
Coalition (PIC), an individual Family Office professional group, and 
was specifically supported by 13 other comment letters submitted by a 
variety of Family Offices and their counsel.\28\ Additionally, several 
other groups and national law firms representing Family Offices 
commented on this aspect of the Proposal.\29\ Overall, the Commission 
received generally favorable comments regarding its effort to add CPO 
and CTA registration exemptions for Family Offices to 17 CFR part 4.
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    \28\ PIC Letter; see, e.g., Marshall Street Capital Letter, 
Alscott, Inc. Letter, Commodore Management Co. Letter (all 
supporting ``the adoption of the Proposed Rule for the reasons set 
forth and with the modifications proposed in the comment letter 
submitted by [PIC] on November 28, 2018'').
    \29\ See, e.g., Wilmer Hale Letter, Fried Frank Letter, Willkie 
Letter.
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    For the reasons discussed in the Proposal, the Commission is adding 
the CPO and CTA exemptions for Family Offices, with procedural 
modifications in light of comments received, as Regulations 4.13(a)(6) 
and 4.14(a)(11). The Commission continues to believe that familial 
relationships inherent in Family Offices provide a reasonable mechanism 
for protecting the interests of family clients and resolving disputes 
amongst them, and that the regulatory interest is lower than in 
typical, arms-length transactions where the CPO and the pool 
participants, or the CTA and its advisory clients, do not have close 
relationships and/or long-standing family history between them. The 
Commission also understands that Family Offices are not operations of 
the type and nature that warrant regulatory oversight by the 
Commission, because, by definition, a Family Office is not a vehicle in 
which non-family clients would be solicited or permitted to invest.\30\ 
The Commission continues to believe that these unique characteristics 
reduce the need for and utility of the benefits and protections 
generally afforded by the Commission's regulatory regime for CPOs and 
CTAs and further justify providing Family Offices relief from that 
regime. The Commission further addresses significant comments on this 
aspect of the Proposal and details the exemptions below.
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    \30\ Proposal, 83 FR 52909-10 (citing prior claims by Family 
Office representatives that ``a Family Office is comprised of 
participants with close relationships, and there is a direct 
relationship between the clients and the CPO or advisor, . . . [and] 
such relationships greatly reduce the need for the customer 
protections available pursuant to . . . 17 CFR part 4''); Id. at 
52915.
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ii. No Notice Required for the Family Office CPO Exemption
    The Commission received multiple comments in response to its 
question regarding the notice requirement for Family Offices claiming 
the proposed CPO exemption. The commenters generally opposed requiring 
Family Offices to file any notice to claim and/or maintain eligibility 
for the proposed CPO exemption, citing multiple reasons. Those included 
the resulting lack of regulatory harmonization between the SEC's 
exclusion and the proposed CTA exemption, the asserted limited utility 
of such notices to the Commission, and the generally stable nature of 
Family Offices. Conversely, one commenter supported a one-time, initial 
notice filing with no ongoing annual requirement,\31\ and another 
stated that any mandatory notice should require information from the 
Family Office claiming the exemption only, omitting any collection of 
information regarding a Family Office's exempt pools (or, as the 
commenter referred to them, ``investment entities'').\32\
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    \31\ AIMA Letter, at 10.
    \32\ Willkie Letter, at 3.
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    The commenters emphasized that neither the SEC's exclusion for 
Family Offices from the definition of ``investment adviser,'' nor the 
Commission's own proposed CTA exemption would require a notice filing 
of any kind.\33\ Commenters further cited the Commission's historic and 
consistent recognition that its consumer protection concerns are much 
lower in the context of Family Offices and their family clients.\34\ 
For uniformity across regulatory regimes, several commenters argued in 
favor of making the CPO exemption for Family Offices self-
executing.\35\ Though the Commission inquired, commenters did not offer 
any estimates as to how much an initial or annual notice filing for the 
CPO exemption would cost a Family Office.
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    \33\ PIC Letter, at 4-6 (stating that uniform treatment across 
exemptions would ``facilitate compliance with and lower the 
regulatory burdens of each separate regime''); Willkie Letter, at 3; 
Fried Frank Letter, at 2 (stating that the Commission should not 
refer to the adoption of this exemption as ``harmonization'' with 
the SEC's requirements because requiring a notice for this exemption 
would make it fundamentally different from the SEC's exclusion for 
Family Offices).
    \34\ PIC Letter, at 4-5; Willkie Letter, at 2 (summarizing 
Commission's staff's historic position regarding Family Offices as, 
``no substantial public interest is served in regulating investment 
entities whose primary purpose is investing family assets'').
    \35\ PIC Letter, at 4-6; Fried Frank Letter, at 2-3; Willkie 
Letter, at 3; Wilmer Hale Letter, at 2-3 and 6.
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    The Commission understands, both from the comments and from its 
regulatory experience with Family Offices, that Family Offices 
typically exist to manage the assets solely of persons within a single 
family, frequently involving multiple generations of family members, as 
well as the investment entities, trusts, or accounts formed to benefit 
those family members. It is also not uncommon for Family Offices to 
continue their operations for extended periods of time with little to 
no change in their legal or financial structures or arrangements. With 
that in mind, the Commission has carefully considered the comments 
received on the Proposal and has determined to eliminate the filing 
requirement in its entirety with respect to the CPO Exemption for 
Family Offices.
    As a result, the Commission has determined not to adopt several of 
the proposed amendments to Regulation 4.13(b). The Commission is, 
however, adding language to Regulation 4.13(b)(1) to clarify that an 
exemption notice is not required to be filed by persons claiming the 
new CPO exemption for Family Offices. Upon its adoption as Regulation 
4.13(a)(6), the Commission intends the CPO registration relief provided 
by this exemption to be available on a self-executing basis for 
qualifying Family Offices. Exempt Family Offices will still be subject 
to the same recordkeeping requirements and special call authority as 
all other exempt CPOs.\36\ Therefore, the Commission is also amending 
the introductory language to Regulation 4.13(c), such that the 
provisions in subparagraph (c)(1) will apply to all persons claiming an 
exemption from CPO registration under that regulation, regardless of 
whether a notice of exemption is required to claim such relief.
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    \36\ See 17 CFR 4.13(c)(1) (generally requiring CPOs exempt 
under Regulation 4.13 to make and keep books and records related to 
their CPO activities for five years, and to submit to such special 
calls as the Commission may make to demonstrate eligibility for and 
compliance with the applicable criteria of the claimed exemption).
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    This approach harmonizes the filing requirements for the regulatory 
exclusions and exemptions available to Family Offices, including the 
relief previously adopted by the SEC. It also ensures that Family 
Offices can rely on these exemptions without needing to determine 
whether an initial filing was completed, and without tracking annual 
updates or claims to maintain the

[[Page 67359]]

exemption. Family Office CPOs do not broadly solicit the public for 
investment in commodity pools, as they are limited, by common 
understanding and by the regulations adopted herein, to providing 
services to their ``family clients.'' Therefore, as the Commission has 
historically stated, these intermediaries do not pose the same 
regulatory concerns as those of other CPOs that routinely engage in 
wider solicitation, whether registered or exempt from such 
registration, and from whom the Commission would generally require 
either a registration application or a notice filing for such 
exemption. Because of their unique characteristics, and for the myriad 
reasons cited by commenters,\37\ the Commission has determined not to 
adopt a notice filing requirement for exempt Family Office CPOs in the 
Final Rule.
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    \37\ Those reasons discussed above include the benefit of 
harmonization of regulatory requirements across SEC and CFTC regimes 
with respect to Family Offices, the CFTC's lowered regulatory 
interest in Family Offices limited to serving family clients, and 
the typical historic stability in the operations of Family Offices, 
generally. See PIC Letter, at 4-6; Willkie Letter, at 2-3; Fried 
Frank Letter, at 2-3; Wilmer Hale Letter, at 2-3 and 6.
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    The Commission also solicited comment on whether any information 
collected through the notices submitted by Family Offices claiming the 
proposed CPO exemption should be submitted for inclusion in NFA's BASIC 
database. That issue is mooted by the Commission's decision not to 
require any notice for the CPO exemption; nonetheless, the Commission 
notes that commenters overwhelmingly argued against including in the 
BASIC database any data or information collected from notices filed by 
Family Offices.\38\ By determining not to collect this information in 
the first place, the Commission will also avoid the resolution of 
potentially complex and novel legal issues involving intermediary 
privacy, information confidentiality, and data storage and management. 
In the interest of harmonizing Family Office relief across multiple 
financial regulatory areas, while also wishing to protect the privacy 
of Family Offices and their family clients, the Commission has 
determined it appropriate not to require a filing to claim the CPO 
exemption, as discussed above.
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    \38\ PIC Letter, at 7-9 (strongly objecting to any requirement 
that Family Offices post their claims for exemption or any other 
identifying information on BASIC or any other public forum or 
database); Fried Frank Letter, at 2-3; Willkie Letter, at 3; cf. 
AIMA Letter, at 10 (stating that adding exempt Family Offices to the 
BASIC database would make Bylaw 1101 due diligence easier for other 
NFA Members). With respect to determining compliance with Bylaw 
1101, Wilmer Hale argues that, ``there are other equally as 
effective means of ascertaining that information on family 
offices.'' Wilmer Hale Letter, at 4. PIC further urged the 
Commission to consider that Family Offices and their family clients 
are individual market participants, rather than commercial market 
participants, and as a result of their private status, they have 
very different, additional privacy concerns. PIC Letter, at 9.
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iii. The CTA Exemption: No Bifurcation Needed and No Notices Required
    Regarding the proposed CTA exemption for qualifying Family Offices, 
the Commission also received largely favorable comments. Commenters 
responded directly to the two remaining questions of whether CTA relief 
should be bifurcated between two exemptions and whether the Commission 
should require a notice filing for the relief. Regarding the former, 
PIC commented that it disagreed with the concept of bifurcating relief 
for Family Office CTAs between exemptions in Regulation 4.14(a)(5) and 
Proposed Regulation 4.14(a)(11), based on whether they are advising a 
pooled vehicle or individual family client. Instead, PIC stated that 
the exemptive relief for CTAs of all types of family client should 
ideally be housed in one exemption, to the extent possible.\39\ One law 
firm suggested editing the proposed exemption to provide additional 
coverage for ``any collective investment vehicle, the operator of which 
would be subject to Part 4, absent exemption.'' \40\ PIC disagreed, 
arguing that the language in Proposed Regulation 4.14(a)(11) would, in 
fact, already cover CTAs of all family clients, regardless of type or 
structure.\41\
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    \39\ PIC Letter, at 9-10.
    \40\ Wilmer Hale Letter, at 7 (stating that this edit would 
cover situations where, ``there is a slim chance where a commodity 
pool might not be a `family client' '').
    \41\ PIC Letter, at 10.
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    The Commission agrees with PIC's comments: Because the exemption, 
which is adopted as proposed, is limited to ``commodity trading advice 
. . . solely directed to family clients,'' the exemption would cover 
CTA activities on behalf of both individual family clients and pools 
comprised of family client assets.\42\ This approach greatly simplifies 
the compliance analysis for Family Offices and provides them a single 
CTA registration exemption to cover their advisory activities on behalf 
of all persons and entities meeting the SEC's ``family client'' 
definition.
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    \42\ PIC Letter, at 10 (adding that, consequently, a CTA to a 
Family Office would need to claim only the exemption in Regulation 
4.14(a)(11) for complete exemptive relief coverage of its advisory 
activities, without having to consider its status under the 
exemption in Regulation 4.14(a)(5)).
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    Additionally, the Commission agrees with comments received 
suggesting that no notice be required for the CTA exemption for Family 
Offices to claim that relief. Almost all of the other exemptions under 
Regulation 4.14 operate on a self-executing basis and have done so 
since its inception.\43\ Further, the Commission has not found a unique 
characteristic about Family Offices that would justify their disparate 
treatment under the Commission's existing part 4 regulations. The 
Commission believes that harmonizing the requirements across the SEC's 
``investment adviser'' exclusion and the CPO and CTA exemptions adopted 
herein is a significant benefit to Family Offices navigating the 
federal regulatory regimes applicable to them without negatively 
affecting the Commission's interests in regulating CPOs and CTAs more 
generally. Therefore, for the reasons stated in the Proposal \44\ and 
pursuant to the analysis above, the Commission has determined to adopt 
the CTA exemption for Family Offices with no notice requirement and 
with the intent that this exemption be relied upon for CTA services 
provided to all types of ``family client.''
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    \43\ See, e.g., 17 CFR 4.14(a)(1)-(a)(7) and (a)(9)-(a)(10). 
Conversely, Regulation 4.13 generally requires a notice filing to 
claim the exemptions therein, with the exception of the exemption 
added by this Final Rule for qualifying Family Offices. The 
Commission justifies this approach for Family Offices, different 
from other exempt CPOs required to file a notice, based primarily on 
their distinctly limited clientele, i.e., ``family clients.'' See 
supra section II.A.ii for further discussion.
    \44\ See Proposal, 83 FR 52909 and 52915.
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iv. Responses to Miscellaneous Comments
    Several commenters also requested a specific correction to the 
proposed CPO Family Office exemption. For instance, multiple commenters 
pointed out that a correction should be made to the proposed CPO 
exemption's requirement that the commodity pool subject to the 
exemption meet the SEC's ``family office'' definition. PIC suggested 
that this proposed requirement be changed to instead require the 
covered pool meet the SEC's ``family client'' definition,\45\ whereas 
Willkie suggested that the requirement be changed, such that it would 
instead require the person claiming the CPO exemption, rather than the 
pool, to meet the SEC's ``family office'' definition.\46\ In the 
Proposal, the Commission intended to draft an exemption from CPO 
registration with substantive conditions applicable to

