Commodity Pool Operators and Commodity Trading Advisors: Reduction of Duplicative Regulation Through Intermediary Registration Exemptions; Expansion of the Exemption for Small Commodity Pools

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("Commission" or "CFTC") is proposing several amendments to its registration requirements for certain commodity pool operators ("CPOs") and commodity trading advisors ("CTAs") to reduce duplicative and overlapping regulation and reflect inflation ("Proposal"). The Proposal would add an exemption from CPO registration for certain investment advisers registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("Registered Investment Advisers" or "RIAs") in relation to commodity pools for which the participants are limited to certain sophisticated investors and which meet other conditions; add a related registration exemption for CTAs; and increase the total gross capital contributions threshold in the CPO registration exemption for small commodity pools (commonly referred to as the "Small Pool Exemption") to account for inflation. The Commission preliminarily intends for the Proposal, if adopted, to supersede certain no-action positions issued by the Commission's Market Participants Division ("MPD").