97-97 ;
1a(4) and 1a(5);
Interpretation
The Division of Trading and Market provided interpretative guidance in response to an inquiry concerning the ability of a registered futures commission merchant (FCM) also to be registered as a commodity trading advisor (CTA) or commodity pool operator (CPO). The Division noted that nothing in the Act or in the Commission's rules prohibited an FCM from also being registered as a CPO or CTA. The Division explained that pursuant to Rule 4.13(a)(2), an FCM could claim an exemption from CPO registration if the aggregate gross value for all commodity pools operated by the FCM did not exceed $200,000 and none of the pools contained more than fifteen participants at any time. Furthermore, Section la(5) of the Act provides a statutory exclusion from the CTA definition for certain categories of persons which includes, among others, banks, teachers and FCMs who provide commodity trading advice in a manner "solely incidental" to the conduct of their business or profession. The Division explained that, as a general rule, the Commission has not required an FCM which manages a customer's commodity interest account to register as a CTA so long as the firm is acting as an FCM with respect to the account, i.e., carrying the account on its books and accepting customer funds in connection with commodity interest transactions.