[[Page 67360]]

both the exempt CPO and the exempt pool(s) operated on behalf of family 
clients. Because conditions applicable to the exempt commodity pool are 
already found in the first paragraph of the exemption,\47\ the 
Commission is adopting the CPO exemption with that provision corrected 
to require that the CPO, i.e., the person claiming the exemption, meets 
the SEC's ``family office'' definition.
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    \45\ PIC Letter, at 2-3. This suggested edit was also 
specifically supported in comments submitted by Fried Frank, 
McDermott, Will & Emery, and Perkins Coie. Fried Frank Letter, at 3, 
n.6; McDermott, Will & Emery Letter, at 1; and Perkins Coie Letter, 
at 1.
    \46\ AIMA suggested a similar edit, stating that the proposed 
requirement should read, ``the operator of the pool qualifies,'' not 
``the pool qualifies.'' AIMA Letter, at 10.
    \47\ Proposed Regulation 4.13(a)(8)(i) would require that 
interests in the exempt pool are exempt from registration under the 
Securities Act of 1933, and such interests are offered and sold only 
to ``family clients,'' as defined in Sec.  275.202(a)(11)(G)-1 of 
CFR title 17. See Proposal, 83 FR 52927. The Commission intends to 
adopt this requirement, though the internal numbering in the final 
amendments has changed due to other edits made to the Proposal.
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    Finally, the Commission also received several comments that, 
although not directly responding to specific questions posed, did 
nonetheless raise issues relevant to continued Family Office operations 
in the Commission's jurisdiction. For instance, several commenters 
requested that the Commission confirm the ongoing validity of historic 
Commission staff letters, which continue to provide interpretative 
relief to any Family Office choosing to rely upon them, as permitted by 
Regulation 140.99,\48\ notwithstanding the adoption herein of CPO and 
CTA exemptions in 17 CFR part 4 for Family Offices.\49\ In response to 
those commenters, the Commission confirms that the Final Rules do not 
supersede prior staff letters providing that a particular entity is 
``not a pool,'' provided that a Family Office has determined its own 
situation to be substantively identical to the outlined facts and 
circumstances precipitating the letter relief.
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    \48\ 17 CFR 140.99(a)(3) (stating that an interpretative letter 
may be relied upon by persons other than the Beneficiary).
    \49\ Fried Frank Letter, at 3; Willkie Letter, at 2. In the 
Proposal, the Commission stated, ``Family Offices unable to meet the 
requirements of the exemptions proposed herein today may still avail 
themselves of the relief provided in Sec.  4.13(a)(3), if they so 
qualify, or they may continue to seek relief on an individual firm-
by-firm basis through requests submitted to Commission staff.'' 
Proposal, 83 FR 52909.
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v. The Effect of the Final Amendments on CFTC Staff Letters 12-37 and 
14-143: The CPO and CTA Family Office No-Action Letters
    The Commission does intend the adoption of the CPO and CTA 
exemptions for Family Offices at Regulations 4.13(a)(6) and 4.14(a)(8), 
respectively (which are effective 30 days after publication in this 
Federal Register release), however, to supersede the staff no-action 
relief previously provided by the CPO and CTA Family Office No-Action 
Letters. Therefore, Family Offices qualifying for those exemptions 
should instead, as soon as practicable after these amendments go into 
effect, create and maintain an internal record documenting the relevant 
exemption they wish to claim, as well as their qualifications for that 
exemption, similar to the requirements to claim other self-executing 
exemptions in 17 CFR part 4.

b. JOBS Act Amendments: Expanding Marketing and Advertising for 
Qualifying Exempt CPOs and Certain Exempt Pools

i. Background of the JOBS Act and the Proposed Amendments
    The JOBS Act amended various sections of the Securities Act of 1933 
(33 Act) and required, among other things, that the SEC revise its 
regulations to implement the new JOBS Act provisions, including the 
loosening of marketing restrictions generally applicable to securities 
that are privately offered, or resold pursuant to Rule 144A.\50\ To 
that end, the SEC adopted amendments to Regulation D and Rule 144A that 
were consistent with those congressional directives.\51\ Specifically, 
the SEC amended Regulation D by adding Sec.  230.506(c), which permits 
issuers to engage in general solicitation or general advertising in the 
offer and sale of securities under that regulation, subject to certain 
conditions. These include that the issuer meets the terms and 
conditions of 17 CFR 230.501 and 230.502(a) and (d), that all 
purchasers of the offered securities are accredited investors, and that 
the issuer takes reasonable steps to verify the accredited investor 
status of each purchaser.\52\ The SEC also adopted substantively 
similar amendments to its Rule 144A, which is a non-exclusive safe 
harbor exemption from the registration and prospectus delivery 
requirements under the 33 Act for resales of certain securities to 
qualified institutional buyers (QIBs), as defined in Sec.  
230.144A(a)(1), provided that certain conditions are met.\53\ Through 
the JOBS Act Adopting Release, the SEC also eliminated offering and 
marketing restrictions in the resale of certain securities to QIBs.\54\
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    \50\ Public Law 112-206, 126 Stat. 306 (Apr. 5, 2012). The 33 
Act may be found at 15 U.S.C. 77a, et seq.
    \51\ See Eliminating the Prohibition Against General 
Solicitation and General Advertising in Rule 506 and Rule 144A 
Offerings, 77 FR 54464 (Sept. 5, 2012) and 78 FR 44771 (Jul. 24, 
2013) (``JOBS Act Adopting Release'') (amending Regulation D, 17 CFR 
230.500-230.508, and Rule 144A, 17 CFR 230.144A).
    \52\ 17 CFR 230.506(c)(1)-(2). In adopting this alternative to 
traditional Regulation D offerings, the SEC stated that, ``because 
the issuer has the burden of demonstrating that its offering is 
entitled to an exemption from the registration requirements of the 
[33 Act], it will be important for issuers and their verification 
service providers to retain adequate records regarding the steps 
taken to verify that a purchaser was an accredited investor.'' JOBS 
Act Adopting Release, 78 FR 44779.
    \53\ See Rule 144A, 17 CFR 230.144A.
    \54\ The SEC stated, ``[a]s amended, Rule 144A(d)(1) will 
require only that the securities be sold to a QIB or to a purchaser 
the seller and any person acting on behalf of the seller reasonably 
believes is a QIB.'' JOBS Act Adopting Release, 78 FR 44786 
(emphasis added).
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    Prior to these amendments, commodity pools offered and sold 
pursuant to Sec.  506 of Regulation D, or resold pursuant to Rule 144A, 
were able to be operated pursuant to exemptive relief provided under 
Regulations 4.7(b) and 4.13(a)(3). After these regulatory amendments 
prompted by the JOBS Act, persons marketing, selling, or reselling 
securities pursuant to Sec.  230.506(c) of Regulation D and/or Rule 
144A could not necessarily qualify for an exemption from CPO 
registration provided by Regulation 4.13(a)(3), or for exemptive relief 
from certain CPO compliance obligations, as provided by Regulation 4.7, 
each of which has historically been subject to offering and marketing 
restrictions. Specifically, with respect to Regulation 4.7(b), such 
pools may not be able to satisfy the requirement that participation 
units are offered solely to qualified eligible persons (QEPs), if their 
CPOs and resellers wish to engage in the general solicitation and 
advertising now permitted under Sec. Sec.  230.506(c) and 230.144A, 
respectively.\55\ With respect to Regulation 4.13(a)(3), those exempt 
pools may not be able to meet the exemption's condition that its 
interests be ``offered and sold without marketing to the public in the 
United States.'' \56\ In response to the concerns of market 
participants, DSIO issued CFTC Letter No. 14-116,\57\ which provided 
relief so that CPOs of commodity pools, the securities of which are 
either offered and sold pursuant to Sec.  230.506(c) of

[[Page 67361]]

