The information in this prospectus is not complete
and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration
statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This
prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and is not soliciting an
offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not
permitted.
Subject to Completion, dated March 21,
2023
PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS
United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund,
LP®*
Shares
*Principal U.S. Listing Exchange: NYSE Arca, Inc.
The United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund, LP (“UNL”)
is an exchange traded fund organized as a limited partnership that issues shares
that trade on the NYSE Arca stock exchange (“NYSE Arca”). UNL’s investment
objective is for the daily changes in percentage terms of its shares’ per share
net asset value (“NAV”) to reflect the daily changes in percentage terms of the
price of natural gas delivered at the Henry Hub, Louisiana, as measured by the
daily changes in the average of the prices of specified short-term futures
contracts on natural gas called the “Benchmark Futures Contracts”, plus interest
earned on UNL’s collateral holdings, less UNL’s expenses. UNL pays its general
partner, United States Commodity Funds LLC (“USCF”), a limited liability
company, a management fee and incurs operating costs. UNL and USCF are located
at 1850 Mt. Diablo Boulevard, Suite 640, Walnut Creek, California 94596. The
telephone number for both UNL and USCF is 510.522.9600. In order for a
hypothetical investment in shares to break even over the next 12 months,
assuming a selling price of $13.22 (the net asset value as of February 28,
2023), the investment would have to generate a 0.00% return or $0.00. The amount
for this breakeven analysis takes into account a fee waiver, which USCF may
terminate at any time in its discretion.
UNL is an exchange traded fund. This means that most
investors who decide to buy or sell shares of UNL place their trade orders
through their brokers and may incur customary brokerage commissions and charges.
Shares trade on the NYSE Arca under the ticker symbol “UNL” and are bought and
sold throughout the trading day at bid and ask prices like other publicly traded
securities.
Shares trade on the NYSE Arca after they are initially
purchased by “Authorized Participants,” institutional firms that purchase and
redeem shares in blocks of 50,000 shares called “baskets” through UNL’s
marketing agent, ALPS Distributors, Inc. (the “Marketing Agent”). The price of a
basket is equal to the net asset value (“NAV”) of 50,000 shares on the day that
the order to purchase the basket is accepted by the Marketing Agent. The NAV per
share is calculated by taking the current market value of UNL’s total assets
(after close of NYSE Arca) subtracting any liabilities and dividing that total
by the total number of outstanding shares. The offering of UNL’s shares is a
“best efforts” offering, which means that neither the Marketing Agent nor any
Authorized Participant is required to purchase a specific number or dollar
amount of shares. USCF pays the Marketing Agent a marketing fee consisting of a
fixed annual amount plus an incentive fee based on the amount of shares sold.
Authorized Participants will not receive from UNL, USCF or any of their
affiliates, any fee or other compensation in connection with the sale of shares.
Aggregate compensation paid to the Marketing Agent and any affiliate of USCF for
distribution-related services in connection with this offering of shares will
not exceed ten percent (10%) of the gross proceeds of the offering.
Investors who buy or sell shares during the day from
their broker may do so at a premium or discount relative to the market value of
the underlying natural gas futures contracts in which UNL invests due to supply
and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market for shares that are
closely related to, but not identical to, the same forces influencing the prices
of natural gas and the natural gas futures contracts that serve as UNL’s
investment benchmark. INVESTING IN UNL INVOLVES RISKS SIMILAR TO THOSE
INVOLVED WITH AN INVESTMENT DIRECTLY IN THE NATURAL GAS MARKET, BUT IT IS NOT A
PROXY FOR TRADING DIRECTLY IN THE NATURAL GAS MARKETS. Investing in UNL also
involves the correlation risk described below and other significant risks.
Recent volatility in the natural gas markets demonstrates that these risks are
real. You should consider carefully the risks described below before making an
investment decision. See “Risk Factors Involved with an Investment in UNL”
beginning on page 8.
The offering of UNL’s shares is registered with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in accordance with the Securities Act
of 1933 (the “1933 Act”). The offering is intended to be a continuous offering
and is not expected to terminate until all of the registered shares have been
sold or three years from the date of the original offering, whichever is
earlier, unless extended as permitted under the rules under the 1933 Act,
although the offering may be temporarily suspended if and when no suitable
investments for UNL are available or practicable. UNL is not a mutual fund
registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (“1940 Act”) and is not
subject to regulation under the 1940 Act.
