Planning for the CFTC’s Revised Form CPO-PQR for Q1 2021

In December 2020, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (“CFTC’s”) Form CPO-PQR was amended to eliminate certain reporting questions and schedules, as well as adopting minor changes to the Form’s layout and guidance sections.

Foreside’s previous blog on Form CPO-PQR discussed the CFTC’s October 6, 2020 approval of amendments to certain compliance requirements for Commodity Pool Operators (“CPOs”) in Regulation 4.27 and Form CPO-PQR. These revisions included eliminating pool-specific reporting requirements in Schedules B and C of Form CPO-PQR, such as questions about investment strategy and counterparty credit exposure, asset liquidity and concentration of positions, clearing relationships, risk metrics, financing, and investor composition. CPOs will still be required to report their schedule of investments, which is included in the existing Schedule B. Additionally, they will also need to amend information in the existing Schedule A by providing Legal Entity Identifiers (“LEIs”) for the CPO and any of the Pools that have them. The inclusion of LEIs will eliminate questions regarding pool auditors and marketers in Schedule A of the PQR. The updated instructions for Form CPO-PQR state that CPOs are not required to obtain LEIs for themselves or their operated Pools to complete the Form CPO-PQR, where such CPOs or Pools are not otherwise required to have them for their operations.

The first required filing of the Revised Form CPO-PQR will be for the first quarter of 2021. The deadline for filing the Q1 2021 Form CPO-PQR is May 30, 2021, which is 60 days after the quarter-end. Of note, the CFTC designated the National Futures Association (“NFA”) as the only registered futures association with authority to regulate the practices of its members and the U.S. derivatives markets. In addition, the CFTC Form CPO-PQR and the NFA PQR are both filed on the NFA website, using the NFA’s Electronic Filing System.

Foreside’s NFA Consulting Group advises a number of registered Commodity Pool Operators and Commodity Trading Advisors and stays in communication with regulators on the most up-to-date rules and guidance in the U.S. derivatives markets. As the regulatory demand on commodity pool operators and advisors continues to shift, we hope to be part of your solution.