Regulation D, or resold to QIBs under Rule 144A, were able to operate 
them pursuant to Regulations 4.7 and 4.13, even if they or their 
resellers engage in general solicitation and marketing, as contemplated 
by the JOBS Act.
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    \55\ Additionally, certain market participants questioned 
whether CPOs of commodity pools relying on Sec.  230.506(c) would be 
able to meet the condition in Regulation 4.7(b) that requires that 
the offering ``qualifies for exemption from the registration 
requirements of the [33] Act pursuant to section 4[(a)](2) of that 
Act.'' Although Sec.  230.506, including Sec.  230.506(c), 
``continue[s] to be treated as a regulation issued under section 
4[(a)](2) of the [33 Act],'' 78 FR 44774, there was nonetheless 
uncertainty expressed by certain market participants about whether 
Sec.  230.506(c) constituted an ``exemption from the registration 
requirements of the [33] Act pursuant to section 4[(a)](2) of that 
Act,'' in accordance with Regulation 4.7(b).
    \56\ 17 CFR 4.13(a)(3)(i).
    \57\ CFTC Letter No. 14-116 (Sept. 9, 2014) (``JOBS Act Relief 
Letter''), available at: https://www.cftc.gov/sites/default/files/csl/pdfs/14/14-116.pdf (last retrieved Oct. 3, 2019).
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    In the Proposal, the Commission proposed amending Regulations 
4.7(b) and 4.13(a)(3) in a manner consistent with the JOBS Act, and 
informed in large part by the exemptive relief provided by the JOBS Act 
Relief Letter. The Commission also proposed making several technical 
amendments to Regulation 4.7(b) to improve the readability and clarity 
of that provision. With respect to Regulation 4.7(b), the Proposal: (1) 
Allowed the offerings to be exempt from registration under section 
4(a)(2) of the 33 Act, and/or offered and sold pursuant to Regulation 
D, including Sec.  230.506(c); (2) allowed the offerings to be resold 
pursuant to Rule 144A; (3) deleted the restrictive text, ``without 
marketing to the public;'' and (4) removed the reference to the act of 
``offering'' by the registered CPO of a pool exempt under Regulation 
4.7. As a result of the Proposal, the operative requirements of ``non-
bank'' CPOs \58\ claiming relief under Regulation 4.7(b) would become: 
(1) The CPO must be registered with respect to the exempt pool; (2) the 
participation units must be exempt from registration under section 
4(a)(2) of the 33 Act and/or offered and sold pursuant to Regulation D, 
or resold pursuant to Rule 144A, or offered and sold pursuant to 
Regulation S; \59\ (3) the participation units must be sold solely to 
QEPs, with no marketing or solicitation restriction on the offering; 
and (4) the registered CPO must file the notice required by Regulation 
4.7(b), and otherwise comply with the requirements in Regulation 4.7(d) 
in operating the exempt pool.
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    \58\ The Proposal's technical amendments also sought to break 
out the eligible claimants of the relief in Regulation 4.7(b) into 
two separate subparagraphs: Regulation 4.7(b)(1)(i) for ``non-bank'' 
CPOs whose offerings are subject to Regulation D or Regulation S, 
and Regulation 4.7(b)(1)(ii) for banks registered as CPOs offering 
pools in the form of a collective trust fund exempt under section 
3(a)(2) of the 33 Act. See Proposal, 83 FR 52926.
    \59\ 17 CFR 230.901-230.905.
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    With respect to the exemption in Regulation 4.13(a)(3), the 
Commission proposed to amend the regulation by deleting the language, 
``such interests are offered and sold without marketing to the public 
in the United States,'' and replacing it with a conditional statement 
requiring that ``the interests [be] marketed and advertised to the 
public in the United States solely, if at all, in compliance with 
Regulation D, Sec. Sec.  230.500 through 230.508 of this title, or with 
Rule 144A, Sec.  230.144A of this title.'' \60\ Consequently, 
Regulation 4.13(a)(3) would require, in relevant part, that: (1) Such 
commodity pool interests be exempt from registration under the 33 Act; 
and (2) if such interests are marketed and advertised in the U.S., they 
can only be marketed or advertised in compliance with the provisions of 
Regulation D or of Rule 144A, as amended by the JOBS Act.
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    \60\ Proposal, 83 FR 52926.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

ii. Comments Received and Final Amendments
    The Commission received two comments specifically addressing the 
JOBS Act aspect of the Proposal. Fried Frank stated that it supported 
all of the proposed amendments related to the JOBS Act in Regulations 
4.7 and 4.13(a)(3), including the Commission's decision not to require 
an additional notice beyond that which is already required to claim 
relief under Regulations 4.7 or 4.13(a)(3).\61\ MFA similarly offered 
its strong support and commended the Commission's efforts to harmonize 
its 17 CFR part 4 regulations with securities regulations impacted by 
the JOBS Act, stating its appreciation for the Commission's desire to 
``provide legal certainty with respect to transactions engaged in by 
dually-regulated CFTC and SEC entities.'' \62\
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    \61\ Fried Frank Letter, at 2.
    \62\ MFA Letter, at 8.
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    For the reasons described in the Proposal,\63\ the Commission is 
adopting the amendments to Regulations 4.7(b) and 4.13(a)(3) relating 
to the JOBS Act. Specifically, the Commission continues to believe that 
harmonizing the impact of the JOBS Act on dually-regulated entities 
eliminates incompatibilities between comparable SEC and CFTC regulatory 
regimes, and generally provides legal certainty regarding these 
transactions in a manner that allows these entities to benefit from the 
new offering process under the JOBS Act. The Commission further 
believes that the amendments achieve the goal of permitting commodity 
pools operated by CPOs claiming relief under Regulations 4.7(b) or 
4.13(a)(3) to avail themselves of the JOBS Act relief adopted by 
Congress, while still retaining the other requirements currently set 
forth in those regulations.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \63\ Proposal, 83 FR 52911 and 52915.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    However, the Commission is further reorganizing and revising 
Regulation 4.7(b)(1) and adopting a minor amendment to Regulation 
4.13(a)(3)(i) to clarify which exempt CPOs are eligible for relief from 
the offering restrictions in those regulations pursuant to the JOBS Act 
amendments, and to further improve readability and clarity. First, 
Regulation 4.7(b)(1), as amended, will separate the three different 
types of commodity pools for which a registered CPO may claim relief 
under that regulation: (1) A commodity pool that is exempt from 
registration under section 4(a)(2) of the 33 Act, which includes 
certain Regulation D offerings; (2) a commodity pool that is offered 
and sold pursuant to Regulation S; and (3) a commodity pool that is a 
collective trust fund, the securities of which are exempt under section 
3(a)(2) of the 33 Act.\64\ Second, consistent with the JOBS Act Relief 
Letter, Regulation 4.7(b)(1)(i)(A) clarifies that the general 
solicitation ban currently in Regulation 4.7(b) remains in effect for 
all offerings of the three types of commodity pools listed in 
Regulations 4.7(b)(1)(i)(A)-(C), except for those that are offered 
pursuant to Sec.  230.506(c). Third, also consistent with the JOBS Act 
Relief Letter, the Commission is creating Regulation 4.7(b)(1)(ii) to 
clarify that the relief in Regulation 4.7(b) is available with respect 
to the three types of commodity pools listed in Regulations 
4.7(b)(1)(i)(A)-(C), even if participations in such pools are resold 
pursuant Rule 144A. Finally, with respect to Regulation 4.13(a)(3), the 
Commission is amending that subparagraph's reference to ``Regulation D, 
Sec. Sec.  230.500 through 230.508'' to say ``Sec.  230.506(c).''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \64\ See infra new Regulations 4.7(b)(1)(i) and (ii).
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iii. The Effect of the Final Amendments on CFTC Letter 14-116: The JOBS 
Act Relief Letter
    The Commission intends the adoption of the amendments to 
Regulations 4.7 and 4.13(a)(3) detailed above, which are effective 30 
days after publication in this Federal Register release, to supersede 
the staff exemptive relief previously provided by the JOBS Act Relief 
Letter. Because CPOs currently relying on that exemptive letter are 
already required to file notices claiming an exemption under Regulation 
4.7 or 4.13(a)(3) to fully utilize that relief, the Commission expects 
that such exempt CPOs wishing to use general solicitation in their 
existing qualifying exempt pools may do so without further action. CPOs 
interested in using general solicitation with respect to qualifying 
exempt pools formed in the future may do so in accordance with the 
amendments adopted herein, following their effective date, by filing a 
notice of exemption for such pools, as required by Regulations 4.7(d) 
and 4.13(b)(1).

[[Page 67362]]