NEITHER THE SEC NOR ANY STATE SECURITIES COMMISSION
HAS APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED OF THE SECURITIES OFFERED IN THIS PROSPECTUS, OR
DETERMINED IF THIS PROSPECTUS IS TRUTHFUL OR COMPLETE. ANY REPRESENTATION TO THE
CONTRARY IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.
UNL is a commodity pool and USCF is a commodity pool
operator (“CPO”) subject to regulation by the Commodity Futures Trading
Commission (“CFTC”) and the National Futures Association (“NFA”) under the
Commodity Exchange Act (“CEA”).
THE COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION HAS NOT
PASSED UPON THE MERITS OF PARTICIPATING IN THIS POOL NOR HAS THE COMMISSION
PASSED ON THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS DISCLOSURE DOCUMENT.
The date of this prospectus is April
[●], 2023.
COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION
RISK DISCLOSURE STATEMENT
YOU SHOULD CAREFULLY CONSIDER WHETHER YOUR FINANCIAL
CONDITION PERMITS YOU TO PARTICIPATE IN A COMMODITY POOL. IN SO DOING, YOU
SHOULD BE AWARE THAT COMMODITY INTEREST TRADING CAN QUICKLY LEAD TO LARGE LOSSES
AS WELL AS GAINS. SUCH TRADING LOSSES CAN SHARPLY REDUCE THE NET ASSET VALUE OF
THE POOL AND CONSEQUENTLY THE VALUE OF YOUR INTEREST IN THE POOL. IN ADDITION,
RESTRICTIONS ON REDEMPTIONS MAY AFFECT YOUR ABILITY TO WITHDRAW YOUR
PARTICIPATION IN THE POOL.
FURTHER, COMMODITY POOLS MAY BE SUBJECT TO
SUBSTANTIAL CHARGES FOR MANAGEMENT, AND ADVISORY AND BROKERAGE FEES. IT MAY BE
NECESSARY FOR THOSE POOLS THAT ARE SUBJECT TO THESE CHARGES TO MAKE SUBSTANTIAL
TRADING PROFITS TO AVOID DEPLETION OR EXHAUSTION OF THEIR ASSETS. THIS
DISCLOSURE DOCUMENT CONTAINS A COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF EACH EXPENSE TO BE
CHARGED THIS POOL AT PAGE 6 AND A STATEMENT OF THE PERCENTAGE RETURN NECESSARY
TO BREAK EVEN, THAT IS, TO RECOVER THE AMOUNT OF YOUR INITIAL INVESTMENT, AT
PAGE 43.
THIS BRIEF STATEMENT CANNOT DISCLOSE ALL THE RISKS
AND OTHER FACTORS NECESSARY TO EVALUATE YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THIS COMMODITY
POOL. THEREFORE, BEFORE YOU DECIDE TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS COMMODITY POOL, YOU
SHOULD CAREFULLY STUDY THIS DISCLOSURE DOCUMENT, INCLUDING A DESCRIPTION OF THE
PRINCIPAL RISK FACTORS OF THIS INVESTMENT, AT PAGE 8.
YOU SHOULD ALSO BE AWARE THAT THIS COMMODITY POOL MAY
TRADE FOREIGN FUTURES OR OPTIONS CONTRACTS. TRANSACTIONS ON MARKETS LOCATED
OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES, INCLUDING MARKETS FORMALLY LINKED TO A UNITED STATES
MARKET, MAY BE SUBJECT TO REGULATIONS WHICH OFFER DIFFERENT OR DIMINISHED
PROTECTION TO THE POOL AND ITS PARTICIPANTS. FURTHER, UNITED STATES REGULATORY
AUTHORITIES MAY BE UNABLE TO COMPEL THE ENFORCEMENT OF THE RULES OF REGULATORY
AUTHORITIES OR MARKETS IN NON-UNITED STATES JURISDICTIONS WHERE TRANSACTIONS FOR
THE POOL MAY BE EFFECTED.
