Proposed Rule

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Proposed New Interpretive Notice Relating to CPO Profile Documents: Compliance Rule 2-35 (to read as follows)

CPO PROFILE DOCUMENTS: COMPLIANCE RULE 2-35 INTERPRETIVE NOTICE

NFA Compliance Rule 2-35 permits Member CPOs to conduct initial customer solicitations with a profile document, provided that a customer is given the disclosure document prior to investing in the pool. The profile document should provide a summary of key information regarding an investment in the commodity pool being offered. Among other things, the profile requires a discussion of the risk factors material to the particular pool being offered and a discussion of any conflicts of interest material to the offered pool. The information provided under both these sections should be tailored to the pool being offered and should not include a generic discussion of risks or conflicts of interest typical of all commodity pools.

The discussion of risk factors should focus on characteristics of the pool that go beyond risks that are associated with commodity pool investments in general. This section should not contain boilerplate or generic language on the risks related to volatility and leverage which are associated with all commodity pool investments. If, however, these risk factors raise any special considerations with respect to the offered pool, the profile should contain a complete discussion of these special considerations. Other risk factors that should be discussed in this section include but are not limited to risks associated with allocating a substantial portion of a pool's assets to one CTA or a group of CTAs whose trading methods do not provide any diversification (e.g., a single CTA fund which invested exclusively in agricultural products); counterparty creditworthiness issues that may arise if the pool's assets are concentrated in OTC or foreign instruments; liquidity issues that may arise if the pool itself is invested in illiquid products; and leverage issues that may exist if the pool will engage in borrowing or if assets are allocated among the pool's CTAs in such a way that the total allocations to the pool's CTAs are greater than the total assets of the pool.

The discussion on conflicts of interest should focus on arrangements or relationships among the pool's CPO, trading manager, major CTAs, CPOs of major investee pools, and any other person providing services to the pool that may compromise the pool participants' interest with respect to trading costs, fees, execution, or any other aspects of the pool's operation. For example, if the CPO provides other services to the pool for compensation, the CPO has a financial disincentive to replace itself even if it would be in the best interest of the pool. In addition, the compensation the CPO receives for providing these services will not have been set by arm's length negotiation. Other conflicts of interest that should be disclosed include, but are not limited to, situations where the CPO or CTA receives per trade compensation or where the CPO participates in soft dollar arrangements with the pool's FCM.

This interpretive notice is not intended to provide an inclusive list of the risk factors and conflicts of interest that must be disclosed in the profile.

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