c. Permitting Non-U.S. Person Investors in De Minimis Exempt Pools

    In the context of proposing other amendments to Regulation 4.13, 
the Commission also proposed to amend Regulation 4.13(a)(3), which, as 
noted above, provides a CPO registration exemption to persons who 
operate pools trading a de minimis amount of commodity interests, 
subject to the conditions enumerated in that regulation.\65\ 
Specifically, the Commission proposed to amend Regulation 
4.13(a)(3)(iii), the condition which governs the permissible investors 
in those exempt pools, by deleting, at Regulation 4.13(a)(3)(iii)(E), a 
provision referencing persons eligible to participate in pools relying 
upon Regulation 4.13(a)(4),\66\ and replacing it with ``[a] non-U.S. 
person,'' as a new category of permissible investors.\67\
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    \65\ 17 CFR 4.13(a)(3).
    \66\ The Commission noted in the Proposal its understanding that 
``relying on CFTC Staff Letter 04-13, for purposes of determining 
whether a person qualifies for exemption from CPO registration under 
Sec.  4.13(a)(3), market participants are generally not considering 
whether non-U.S. person participants meet one of the investor 
sophistication criteria listed in Sec.  4.13(a)(3).'' Proposal, 83 
FR 52907 (internal footnotes omitted). In 2012, the Commission 
rescinded the exemption originally provided in Regulation 
4.13(a)(4), the features of which comprised the legal underpinnings 
for the analysis in CFTC Staff Letter 04-13. See Commodity Pool 
Operators and Commodity Trading Advisors: Compliance Obligations, 77 
FR 11252 (Feb. 24, 2012); correction notice published at 77 FR 17328 
(Mar. 26, 2012).
    \67\ Proposal, 83 FR 52907, 52914, 52926. The Commission also 
expressed its view that de minimis pools ``do not trigger the same 
level of regulatory interest . . . as commodity pools requiring CPO 
registration and compliance with all or part of the requirements in 
17 CFR part 4,'' and that such an amendment would be consistent with 
other part 4 regulations: ``Additionally, Sec.  4.7 already permits 
non-U.S. persons, regardless of their [QEP] status, to participate 
in commodity pools thereunder, which are not subject to de minimis 
commodity interest trading thresholds.'' Id.
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    Generally, the Commission received comments in favor of its efforts 
to amend Regulation 4.13(a)(3), such that non-U.S. person participants, 
regardless of financial sophistication, would be explicitly permitted 
in de minimis commodity pools, although several commenters offered 
suggested edits and raised questions.\68\ For instance, several 
commenters inquired whether the Commission intended this proposed 
amendment to mean, ``non-U.S. persons,'' as that term is defined in 
Regulation 4.7(a)(1)(iv),\69\ and others requested the Commission 
consider expanding its definition of ``non-U.S. person,'' to include 
the definition of that term in Regulation S.\70\ Commenters also 
provided helpful background information to the Commission. Two 
commenters requested that the Commission confirm the ongoing validity 
of staff guidance regarding the categories of participants eligible to 
invest in de minimis commodity pools, i.e., DSIO's CPO-CTA Frequently 
Asked Questions (CPO-CTA FAQs).\71\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \68\ See, e.g., Dechert Letter, at 12; Fried Frank Letter, at 2; 
Freddie Mac Letter, at 2; IAA Letter, at 12.
    \69\ Dechert Letter, at 12; IAA Letter, at 12; AIMA Letter, at 
8; Fried Frank Letter, at 2.
    \70\ AIMA Letter, at 8; Freddie Mac Letter, at 2.
    \71\ Dechert Letter, at 12, and Willkie Letter, at 8, citing 
``[DSIO] Responds to Frequently Asked Questions--CPO/CTA: Amendments 
to Compliance Obligations,'' at 3, available at: https://www.cftc.gov/sites/default/files/idc/groups/public/@newsroom/documents/file/faq_cpocta.pdf (last retrieved Oct. 7, 2019) (CPO CTA 
FAQs).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In the CPO-CTA FAQs, DSIO stated its intent to continue permitting 
non-U.S. persons to participate in de minimis commodity pools, 
notwithstanding the rescission of Regulation 4.13(a)(4), as well as its 
plan to specifically amend Regulation 4.13(a)(3) in the future to 
permit such participants, as a typographical or technical amendment, as 
opposed to one that is designed to affect the substance of the de 
minimis exemption.\72\ One commenter also offered an alternative change 
to the proposed amendment: Willkie suggested instead that the 
Commission delete the outdated provision and simultaneously amend the 
immediately preceding paragraph to state, ``A `qualified eligible 
person,' as that term is defined in Sec.  4.7 of this chapter,'' which 
this commenter thought would effectively add non-U.S. persons as 
permitted participants in this type of pool.\73\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \72\ CPO CTA FAQs, at 3.
    \73\ Willkie Letter, at 8.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Commission agrees with the approach of deleting the outdated 
provision in Regulation 4.13(a)(3)(iii)(E) and also amending Regulation 
4.13(a)(3)(iii)(D) to permit as participants in de minimis pools, ``[a] 
`qualified eligible person,' as that term is defined in Sec.  4.7 of 
this chapter.'' The Commission believes that this amendment provides an 
important update to this exemption, which reflects the general market 
understanding and practice of permitting non-U.S. persons to invest in 
de minimis pools in a manner consistent with prior Commission 
statements and staff guidance. This amendment also responds to the 
question raised by several commenters of which ``non-U.S. person'' 
definition the Commission intended to use--the final amendment 
incorporates by reference the definition of that term in Regulation 
4.7(a)(1)(iv). In particular, this amendment is consistent with CFTC 
Letter 04-13,\74\ which, as discussed above, relied heavily on the 
rescinded Regulation 4.13(a)(4), and with the guidance provided by DSIO 
staff in the CPO CTA FAQs.\75\ Moreover, because the legal analysis of 
CFTC Letter 04-13 is primarily based on a CPO registration exemption 
repealed in 2012, the Commission believes it appropriate, and in fact, 
the Commission intends, for this amendment to supersede that staff 
letter. Finally, through the use of a cross-reference, this amendment 
ensures that any future amendments to the QEP definition are also 
consistently reflected in the de minimis exemption, simplifying future 
Commission rulemaking endeavors.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \74\ CFTC Staff Letter 04-13 (Apr. 14, 2004), available at: 
https://www.cftc.gov/sites/default/files/tm/letters/04letters/tm04-13.htm (last retrieved Oct. 10, 2019).
    \75\ CPO CTA FAQs, at 3.
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III. Related Matters

a. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) requires that Federal 
agencies, in promulgating regulations, consider whether the regulations 
they propose will have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities, and if so, to provide a regulatory 
flexibility analysis regarding the economic impact on those 
entities.\76\ Each Federal agency is required to conduct an initial and 
final regulatory flexibility analysis for each rule of general 
applicability for which the agency issues a general notice of proposed 
rulemaking. As noted in the Proposal, the regulations adopted herein 
affect only persons registered or required to be registered as CPOs or 
CTAs and persons claiming exemptions from registration as such. With 
respect to CPOs, the Commission previously has determined that a CPO is 
a small entity for purposes of the RFA, if it meets the criteria for an 
exemption from registration under Regulation 4.13(a)(2).\77\ Because 
the regulations adopted herein generally apply to persons registered or 
required to be registered as CPOs with the Commission, and/or provide 
relief to

[[Page 67363]]

qualifying persons from registration as such, as well as from related 
compliance burdens, the RFA is not applicable with respect to CPOs 
impacted by this release's regulatory amendments.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \76\ 5 U.S.C. 601, et seq.
    \77\ Policy Statement and Establishment of Definitions of 
``Small Entities'' for Purposes of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 
47 FR 18618, 18619-20. Regulation 4.13(a)(2) exempts a person from 
registration as a CPO when: (1) None of the pools operated by that 
person has more than 15 participants at any time, and (2) when 
excluding certain sources of funding, the total gross capital 
contributions the person receives for units of participation in all 
of the pools it operates or intends to operate do not, in the 
aggregate, exceed $400,000. See 17 CFR 4.13(a)(2).
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    Regarding CTAs, the Commission has previously considered whether 
such registrants should be deemed small entities for purposes of the 
RFA on a case-by-case basis, in the context of the particular 
Commission regulation at issue.\78\ As certain of these registrants may 
be small entities for purposes of the RFA, the Commission considered 
whether this rulemaking would have a significant economic impact on 
such registrants.\79\ The only portion of the Final Rules directly 
impacting CTAs adds a self-executing registration exemption consistent 
with the CTA Family Office No-Action Letter, which provides no-action 
relief from CTA registration to Family Offices providing CTA services 
to their family clients. This new exemption will not impose any new 
burdens on market participants or Commission registrants. Rather, 
because the Commission is adopting an exemption from the requirement to 
register as a CTA for qualifying Family Offices, the Commission finds 
that such exemption would be less burdensome to those persons than the 
full costs of CTA registration and compliance. Affected Family Office 
CTAs will be transitioning from the CTA registration relief provided 
through the CTA Family Office No-Action Letter to a self-executing CTA 
exemption for Family Offices in Regulation 4.14, and there is 
consequently no significant economic impact on these entities by virtue 
of this particular regulatory amendment. The Commission's decision not 
to require an associated notice or filing further supports the 
Commission's preliminary and final RFA findings. Additionally, the 
Commission received no comments on the Proposal's RFA discussion.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \78\ See 47 FR 18620.
    \79\ Proposal, 83 FR 52917.
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    Therefore, the Commission concludes that, to the extent the 
regulations adopted herein affect CTAs, it will not create a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 
Accordingly, the Chairman, on behalf of the Commission, hereby 
certifies pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 605(b) that the regulations adopted by 
the Commission will not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities.

b. Paperwork Reduction Act

    The Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) imposes certain requirements on 
Federal agencies in connection with their conducting or sponsoring any 
collection of information as defined by the PRA.\80\ Under the PRA, an 
agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to 
respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently 
valid control number from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). 
The regulations adopted in this release would result in a collection of 
information within the meaning of the PRA, as discussed below. The 
Commission is therefore submitting the Final Rules to OMB for approval.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \80\ See 44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As discussed in the Proposal, the Commission's proposed regulations 
would have impacted or amended two collections of information for which 
the Commission has previously received control numbers from OMB. The 
first collection of information the Commission believed could be 
impacted by the Proposal is, ``Rules Relating to the Operations and 
Activities of Commodity Pool Operators and Commodity Trading Advisors 
and to Monthly Reporting by Futures Commission Merchants, OMB control 
number 3038-0005'' (Collection 3038-0005). Collection 3038-0005 
primarily accounts for the burden associated with part 4 of the 
Commission's regulations that concern compliance obligations generally 
applicable to CPOs and CTAs, as well as certain enumerated exemptions 
from registration as such, exclusions from those definitions, and 
available relief from compliance with certain regulatory requirements. 
The Commission had proposed to amend this collection to reflect (1) the 
notices proposed to be required to claim certain of the CPO 
registration exemptions and the CPO exclusion proposed therein; and (2) 
an expected reduction in the number of registered CPOs and CTAs filing 
Forms CPO-PQR and CTA-PR, pursuant to proposed revisions to Regulation 
4.27.\81\
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    \81\ Proposal, 83 FR 52918-19.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Commission also proposed to amend a second collection of 
information entitled, ``Part 3--Registration, OMB control number 3038-
0023'' (Collection 3038-0023), which pertains to the registration of 
intermediaries generally, to reduce the number of persons registering 
as CPOs and CTAs as a result of the regulatory amendments in the 
Proposal. The responses to these collections of information are 
mandatory.
    The collections of information in the Proposal would have made 
available to eligible persons: (1) An exemption from CPO registration 
based upon Commission Staff Advisory 18-96; (2) recordkeeping location 
relief for qualifying, registered CPOs, also based upon Commission 
Staff Advisory 18-96; (3) exemptions from CPO and CTA registration for 
qualifying Family Offices; (4) an expanded exclusion under Regulation 
4.5 for investment advisers of BDCs; and (5) exemptive relief made 
available through amendments to the definition of ``Reporting Person'' 
in Regulation 4.27(b), such that qualifying CPOs and CTAs no longer 
have to file Forms CPO-PQR or CTA-PR.\82\ In the instant Federal 
Register release, the Commission is adopting final amendments, 
effectively adding exemptions from CPO and CTA registration for 
qualifying Family Offices at Regulations 4.13(a)(6) and 4.14(a)(11), 
respectively, and finalizing other amendments consistent with the JOBS 
Act Relief Letter issued by Commission staff.
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    \82\ The Proposal also included proposed amendments to 
Regulations 4.7(b) and 4.13(a)(3), expanding the availability of 
relief under those provisions to include registered and exempt CPOs 
issuing, offering, selling, or reselling securities with general 
solicitation, pursuant to the JOBS Act. Those amendments do not 
impact or change the number of CPOs registered or exempt from such 
registration, but rather affect their ability to broadly solicit the 
public for investment. See infra section II.b. for discussion of 
that aspect of the Final Rules.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As noted in the Proposal, eligible persons have the option to elect 
the registration exemptions adopted and/or amended, if they are so 
qualified, but have no obligation to do so. For this reason, the 
Commission proposed to amend Collection 3038-0005 for PRA purposes to 
reflect these alternatives, and Collection 3038-0023 to reduce the 
number of persons registering as CPOs or CTAs; the Commission further 
stated its expectation that the Proposal would not impose any 
significant new burdens on CPOs or CTAs.\83\ The Commission emphasized 
then, ``to the extent that the proposed amendments provide registration 
exemptions or definitional exclusions, and/or alternatives to 
comprehensive compliance with Commission regulations, through the 
adoption of amendments consistent with existing exemptive and no-action 
letter relief, it is reasonable . . . to infer that the proposed 
amendments will generally prove to be less burdensome