SWAPS TRANSACTIONS, LIKE OTHER FINANCIAL
TRANSACTIONS, INVOLVE A VARIETY OF SIGNIFICANT RISKS. THE SPECIFIC RISKS
PRESENTED BY A PARTICULAR SWAP TRANSACTION NECESSARILY DEPEND UPON THE TERMS OF
THE TRANSACTION AND YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES. IN GENERAL, HOWEVER, ALL SWAPS
TRANSACTIONS INVOLVE SOME COMBINATION OF MARKET RISK, CREDIT RISK, COUNTERPARTY
CREDIT RISK, FUNDING RISK, LIQUIDITY RISK, AND OPERATIONAL RISK.
HIGHLY CUSTOMIZED SWAPS TRANSACTIONS IN PARTICULAR
MAY INCREASE LIQUIDITY RISK, WHICH MAY RESULT IN A SUSPENSION OF REDEMPTIONS.
HIGHLY LEVERAGED TRANSACTIONS MAY EXPERIENCE SUBSTANTIAL GAINS OR LOSSES IN
VALUE AS A RESULT OF RELATIVELY SMALL CHANGES IN THE VALUE OR LEVEL OF AN
UNDERLYING OR RELATED MARKET FACTOR.
IN EVALUATING THE RISKS AND CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS
ASSOCIATED WITH A PARTICULAR SWAP TRANSACTION, IT IS IMPORTANT TO CONSIDER THAT
A SWAP TRANSACTION MAY BE MODIFIED OR TERMINATED ONLY BY MUTUAL CONSENT OF THE
ORIGINAL PARTIES AND SUBJECT TO AGREEMENT ON INDIVIDUALLY NEGOTIATED TERMS.
THEREFORE, IT MAY NOT BE POSSIBLE FOR THE COMMODITY POOL OPERATOR TO MODIFY,
TERMINATE, OR OFFSET THE POOL’S OBLIGATIONS OR THE POOL’S EXPOSURE TO THE RISKS
ASSOCIATED WITH A TRANSACTION PRIOR TO ITS SCHEDULED TERMINATION
DATE.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PROSPECTUS
SUMMARY
This is only a summary of the prospectus and, while
it contains material information about UNL and its shares, it does not contain
or summarize all of the information about UNL and the shares contained in this
prospectus that is material and/or which may be important to you. You should
read this entire prospectus, including “Risk Factors Involved with an Investment
in UNL” beginning on page 8, before making an investment decision about the
shares. For a glossary of defined terms, see Appendix A.
United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund, LP (“UNL”), a
Delaware limited partnership, is a commodity pool that continuously issues
common shares of beneficial interest that may be purchased and sold on the NYSE
Arca stock exchange (“NYSE Arca”). UNL is managed and controlled by United
States Commodity Funds LLC (“USCF”), a Delaware limited liability company. USCF
is registered as a CPO with the CFTC and is a member of the NFA.
UNL’s Investment Objective
and Strategy
The investment objective of UNL is for the daily
percentage changes in the NAV per share to reflect the daily percentage changes
of the spot price of natural gas delivered at the Henry Hub, Louisiana as
measured by the daily changes in the average of the prices of 12 futures
contracts on natural gas traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange (the
“NYMEX”), consisting of the near month contract to expire and the contracts for
the following 11 months, for a total of 12 consecutive months’ contracts, except
when the near month contract is within two weeks of expiration, in which case it
will be measured by the futures contract that is the next month contract to
expire and the contracts for the following 11 consecutive months (the “Benchmark
Futures Contracts”), plus interest earned on UNL’s collateral holdings, less
UNL’s expenses.
What are the “Benchmark Futures Contracts”?
The Benchmark Futures Contracts are the futures
contracts on natural gas as traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange (the
“NYMEX”) that are the near month contract to expire, and the contracts for the
following 11 months, for a total of 12 consecutive months’ contracts, except
when the near month contract is within two weeks of expiration, in which case
they are measured by the futures contracts that are the next month contract to
expire and the contracts for the following 11 consecutive months. When
calculating the daily movement of the average price of the 12 contracts, each
contract month is equally weighted.
