Reducing Duplicative Regulation and Expanding Exemptions for Commodity Pool Operators and Commodity Trading Advisors
Summary
SIFMA AMG 1 provided comments to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on the proposed amendments to its registration requirements for certain commodity pool operators (‘‘CPOs’’) and commodity trading advisors (‘‘CTAs’’) to reduce duplicative and overlapping regulation and to reflect inflation (the ‘‘Proposal’’). 2
Excerpt
CFTC Letter No. 25-50 (“Letter 25-50”) 3 is an interim staff no-action letter issued on December 19, 2025, that lets certain private fund managers avoid or withdraw from CPO and CTA registration.
The Proposal would largely codify relief previously provided through Letter No. 25-50 that, if adopted, would permit investment advisers registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (“RIAs”), to claim an exemption from CPO registration with respect to certain commodity pools offered exclusively to qualified eligible persons (“QEPs”) (the “RIA-QEP Exemption”). It would also implement inflation-based adjustments to certain pool-level eligibility thresholds to align them with corresponding thresholds in the QEP definition.
Discussion
AMG commends the CFTC for its efforts to reduce duplicative and overlapping regulation. This Proposal presents an opportunity to simplify, rationalize, and harmonize the regulatory regime. Buy-side market participants, in particular, support such efforts that advance clearly defined regulatory purposes and market-transparency objectives.
AMG has reviewed the Proposal and is providing comments on several areas where we believe the Commission should reconsider aspects of the Proposal and several areas which we believe also need to be addressed to resolve ambiguities with respect to related regulatory requirements.
SIFMA AMG would also like to take this opportunity to reiterate its long-standing advocacy that the CFTC restore Rule 4.5’s former exclusion from CFTC CPO and CTA registration for registered investment companies (“RICs”) and their RIAs otherwise registered with the SEC, including mutual funds and ETFs, which happened to use a limited amount of commodity interests.
- SIFMA AMG brings the asset management community together to provide views on U.S. and global policy and to create industry best practices. SIFMA AMG’s members represent U.S. and global asset management firms whose combined assets under management exceed $45 trillion. The clients of SIFMA AMG member firms include, among others, tens of millions of individual investors, registered investment companies, endowments, public and private pension funds, UCITS and private funds such as hedge funds and private equity funds.
- Request for Comment on Commodity Pool Operators and Commodity Trading Advisors: Reduction of Duplicative Regulation Through Intermediary Registration Exemptions; Expansion of the Exemption for Small Commodity Pools (RIN: 3038-AF78), 91 Fed. Reg. 54264 (August 21, 2026).
- See CFTC No-Action Letter No. 25-50 (Dec. 19, 2025).