[[Page 67364]]

for persons eligible to claim the proposed alternative relief.'' \84\
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    \83\ The Commission also considered in the Proposal the impact 
that the proposed 18-96 Exemption, as well as related proposed 
amendments to Regulation 4.23, might have on these collections and 
the number of persons responding thereunder. Proposal, 83 FR 52918. 
Because the Commission is not pursuing or finalizing those proposed 
amendments at this time, the Commission no longer believes any 
modifications to these collections on those bases are necessary.
    \84\ Proposal, 83 FR 52918.
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i. Revisions to the Collections of Information
(a) OMB Control Number 3038-0005
    Collection 3038-0005 is currently in force with its control number 
having been provided by OMB, and it was renewed recently on March 14, 
2017.\85\ As stated above, Collection 3038-0005 governs responses made 
pursuant to part 4 of the Commission's regulations, governing the 
operations of CPOs and CTAs. Generally, under Collection 3038-0005, the 
estimated average time spent per response will not be significantly 
altered; however, the Commission is making minor adjustments, discussed 
further below, to Collection 3038-0005 to account for new and/or 
lessened burdens expected from the regulatory amendments adopted in 
this release.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \85\ See Notice of Office of Management and Budget Action, OMB 
Control No. 3038-0005, available at: https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=201701-3038-005 (last retrieved Oct. 3, 2019).
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    In this release, the Commission is adopting new CPO and CTA 
exemptions for qualifying Family Offices, as well as finalizing 
amendments to Regulations 4.7(b) and 4.13(a)(3), consistent with to the 
JOBS Act. In the Proposal, the Commission estimated an increase in the 
number of persons responding to the portion of Collection 3038-0005 
associated with Regulation 4.13(b)(1) (the requirement to file a claim 
for an exemption under that section) by at least the number of persons 
claiming the CPO Family Office No-Action Letter, which has provided no-
action relief from CPO registration for Family Offices, i.e., 200 CPOs. 
This estimate was based on the Commission's decision in the Proposal to 
require a notice filing from Family Offices wishing to claim the 
proposed CPO exemption.
    Given the Commission's adoption today of the CPO exemption for 
Family Offices with no notice filing requirement, the Commission no 
longer believes such an increase in the number of persons filing 
notices under Regulation 4.13(b)(1) is necessary. Regarding the JOBS 
Act amendments also adopted in this release, the Commission stated in 
the Proposal that ``no adjustments need to be made to Collection 3038-
0005 to account for [those] amendments because persons relying on the 
exemptive relief therein are, as a condition of relief, currently 
required to claim an exemption under Regulations 4.7(b) or 4.13(a)(3), 
as applicable to them, and therefore, are already counted in this 
collection;'' \86\ the Commission continues to believe this aspect of 
its PRA analysis to be accurate.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \86\ Proposal, 83 FR 52918. The Proposal further discussed 
modifications to Collection 3038-0005 based on the proposed 
amendments to Regulation 4.5 and 4.27. Id. Each of those amendments 
is being finalized and adopted by the Commission in a concurrently 
published Federal Register release containing the pertinent Preamble 
and administrative law discussions as well as those final rule 
amendments.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The currently approved total burden associated with Collection 
3038-0005, in the aggregate, is as follows:
    Estimated number of respondents: 45,270.
    Annual responses for all respondents: 129,042.
    Estimated average hours per response: 2.83.\87\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \87\ The Commission has rounded the average hours per response 
to the second decimal place for ease of presentation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Annual burden: 365,764.
    Additionally, the currently approved total recordkeeping burden 
associated with Collection 3038-0005 is as follows:
    Estimated number of respondents: 9,838.
    Annual responses for respondents: 13,672.
    Estimated average hours per response: 5.01.
    Annual recordkeeping burden: 68,497.
    In the Proposal, the Commission estimated that the proposed CPO 
registration exemptions, based on Commission Staff Advisory 18-96 and 
to provide relief for Family Offices, would result in an additional 250 
notice filings under Regulation 4.13(b)(1). Because these notice 
filings will not be required by the final amendments, the Commission no 
longer believes that such an increase is necessary. As a result of 
these Final Rules, the Commission believes that the reporting burden 
associated with Regulation 4.13(b)(1) under Collection 3038-0005 should 
remain unchanged, as follows:
    Estimated number of respondents: 3,622.
    Annual responses by each respondent: 3.
    Estimated average hours per response: 0.5.
    Total annual reporting burden hours: 1,811.
    The Commission has taken the position in this release that Family 
Offices, though eligible for exemption from registration as CPOs under 
Regulation 4.13 by virtue of the Final Rules, will still be subject to 
the same recordkeeping requirements in Regulations 4.13(c)(1)(i)-(ii) 
as all other exempt CPOs. Therefore, the Commission believes an 
adjustment to account for the recordkeeping burden of approximately 200 
newly exempt Family Offices is necessary. As a result, the Commission 
is amending the recordkeeping burden associated with Regulations 
4.13(c)(1)(i)-(ii) as follows:
    Estimated number of respondents: 3,812.
    Annual responses by each respondent: 1.
    Estimated average hours per response: 11.4.
    Total annual recordkeeping burden hours: 43,457.
    As a result, the total new recordkeeping burden associated with 
Collection 3038-0005 will be as follows:
    Estimated number of respondents: 10,038.
    Annual responses for all respondents: 13,872.
    Estimated average hours per response: 5.10.
    Annual recordkeeping burden: 70,777.
    The total new burden associated with Collection 3038-0005, in the 
aggregate, reflecting the regulatory amendments adopted herein,\88\ is 
as follows:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \88\ These burden totals include adjustments made to Collection 
3038-0005 to reflect the Final Rule amendments contained in this 
Federal Register release, as well as Final Rule amendments 
concurrently adopted and published through a second release by the 
Commission. See also Registration and Compliance Requirements for 
Commodity Pool Operators and Commodity Trading Advisors: Registered 
Investment Companies, Business Development Companies, and Definition 
of Reporting Person, published elsewhere in this issue of the 
Federal Register.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated number of respondents: 43,397.
    Annual responses for all respondents: 112,024.
    Estimated average hours per response: 3.16.
    Annual reporting burden: 354,367.
(b) OMB Control Number 3038-0023
    Based on the contents of the Proposal, the Commission expected that 
``persons that are currently counted among the estimates for Collection 
3038-0023 with respect to CPO and CTA registration with the Commission 
will deregister as such, due to the availability of the additional 
registration exemptions and exclusion proposed herein.'' \89\ On that 
basis, the Commission proposed, ``to deduct the expected claimants of 
that relief from the total number of persons required to register with 
the Commission as CPOs and CTAs.'' \90\ As discussed above, the 
Commission is

[[Page 67365]]

adopting herein CPO and CTA exemptions for Family Offices, with no 
notice filing requirement, and finalizing amendments to Regulations 
4.7(b) and 4.13(a)(3) based upon the JOBS Act. As noted above, the 
conditions of relief related to the JOBS Act provisions already require 
that the person be registered as a CPO or exempt from such 
registration, meaning those amendments will have no impact on the 
number of respondents in this collection.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \89\ Proposal, 83 FR 52919.
    \90\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The currently approved total burden associated with Collection 
3038-0023, in the aggregate, excluding the burden associated with 
Regulation 3.21(e), is as follows:
    Estimated number of respondents: 77,857.
    Estimated number of responses: 78,109.
    Estimated average hours per response: 0.09.
    Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 7,029.8.
    Frequency of collection: Periodically.
    The currently approved total burden associated with Regulation 
3.21(e) under Collection 3038-0023, which remains unchanged under the 
Final Rules, is as follows:
    Estimated number of respondents: 396.
    Estimated number of responses: 396.
    Estimated average hours per response: 1.25.
    Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 495.
    Frequency of collection: Annually.
    The Commission proposed to reduce the number of registrants by the 
estimated number of claimants with respect to each of the registration 
exemptions and exclusion in the Proposal. Given the amendments being 
adopted herein,\91\ the Commission continues to estimate that 200 
persons will claim relief from registration as the CPO of a qualifying 
Family Office and that 100 persons will claim relief from registration 
as the CTA of a qualifying Family Office or of family clients.\92\ 
Therefore, the Commission believes that the burden associated with 
Collection 3038-0023 should be reduced, such that the total burden 
associated with the collection, excluding the burden associated with 
Regulation 3.21(e), will be as follows:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \91\ As discussed above, these burden totals include adjustments 
made to Collection 3038-0023 to reflect the Final Rule amendments 
contained in this Federal Register release, as well as Final Rule 
amendments concurrently adopted and published through a second 
release by the Commission. See also Registration and Compliance 
Requirements for Commodity Pool Operators and Commodity Trading 
Advisors: Registered Investment Companies, Business Development 
Companies, and Definition of Reporting Person, published elsewhere 
in this issue of the Federal Register.
    \92\ As noted above, any modifications necessary to the 
collections of information related to the proposed amendments to 
Regulation 4.5 or 4.27 are discussed in a separate Federal Register 
release.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated number of respondents: 77,492.
    Estimated number of responses: 77,492.
    Estimated average hours per response: 0.09.
    Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 6,974.
ii. Information Collection Comments
    In the Proposal, the Commission invited the public and other 
Federal agencies to comment on any aspect of the information collection 
requirements discussed therein.\93\ The Commission did not receive any 
such comments.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \93\ Proposal, 83 FR 52920.
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c. Cost-Benefit Considerations

    Section 15(a) of the CEA requires the Commission to consider the 
costs and benefits of its actions before promulgating a regulation 
under the CEA.\94\ Section 15(a) further specifies that the costs and 
benefits shall be evaluated in light of the following five broad areas 
of market and public concern: (1) Protection of market participants and 
the public; (2) efficiency, competitiveness, and financial integrity of 
futures markets; (3) price discovery; (4) sound risk management 
practices; and (5) other public interest considerations. The Commission 
considers the costs and benefits resulting from its discretionary 
determinations with respect to the CEA section 15(a) considerations.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \94\ 7 U.S.C. 19(a).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

i. General Costs and Benefits
    The baseline for the Commission's consideration of the costs and 
benefits of the Final Rules is the regulatory status quo, as determined 
by the CEA and the Commission's existing regulations in 17 CFR part 4. 
The Commission recognizes, however, that to the extent that market 
participants have relied on relevant Commission staff action, the 
actual costs and benefits of the Final Rules, as realized in the 
market, may not be as significant. Because each amendment addresses a 
discrete issue, which impacts a unique subgroup within the universe of 
entities captured by the CPO and CTA statutory definitions, the 
Commission has determined to analyze the costs and benefits associated 
with each amendment separately, as presented below. The Commission has 
endeavored to assess the costs and benefits of the amendments adopted 
herein in quantitative terms wherever possible. Where estimation or 
quantification is not feasible, however, the Commission has provided 
its assessment in qualitative terms.
    The Commission notes that the consideration of costs and benefits 
below is based on the understanding that the markets function 
internationally, with many transactions involving U.S. firms taking 
place across international boundaries; with some Commission registrants 
being organized outside of the United States; with leading industry 
members typically conducting operations both within and outside the 
United States; and with industry members commonly following 
substantially similar business practices wherever located. Where the 
Commission does not specifically refer to matters of location, the 
below discussion of costs and benefits refers to the effects of the 
Final Rule on all activity subject to the amended regulations, whether 
by virtue of the activity's physical location in the United States, or 
by virtue of the activity's connection with or effect on U.S. commerce 
under section 2(i) of the CEA.\95\ In particular, the Commission notes 
that some entities affected by this rulemaking are located outside of 
the United States.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \95\ 7 U.S.C. 2(i).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

(a) Summary of the Final Rule
    As discussed in greater detail below, and in the foregoing 
preamble, the Commission believes that the amendments adopted by the 
Final Rules enable the Commission to discharge its regulatory oversight 
function with respect to the commodity interest markets. The Commission 
also believes that the Final Rules will reduce the potential burden on 
persons whose commodity interest activities are subject to the 
Commission's regulations applicable to CPOs and CTAs without reducing 
the overall regulatory benefits of those provisions. The Commission is 
amending existing 17 CFR part 4 regulations in a manner consistent with 
DSIO's CPO and CTA Family Office No-Action Letters by adopting new CPO 
and CTA registration exemptions under Regulations 4.13 and 4.14. 
Additionally, the Commission is adopting amendments to Regulations 4.7 
and 4.13 to permit general solicitation under those provisions, 
consistent with the JOBS Act.
(b) Benefits of the Final Rule Amendments
    The Commission expects that the addition of CPO and CTA 
registration

[[Page 67366]]

exemptions for qualifying Family Offices will result in two main 
benefits. First, qualifying Family Offices will not be subject to the 
costs associated with registration, NFA membership, or compliance with 
part 4 of the Commission's regulations. The elimination of these costs 
should result in a reduction of the costs associated with the 
establishment and operation of a Family Office, which should ultimately 
benefit their family clients. Second, because the exemptions harmonize 
the Commission's treatment of Family Offices with that of the SEC, 
Family Offices will generally only be required to comply with one 
standard to determine their registration and compliance obligations 
with respect to both their securities and commodity interest 
transactions. Although DSIO had previously issued no-action relief 
letters for both CPO and CTA registration, Family Offices wishing to 
avail themselves of this relief were required to prepare a notice 
making specific representations and to submit the document 
electronically to a specific email inbox. Through this Federal Register 
release, the Commission is finalizing the CPO exemption for Family 
Offices without requiring any notice filing. Moreover, for Family 
Offices claiming relief from CTA registration, the Commission is 
adopting that exemption, as proposed, also without a notice filing 
requirement, consistent with the majority of the existing exemptions 
available to CTAs under Regulation 4.14.
    The Commission believes also that the alignment of Regulations 
4.7(b) and 4.13(a)(3) with the SEC's JOBS Act amendments to Regulation 
D and Rule 144A will result in several benefits. By harmonizing 
Commission regulations that specifically reference the statutory and 
regulatory provisions governing unregistered, exempt securities 
offerings, the amendments will facilitate full implementation of the 
JOBS Act by making the relief from the prohibition on general 
solicitation more widely available. Moreover, the amendments eliminate 
the distinction between private offerings of commodity pools and other 
privately offered collective investment vehicles that do not transact 
in commodity interests, thereby treating similarly situated offerors in 
a consistent manner. Thus, the Commission finds that there is a 
substantial benefit in aligning its regulations with those of its 
sister regulator, in the interest of fostering cooperation and comity, 
especially where there is limited customer protection risk for the 
retail public.
(c) Costs of the Final Rule Amendments
    The Commission believes there are some costs associated with the 
Final Rules. Generally, CPOs and CTAs are subject to comprehensive 
regulation under the Commission's part 4 regulations, including 
disclosure, reporting, and recordkeeping requirements. Although the 
Commission continues to find that its regulatory concerns with respect 
to Family Offices are fundamentally different from those respective of 
CPOs and CTAs soliciting and serving the general public, the CPO and 
CTA exemptions adopted for Family Offices could conceivably be 
detrimental to persons who relied on CPO and CTA regulation with 
respect to Family Offices for some purpose. The Commission is adopting 
registration exemptions based on the requirements of the CPO and CTA 
Family Office No-Action Letters, upon which many Family Offices rely in 
place of CPO and CTA registration and regulation. As discussed above, 
the Commission continues to believe that Family Offices and their 
inherent characteristics present distinctions from the typical CPO-
participant or CTA-client relationships that 17 CFR part 4 is designed 
to regulate, which justify the adoption of these exemptions. In 
particular, Family Offices eligible for these exemptions will be 
restricted to soliciting or providing advice to persons that are 
``family clients,'' thereby limiting their contact or interaction with 
the public. The Commission further believes that these characteristics 
and limitations are a reasonable substitute for the benefits and 
protections afforded by the Commission's regulatory regime for CPOs and 
CTAs. Therefore, any detriment resulting from the CPO and CTA 
exemptions for Family Offices is expected to be minimal at most.
    The Commission has determined to alter certain of its cost 
estimates from the Proposal, based on specific changes incorporated in 
the Final Rules. Regarding the CPO and CTA exemptions for Family 
Offices, the Commission no longer believes that CPOs claiming this 
relief will incur any expense related to a notice filing because it is 
adopting that exemption without such a requirement. Family Offices 
will, however, still be required to incur expenses associated with the 
initial determination as to their eligibility for the new exemptions. 
With respect to the CTA exemption for Family Offices, the Commission 
continues to believe that the costs associated with it will be limited 
to the expenses associated with making the determination as to the 
person's initial and ongoing eligibility for the exemption. The 
Commission does not have the necessary data to estimate the amount of 
these expenses, and though it requested comment as to the amount of 
these costs and how they compare to the costs of registration under 17 
CFR part 4, no comments addressed this issue or provided any data.
    Additionally, the Commission believes there may be some costs 
associated with the amendments to Regulations 4.7 and 4.13 based on the 
JOBS Act. By removing the restrictions on solicitation and marketing 
from those regulations, the Commission will be permitting general 
solicitation by those exempt operators in vehicles considered to be 
commodity pools. In considering the costs of similar regulatory 
amendments, the SEC noted that eliminating the prohibition on general 
solicitation could result in heightened fraudulent activity in 
offerings made pursuant to Sec.  506(c) of Regulation D (17 CFR 
230.506(c)) because promoters of fraudulent schemes could more easily 
reach potential investors through general solicitation; this, the SEC 
emphasized, could negatively impact capital formation and raising by 
legitimate issuers, which the JOBS Act was designed to promote.\96\ 
After discussing historical data indicating that ``hedge funds'' are 
not disproportionately involved in fraudulent activity, when compared 
to other types of funds and advisers, the SEC stated further that such 
costs of general solicitation could be mitigated by the fact that such 
issuers would continue to be subject to antifraud provisions under the 
federal securities laws, and importantly, to restrictions on the sale 
of these securities to accredited investors, as well as verification 
requirements.\97\
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    \96\ JOBS Act Adopting Release, 78 FR 44798-44800.
    \97\ 78 FR 44799 (noting further that ``the public nature of 
these solicitations may also facilitate detection of fraudulent 
activity in that the fraudulent nature of some offerings may be 
inferred from particular statements in solicitation materials'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Commission also believes that permitting general solicitation 
in offerings subject to an exemption under Regulations 4.7(b) and 
4.13(a)(3), consistent with the JOBS Act, could theoretically increase 
the instance of fraudulent activity or solicitation in those markets. 
The Commission notes that, consistent with the SEC amendments discussed 
above, persons complying with the terms of Sec.  506(c) of Regulation D 
and Rule 144A and claiming relief under Regulations 4.7 or 4.13(a)(3) 
would still be required to limit participants in the offered pool to

[[Page 67367]]

the permitted investors listed in those regulations. Maintaining this 
restriction on the participants in pools subject to these exemptions 
meets the Commission's goal of permitting such exempt CPOs to rely on 
JOBS Act relief, without sacrificing the remaining substantive 
requirements of those exemptions, and while minimizing any impact on or 
risk to non-permitted investors. Additionally, persons claiming 
exemptive relief under Regulation 4.7(b) are required to register with 
the Commission as a CPO, while persons claiming the exemption in 
Regulation 4.13(a)(3) would be exempt from such registration, and both 
types of CPO would still subject to antifraud provisions in the CEA. 
Accordingly, the Commission believes that adopting these amendments 
will neither result in an erosion of the customer protections provided 
to non-sophisticated, retail pool participants under 17 CFR part 4, nor 
will they cause an expansion of the relief available under Regulations 
4.7 or 4.13(a)(3), beyond the discrete issue of permitted solicitation 
with respect to exempt securities offerings and their resales.
ii. Section 15(a)
    Section 15(a) of the CEA requires the Commission to consider the 
effects of its actions in light of the following five factors:
(a) Factor 1: Protection of Market Participants and the Public
    The Commission considered whether the amendments adopted in this 
release would have any detrimental effect on the customer protections 
of the Commission's regulatory regime. The Commission believes that the 
CPO and CTA exemptions for Family Offices will have a limited impact on 
the protection provided to market participants and the public. Because 
Family Offices, by definition, are not offered to persons other than 
family clients, the general public would generally not be negatively 
affected by the failure of Family Offices to register as CPOs and CTAs 
with the Commission. Moreover, as discussed above, the Commission finds 
that familial relationships inherent in Family Offices would provide a 
reasonable alternative mechanism to protect the interests of family 
clients. The Commission believes its regulatory interest in Family 
Offices is distinct from and much lower than in the case of arms-length 
transactions between CPOs and pool participants, or CTAs and advisory 
clients.
    With respect to the JOBS Act amendments to Regulations 4.7 and 
4.13, the Commission does not believe that these amendments will alter 
the protections currently available to market participants and the 
public. Pools offered pursuant to claims of relief under either 
Regulation 4.7 or 4.13(a)(3) will still be limited in their permitted 
participants to the persons listed in those regulations, and the relief 
provided will otherwise remain unchanged. As such, the general American 
public will not be able to purchase interests in pools that would not 
be subject to the full panoply of the compliance obligations under 17 
CFR part 4. Therefore, there will be no reductions to the protections 
currently in place, by virtue of the JOBS Act amendments in the Final 
Rules.
(b) Factor 2: Efficiency, Competitiveness, and Financial Integrity of 
Markets
    Section 15(a)(2)(B) of the CEA requires the Commission to evaluate 
the costs and benefits of a regulation in light of efficiency, 
competitiveness, and financial integrity considerations. Inasmuch as 
the Final Rules do not directly impact how futures contracts or other 
derivatives are actually traded, the Commission believes that they will 
not have a significant impact on the efficiency, competitiveness, and 
financial integrity of markets.
(c) Factor 3: Price Discovery
    Section 15(a)(2)(C) of the CEA requires the Commission to evaluate 
the costs and benefits of a regulation in light of price discovery 
considerations. Similarly, because the Final Rules do not directly 
impact how futures contracts or other derivatives are actually traded, 
the Commission believes that the amendments will not have a significant 
impact on price discovery.
(d) Factor 4: Sound Risk Management
    Section 15(a)(2)(D) requires the Commission to evaluate the costs 
and benefits of a regulation in light of sound risk management 
practices. The Commission believes that the Final Rules will not have a 
significant impact on the practice of sound risk management because the 
manner in which various funds, operators, and advisors organize, 
register, or claim exemption from such registration, has only a small 
influence on how market participants manage their risks overall.
(e) Factor 5: Other Public Interest Considerations
    Section 15(a)(2)(e) of the CEA requires the Commission to evaluate 
the costs and benefits of a regulation in light of other public 
interest considerations. The Final Rules reflect the Commission's 
determination that such amendments harmonize Commission regulations 
with other federal laws, where appropriate, to exempt and reduce the 
regulatory burden on certain entities.
d. Antitrust Considerations
    Section 15(b) of the CEA requires the Commission to take into 
consideration the public interest to be protected by the antitrust laws 
and endeavor to take the least anticompetitive means of achieving the 
purposes of the CEA, in issuing any order or adopting any Commission 
rule or regulation (including any exemption under CEA section 4(c) or 
4c(b)), or in requiring or approving any bylaw, rule, or regulation of 
a contract market or registered futures association established 
pursuant to section 17 of the CEA.\98\ The Commission believes that the 
public interest to be protected by the antitrust laws is generally to 
protect competition. The Commission requested comment on whether the 
Proposal implicated any other specific public interest to be protected 
by the antitrust laws and received no comments addressing this issue.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \98\ 7 U.S.C. 19(b).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Commission has considered the Final Rules to determine whether 
they are anticompetitive and has identified no anticompetitive effects. 
Because the Commission has determined the Final Rules are not 
anticompetitive and have no anticompetitive effects, the Commission has 
not identified any less anticompetitive means of achieving the purposes 
of the CEA.

List of Subjects in 17 CFR Part 4

    Advertising, Brokers, Commodity futures, Commodity pool operators, 
Commodity trading advisors, Consumer protection, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, the Commodity Futures 
Trading Commission amends 17 CFR part 4 as follows:

PART 4--COMMODITY POOL OPERATORS AND COMMODITY TRADING ADVISORS

0
1. The authority citation for part 4 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1a, 2, 6(c), 6b, 6c, 6l, 6m, 6n, 6o, 12a, 
and 23.



0
2. In Sec.  4.7:
0
a. Revise paragraph (b) introductory text;

[[Page 67368]]

0
b. Redesignate paragraphs (b)(1) through (5) as paragraphs (b)(2) 
through (6);
0
c. Add a new paragraph (b)(1); and
0
d. Revise newly redesignated paragraph (b)(3).
    The revisions and addition read as follows:


Sec.  4.7  Exemption from certain part 4 requirements for commodity 
pool operators with respect to offerings to qualified eligible persons 
and for commodity trading advisors with respect to advising qualified 
eligible persons.

* * * * *
    (b) Relief available to commodity pool operators--(1) Eligibility. 
Relief from specific compliance obligations is available to certain 
registered commodity pool operators with respect to the pool(s) they 
operate, provided that the registered commodity pool operator files the 
required notice under paragraph (d) of this section and otherwise 
complies with the conditions of paragraph (d) of this section in 
operating the exempt pool(s).
    (i) Types of commodity pools. (A) Regarding an offering that is 
exempt from registration under section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 
1933, any registered commodity pool operator who offers or sells 
participations in such a pool solely to qualified eligible persons, 
without marketing to the public, may claim any or all of the relief 
described in this paragraph (b) with respect to such pool; Provided, 
that the prohibition on marketing to the public shall not apply to a 
registered commodity pool operator who offers or sells participations 
in a pool offered pursuant to Sec.  230.506(c) of this title.
    (B) Regarding an offering that is offered and sold pursuant to 
Regulation S, Sec. Sec.  230.901 through 230.905 of this title, any 
registered commodity pool operator who offers or sells participations 
in such a pool solely to qualified eligible persons, without marketing 
to the public, may claim any or all of the relief described in this 
paragraph (b) with respect to such pool.
    (C) Regarding a pool that is a collective trust fund, the 
securities of which are exempt from registration pursuant to section 
3(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, any bank registered as a 
commodity pool operator that offers or sells participations in such a 
pool solely to qualified eligible persons, without marketing to the 
public, may claim any or all of the relief described in this paragraph 
(b) with respect to such pool.
    (ii) Resales. A registered commodity pool operator may claim any or 
all of the relief described in this paragraph (b) with respect to the 
pools described in paragraphs (b)(1)(i)(A) through (C) of this section, 
if participations in such pools are resold pursuant to Rule 144A (Sec.  
230.144A of this title).
* * * * *
    (3) Periodic reporting relief. (i) Exemption from the specific 
requirements of Sec.  4.22(a) and (b), provided, that a statement 
signed and affirmed in accordance with Sec.  4.22(h) is prepared and 
distributed to pool participants no less frequently than quarterly 
within 30 calendar days after the end of the reporting period. This 
statement must be presented and computed in accordance with generally 
accepted accounting principles and indicate:
    (A) The net asset value of the exempt pool as of the end of the 
reporting period;
    (B) The change in net asset value from the end of the previous 
reporting period; and
    (C) Either the net asset value per outstanding participation unit 
in the exempt pool as of the end of the reporting period, or the total 
value of the participant's interest or share in the exempt pool as of 
the end of the reporting period.
    (ii) Where the pool is comprised of more than one ownership class 
or series, the net asset value of the series or class on which the 
account statement is reporting, and the net asset value per unit or 
value of the participant's share, also must be included in the 
statement required by this paragraph (b)(3); except that, for a pool 
that is a series fund structured with limitation on liability among the 
different series, the account statement required by this paragraph 
(b)(3) is not required to include the consolidated net asset value of 
all series of the pool.
    (iii) A commodity pool operator that meets the conditions specified 
in Sec.  4.22(d)(2)(i) to present and compute the pool's financial 
statements contained in the Annual Report other than in accordance with 
generally accepted accounting principles, and has filed notice pursuant 
to Sec.  4.22(d)(2)(iii), may also use the alternative accounting 
principles, standards or practices identified in that notice with 
respect to the computation and presentation of the account statement.
* * * * *


0
3. Amend Sec.  4.13 as follows:
0
a. Revise paragraphs (a)(3)(i) and (a)(3)(iii)(C) and (D);
0
b. Remove paragraph (a)(3)(iii)(E);
0
c. Redesignate paragraph (a)(6) as paragraph (a)(7);
0
d. Add a new paragraph (a)(6); and
0
e. Revise paragraphs (b)(1) introductory text and (c)(1) introductory 
text.
    The revisions and addition read as follows:


Sec.  4.13  Exemption from registration as a commodity pool operator.

* * * * *
    (a) * * *
    (3) * * *
    (i) Interests in the pool are exempt from registration under the 
Securities Act of 1933, and the interests are marketed and advertised 
to the public in the United States solely, if at all, in compliance 
with Sec.  230.506(c) of this title, or with Rule 144A, Sec.  230.144A 
of this title, as applicable;
* * * * *
    (iii) * * *
    (C) A ``knowledgeable employee,'' as that term is defined in Sec.  
270.3c-5 of this title; or
    (D) A ``qualified eligible person,'' as that term is defined in 
Sec.  4.7; and
* * * * *
    (6) For each pool for which the person claims exemption under this 
paragraph (a)(6):
    (i) Interests in the pool are exempt from registration under the 
Securities Act of 1933, and such interests are offered and sold only to 
``family clients,'' as defined in Sec.  275.202(a)(11)(G)-1 of this 
title;
    (ii) The person qualifies as a ``family office,'' as defined in 
Sec.  275.202(a)(11)(G)-1 of this title; and
    (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 this paragraph (a)(6) of this section, that 
each person who participates in the pool is a ``family client'' of the 
``family office,'' as defined in Sec.  275.202(a)(11)(G)-1 of this 
title.
* * * * *
    (b)(1) Any person who desires to claim the relief from registration 
provided by this section, except for any person claiming the exemption 
for family offices in paragraph (a)(6) of 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:
* * * * *
    (c)(1) Each person who has claimed an exemption from registration 
under this section must:
* * * * *


0
4. In Sec.  4.14, add paragraph (a)(11) to read as follows:

[[Page 67369]]

Sec.  4.14  Exemption from registration as a commodity trading advisor.

* * * * *
    (a) * * *
    (11) The person's commodity trading advice is solely directed to, 
and is for the sole use of, ``family clients,'' as defined in Sec.  
275.202(a)(11)(G)-1 of this title.
* * * * *

    Issued in Washington, DC, on November 27, 2019, by the 
Commission.
Christopher Kirkpatrick,
Secretary of the Commission.

    Note: The following appendices will not appear in the Code of 
Federal Regulations.

Appendices to Registration and Compliance Requirements for Commodity 
Pool Operators (CPOs) and Commodity Trading Advisors: Family Offices 
and Exempt CPOs--Commission Voting Summary and Commissioner's Statement

Appendix 1--Commission Voting Summary

    On this matter, Chairman Tarbert and Commissioners Quintenz, 
Behnam, and Stump voted in the affirmative. Commissioner Berkovitz 
voted in the negative.

Appendix 2--Dissenting Statement of Commissioner Dan M. Berkovitz

Rulemaking To Provide Exemptive Relief for Family Office CPOs: Customer 
Protection Should be More Important Than Relief for Billionaires

    I dissent from today's final rule to provide registration 
exemptions for operators of commodity pools in large investment 
management structures euphemistically called ``family offices.'' 
These investment management structures typically manage hundreds of 
millions, sometimes billions, of dollars, in private wealth. The 
regulations that we proposed last year (Proposal) balanced the 
family office exemption with an annual notice filing requirement and 
a prohibition on persons who were statutorily disqualified from 
operating commodity pools from claiming the exemption.\1\ Today's 
final rule provides a blanket exemption for the operators of 
commodity pools (CPOs) in family offices without either of these 
minimal checks and balances. It is absurd that the Commission is 
excusing billionaires from the notice-filing requirement that 
generally applies to other persons--who have a fraction of that 
immense wealth--who claim exemptions from CPO registration.\2\ And 
persons that are statutorily disqualified from registering should 
not be permitted to operate under an exemption from registration. 
Disqualified persons should be disqualified.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Registration and Compliance Requirements for Commodity Pool 
Operators and Commodity Trading Advisors, Notice of proposed 
rulemaking, 83 FR 52902 (Oct. 18, 2018).
    \2\ See 17 CFR 4.13(b).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Family Office Registration Exemption

    The final rule exempts CPOs and commodity trading advisors 
(CTAs) from registration requirements in connection with commodity 
pools that are solely for the use of entities that are called 
``family offices.''

``Family Offices'' Are Very Large Enterprises

    According to the Securities and Exchange Commission (``SEC''), 
whose definition of ``family office'' is used in today's rulemaking, 
```Family offices' are entities established by wealthy families to 
manage their wealth and provide other services to family members, 
such as tax and estate planning services.'' \3\ Family offices, 
however, are not and have never been used by ordinary families who 
may have a modest degree of wealth, but rather by the 
extraordinarily wealthy--including royalty, aristocrats, and wealthy 
entrepreneurs, bankers and hedge fund operators--who create these 
organizations to preserve, grow, and pass on their wealth to their 
descendants.\4\ Under the SEC's definition, family offices are not 
limited to managing the wealth of the related members of a family, 
but may also include ``family clients,'' which includes key 
employees of the family office, any non-profit or charitable 
organization funded exclusively by family members, certain family 
client trusts, and any company wholly-owned by and operated for the 
sole benefit of family clients.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ SEC, SEC Adopts Rule Under Dodd-Frank Defining ``Family 
Offices'' (June 22, 2011), available at: sec.gov/news/press/2011-134.htm.
    \4\ According to one guide to family offices:
    Family offices have their roots in the sixth century, when a 
king's steward was responsible for managing royal wealth. Later on, 
the aristocracy also called on this service from the steward, 
creating the concept of stewardship that still exists today. But the 
modern concept of the family office developed in the 19th century. 
In 1838, the family of financier and art collector J.P. Morgan 
founded the House of Morgan to manage the family assets. In 1882, 
the Rockefellers founded their own family office, which is still in 
existence and provides services to other families.
    EY Family Office Guide, Pathway to successful family and wealth 
management, at 4, available at: https://www.ey.com/en_us/tax/family-office-advisory-services.
    \5\ 17 CFR 275.202(a)(11)(G)-1. Under the SEC's definition, the 
term ``family member'' is quite broad, meaning all lineal 
descendants of a common ancestor (who may be living or deceased), 
and such lineal descendants' spouses or spousal equivalents; 
provided that the common ancestor is no more than 10 generations 
removed from the youngest generation of family members. 17 CFR 
275.202(a)(11)(G)-1(d)(6).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    By any measure, family offices today manage extremely large 
amounts of wealth. According to the Global Family Office Report 
2019, ``[t]he average family wealth of those surveyed for this 
report stands at USD 1.2 billion, while the average family office 
has USD 917 million in [assets under management].'' \6\ Another 
source reports that, as of 2014, ``of the 34 family offices 
surveyed, the financial size of the office ranged from $42 million 
to well over $1.5 billion, with a median of $275 million assets 
under supervision and a mean of $516 million.'' \7\ Although there 
remain family offices with tens of millions of dollars in assets 
under management, over the past decade the costs of running a family 
office have increased significantly. It is now estimated ``that the 
operating costs to build out a fully functioning family office 
typically require a minimum in the range of $500 million to $1 
billion.'' \8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \6\ Campden Research and UBS, The Global Family Office Report 
2019, at 10, available at: https://www.ey.com/en_us/tax/family-office-advisory-services.
    \7\ Kirby Rosplock, The Complete Family Office Handbook, A Guide 
for Affluent Families and the Advisors Who Serve Them, at 8 (Wiley, 
Bloomberg Press, 2014).
    \8\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The aggregate amount of wealth managed by family offices is 
staggering. By one estimate, the total assets under management by 
family offices is over $4 trillion, and the number of family offices 
has grown ten-fold in the last decade.\9\ A recent Forbes article 
noted that ``[f]amily offices are now capable of making transactions 
that were traditionally reserved for big companies or private-equity 
firms and therefore are becoming a disruptive force in the market-
place.'' \10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \9\ Francois Botha, The Rise of the Family Office: Where Do They 
Go Beyond 2019?, Forbes (Dec. 17, 2018), available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/francoisbotha/2018/12/17/the-rise-of-the-family-office-where-do-they-go-beyond-2019/#426044f55795.
    \10\ Id (emphasis added).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Family Office Exemption

    As explained in both the Proposal and today's final rule, family 
offices typically have been exempt from CPO registration. When the 
previous regulation that family offices relied upon for an exemption 
was repealed in 2012, the Commission provided no-action relief to 
enable family offices to continue to be exempt from registration. 
Family offices are currently operating on an exempt basis under this 
no-action relief.
    The rationale for providing registration relief to pools 
investing the money of family members has merit. The commodity pool 
regulatory regime is in significant part directed at those who 
solicit funds for the pools and preventing investor fraud and misuse 
of customer funds. Presumably, these concerns are less likely to 
arise if a pool is an investment vehicle for investors who are 
related to each other and do not solicit funds from the general 
public.\11\ I voted for the Proposal to seek comments on making 
permanent the no-action relief from registration currently available 
to family office pool operators.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \11\ However, affinity fraud, including defrauding relatives, is 
not unheard of. See, e.g., Consent Order, CFTC v. Carter, No. 18-cv-
242, 2018 WL 7140335 (N. D. Ill. Nov. 13, 2018) and Complaint, CFTC 
v. Williams, No. 2:17-cv-01325, 2017 WL 1755463 (D. Ariz. May 3, 
2017).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Family Offices Are Currently Required To Provide Notice for a CPO 
Exemption

    But whereas the Proposal included sensible initial and annual 
notice filing requirements for an exempt CPO that would notify the 
Commission that it is electing the exemption, the final rule 
eliminates that

[[Page 67370]]

requirement. To date, family office CPOs claiming an exemption from 
registration has been required to provide notice to the CFTC of 
their claim for exemption. The current no-action relief imposes a 
notice requirement,\12\ as did the previous regulatory exemption 
that was relied upon by family office CPOs prior to its repeal in 
2012.\13\ Neither of these notice requirements placed any 
significant burdens or costs upon family office CPOs.\14\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \12\ CFTC Letter No. 12-37, at 2-3 (Nov. 29, 2012), available 
at: https://www.cftc.gov/idc/groups/public/@lrlettergeneral/documents/letter/12-37.pdf.
    \13\ 17 CFR 4.13(b) (2011).
    \14\ Under the current no-action relief, a person claiming the 
exemption must provide the claimant's name, business address, and 
telephone number, state the capacity (i.e., CPO) and name of the 
pool for which the claim is being filed, and be electronically 
signed by the CPO. CFTC Letter No. 12-37, at 2-3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Proposal would have subjected persons claiming an exemption 
from CPO registration to the same notice requirements that apply to 
other types of CPOs claiming an exemption from registration under 
Regulation 4.13. Under Regulation 4.13, a person claiming any of the 
enumerated exemptions from CPO registration is required to provide 
his or her name, address, telephone number, fax number, and email 
address, and the name of the pool for which it is claiming the 
exemption.\15\ In the Proposal the Commission estimated that the 
notice filing would cost approximately $28.50 per pool annually.\16\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \15\ 17 CFR 4.13(b)(1) (2019).
    \16\ Proposal, at 52923. Based on the notices filed under the 
CFTC No Action Letter 12-37, the Commission estimated that 
approximately 200 CPOs would be affected, with an average of 3 pools 
each that would be subject to the notice requirement. Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The estimated $28.50 annual cost of filing a notice of claim of 
exemption is trivial compared to the hundreds of millions of dollars 
managed by the average family office CPO. All other types of CPOs 
claiming an exemption under Regulation 4.13, such as operators of 
single pools without compensation, or operators of small pools with 
less than $400,000 in capital, are required to file the same notice 
of a claim of exemption. There is no rational justification for 
exempting large family office pools with hundreds of millions of 
dollars, or in many cases billions of dollars, under management from 
the minimal notice requirements that apply to other, less wealthy 
persons claiming exemptions from CPO registration.
    The CFTC's interest in commodity pool operators is not limited 
to the protection of investors in the pool. The Commission has a 
significant interest in how the activities of these pool operators 
may affect the commodity markets. Congress has declared in section 
4l of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) that the activities of 
commodity trading advisors and commodity pool operators are affected 
with a national public interest in that, among other things their 
operations are directed toward and cause the purchase and sale of 
commodities for future delivery and the foregoing transactions occur 
in such volume as to affect substantially transactions on contract 
markets.\17\ The Commission has a significant interest in knowing 
the identity of the persons that operate these pools, including 
those that are exempt from registration. This significant interest 
is manifested in the Commission's requirement that all other exempt 
CPOs provide the Commission with annual notices claiming or 
affirming their exemption from registration. The Commission's 
interest in the activities of large, multimillion dollar family pool 
CPOs is certainly no less than the Commission's interest in the 
activities of smaller CPOs, all of which are required to provide 
annual notice when they claim an exemption from registration.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \17\ 7 U.S.C. 6l.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Commission eliminates the notice requirement largely on the 
basis that this will harmonize the Commission's regulations with 
those of the SEC. Harmonization for harmonization's sake is not a 
rational basis for agency action. The question for the CFTC is not 
whether the SEC has determined whether a notice requirement is 
appropriate, but rather whether the CFTC would benefit from a notice 
requirement under the CFTC's system of regulations. To the extent 
that the Commission believes it has no regulatory interest in the 
operation of commodity pools beyond the protection of investors in 
the pool, such a belief is manifestly wrong and inconsistent with 
Congress's finding in CEA section 4l. The Commission has a 
significant regulatory interest in knowing the identity of CPOs that 
may be ``a disruptive force in the market-place.'' \18\ The 
Commission's mission would be better served by harmonizing the 
family pool CPO exemption process with its own regulations for 
exempt CPOs rather than the SEC's regulations.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \18\ See supra note 10.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Disqualification of Disqualified Persons

    The Proposal would have prohibited any person who was subject to 
a statutory disqualification from registration from claiming an 
exemption from registration. The logic underlying this provision is 
simple: a person who is disqualified from operating a commodity pool 
in a registered capacity should also be disqualified from operating 
a pool in an unregistered capacity. Disqualified persons should be 
disqualified. In the Proposal the Commission stated:

    The Commission is concerned that it poses undue risk from a 
customer protection standpoint for its regulations in their current 
form to permit statutorily disqualified persons or entities to 
legally operate exempt commodity pools, especially when those same 
persons would not be permitted to register with the Commission. The 
Commission preliminarily believes that preserving the prohibition on 
statutory disqualifications from Advisory 18-96 and applying it to 
exemptions under Sec.  4.13 would provide a substantial customer 
protection benefit by prohibiting statutorily disqualified persons 
from operating and soliciting participants for investment in exempt 
commodity pools.\19\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \19\ Proposal, 83 FR 52906.

    The National Futures Association (NFA) submitted a comment 
letter ``fully support[ing]'' the disqualification of disqualified 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
persons. NFA stated:

[T]he Commission aptly states in the Federal Register release that 
the proposed prohibition would provide a substantial customer 
protection benefit. In particular, the proposed change addresses a 
significant regulatory gap in the Commission's exemption framework 
and will certainly strengthen customer protection by ensuring that a 
person who may be prohibited from registering as a CPO is not able 
to operate an exempt fund outside of the Commission's and NFA's 
regulatory oversight.\20\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \20\ Letter from Carol Wooding, Vice President, General Counsel 
and Secretary, National Futures Association, to Christopher J. 
Kirkpatrick, Secretary of the Commission, Re: RIN 3038-AE76: 
Registration and Compliance Requirements for Commodity Pool 
Operators and Commodity Trading Advisors (Dec. 17, 2018).

    In today's final rule the Commission states that commenters 
raised a number of issues regarding the statutory disqualification 
proposal that require further consideration. I agree that the 
Commission should address these comments. But it should have done so 
prior to granting today's exemptions from registration. Customer 
protection should be our first priority, and not deferred 
indefinitely. The Commission should have addressed these comments 
and finalized the disqualification rule prior to granting today's 
exemption for family offices. Customer protection should not take a 
back seat to exemptions from regulations for billionaires.
    The approval of this rule without any checks and balances on 
exempt family office CPOs will increase risks to our markets and 
market participants. I therefore dissent.

[FR Doc. 2019-26162 Filed 12-9-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6351-01-P