UNL seeks to achieve its investment objective by
investing primarily in futures contracts for natural gas that are traded on the
NYMEX, ICE Futures Europe and ICE Futures U.S. (together, “ICE Futures”), or
other U.S. and foreign exchanges (collectively, “Futures Contracts”), and to a
lesser extent, in order to comply with regulatory requirements, risk mitigation
measures, liquidity requirements, or in view of market conditions, other natural
gas-related investments such as cash-settled options on Futures Contracts,
forward contracts for natural gas, cleared swap contracts and non-exchange
traded (“over-the-counter” or “OTC”) transactions that are based on the price of
natural gas, crude oil and other petroleum-based fuels, as well as futures
contracts for crude oil, heating oil, gasoline, and other petroleum-based fuels,
Futures Contracts and indices based on the foregoing (collectively, “Other
Natural Gas-Related Investments”). Market conditions that USCF currently
anticipates could cause UNL to invest in Other Natural Gas-Related Investments
include, but are not limited to, those allowing UNL to obtain greater liquidity
or to execute transactions with more favorable pricing. For convenience and
unless otherwise specified, Futures Contracts and Other Natural Gas-Related
Investments collectively are referred to as “Natural Gas Interests” in this
prospectus.
In addition, USCF believes that market arbitrage
opportunities will cause daily changes in UNL’s share price on the NYSE Arca on
a percentage basis to closely track daily changes in UNL’s per share NAV on a
percentage basis. USCF further believes that the daily changes in average of the
prices of the Benchmark Futures Contracts have historically tracked the daily
changes in the spot price of natural gas. USCF believes that the net effect of
these two expected relationships will be that the daily changes in the price of
UNL’s shares on the NYSE Arca on a percentage basis will closely track the daily
changes in the spot price of natural gas on a percentage basis, less UNL’s
expenses.
Specifically, UNL seeks to achieve its investment
objective by investing so that the average daily percentage change in UNL’s NAV
for any period of 30 successive valuation days will be within plus/minus ten
percent (10%) of the average daily percentage change in the price of the
Benchmark Futures Contracts over the same period.
Investors should be aware that UNL’s investment
objective is not for its NAV or market price of shares to equal, in
dollar terms, the spot price of natural gas or any particular futures contract
based on natural gas nor is UNL’s investment objective for the percentage
change in its NAV to reflect the percentage change of the price of any
particular futures contract as measured over a time period greater than one
day. This is because natural market forces called contango and backwardation
have impacted the total return on an investment in UNL’s shares during the past
year relative to a hypothetical direct investment in natural gas and, in the
future, it is likely that the relationship between the market price of UNL’s
shares and changes in the spot prices of natural gas will continue to be
impacted by contango and backwardation. (It is important to note that the
disclosure above ignores the potential costs associated with physically owning
and storing natural gas, which could be substantial.)
Principal Investment Risks of
an Investment in UNL
An investment in UNL involves a degree of risk. Some of
the risks you may face are summarized below. A more extensive discussion of
these risks appears beginning on page 8.
Investment Risk
Investors may choose to use UNL as a means of investing
indirectly in natural gas. INVESTING IN UNL INVOLVES RISKS SIMILAR TO THOSE
INVOLVED WITH AN INVESTMENT DIRECTLY IN THE NATURAL GAS MARKET, BUT IT IS NOT A
PROXY FOR TRADING DIRECTLY IN THE NATURAL GAS MARKETS. Investing in UNL also
involves the correlation risk described below and other significant risks. You
should carefully consider the risks described below before making an investment
decision. An investment in UNL includes the following investment
risks:
|
· |
The NAV of UNL’s shares relates directly to daily
changes in the average of the prices of the Benchmark Futures Contracts
and other assets held by UNL and fluctuations in the prices of these
assets could materially adversely affect an investment in UNL’s shares.
Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results; all or
substantially all of an investment in UNL could be
lost. |
|
· |
The demand for natural gas correlates closely with
general economic growth rates. |
|
· |
Other factors that may affect the demand for
natural gas and therefore its price, include technological improvements in
energy efficiency; seasonal weather patterns, which affect the demand for
natural gas associated with heating; increased competitiveness of
alternative energy sources that have so far generally not been competitive
with natural gas without the benefit of government subsidies or mandates;
and changes in technology or consumer preferences that alter fuel choices,
such as toward alternative fueled or electric transportation and
broad-based changes in personal income levels. |
|
· |
Natural gas prices also vary depending on a number
of factors affecting supply and demand of natural gas, including
geopolitical risk associated with wars, terrorist acts and tensions
between countries. |
|
· |
The supply of and demand for natural gas may also
be impacted by changes in interest rates, inflation, and other local or
regional market conditions, as well as by the development of alternative
energy sources. |
|
· |
Price volatility may possibly cause the total loss
of your investment. |
|
· |
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and sanctions
brought by the United States and other countries against Russia and
others, have caused disruptions in many business sectors, resulting in
significant market disruptions that may lead to increased volatility in
the price of certain commodities, including oil and natural gas, and may
lead to increased volatility in UNL’s NAV or share
price. |
|
· |
COVID-19 and other infectious disease outbreaks
could negatively affect the valuation and performance of UNL’s
investments. |
|
· |
Historical performance of UNL and the Benchmark
Futures Contracts is not indicative of future
performance. |
Correlation Risk
As further described below, an investment in UNL
includes the following correlation risks:
|
· |
An investment in UNL may provide little or no
diversification benefits. Thus, in a declining market, UNL may have no
gains to offset losses from other investments, and an investor may suffer
losses on an investment in UNL while incurring losses with respect to
other asset classes. |
|
· |
The market price at which investors buy or sell
shares may be significantly less or more than
NAV. |
|
· |
Daily percentage changes in UNL’s NAV may not
correlate with daily percentage changes in the average of the prices of
the Benchmark Futures Contracts. |
|
· |
Daily percentage changes in the prices of the
Benchmark Futures Contracts may not correlate with daily percentage
changes in the spot price of natural gas. |
|
· |
An investment in UNL is not a proxy for investing
in the natural gas markets, and the daily percentage changes in the price
of the Benchmark Futures Contracts, or the NAV of UNL, may not correlate
with daily percentage changes in the spot price of natural
gas. |
|
· |
Natural forces in the natural gas futures market
known as “backwardation” and “contango” may increase UNL’s tracking error
and/or negatively impact total return. |
|
· |
Accountability levels, position limits, and daily
price fluctuation limits set by the exchanges have the potential to cause
tracking error, by limiting UNL’s investments, including its ability to
fully invest in the Benchmark Futures Contracts, which could cause the
price of shares to substantially vary from the average of the prices of
the Benchmark Futures Contracts. |
|
· |
Risk mitigation measures that could be imposed by
UNL’s futures commission merchants (“FCMs”) have the potential to cause
tracking error by limiting UNL’s investments, including its ability to
fully invest in the Benchmark Futures Contracts and other Futures
Contracts, which could cause the price of UNL’s shares to substantially
vary from the price of the Benchmark Futures
Contracts. |
To the extent that investors use UNL as a means of
indirectly investing in natural gas, there is the risk that the daily changes in
the price of UNL’s shares on the NYSE Arca on a percentage basis will not
closely track the daily changes in the spot price of natural gas on a percentage
basis. This could happen if the price of shares traded on the NYSE Arca does not
correlate closely with the value of UNL’s NAV; the changes in UNL’s NAV do not
correlate closely with the changes in the average price of the Benchmark Futures
Contracts; or the changes in the average price of the Benchmark Futures
Contracts do not closely correlate with the changes in the cash or spot price of
natural gas. This is a risk because if these correlations do not exist, then
investors may not be able to use UNL as a cost-effective way to indirectly
invest in natural gas or as a hedge against the risk of loss in natural
gas-related transactions.
USCF believes that holding futures contracts whose
expiration dates are spread out over a 12 month period of time will cause the
total return of such a portfolio to vary compared to a portfolio that holds only
a single month’s contract (such as the near month contract). In particular, USCF
believes that the total return of a portfolio holding contracts with a range of
expiration months will be impacted differently by the price relationship between
different contract months of the same commodity future compared to the total
return of a portfolio consisting of the near month contract. For example, in
cases in which the near month contract’s price is higher than the price of
contracts that expire later in time (a situation known as “backwardation” in the
futures markets), then absent the impact of the overall movement in natural gas
prices, the value of the near month contract would tend to rise as it approaches
expiration. Conversely, in cases in which the near month contract’s price is
lower than the price of contracts that expire later in time (a situation known
as “contango” in the futures markets), then absent the impact of the overall
movement in natural gas prices, the value of the near month contract would tend
to decline as it approaches expiration. The total return of a portfolio that
owned the near month contract and “rolled” forward each month by selling the
near month contract as it approached expiration and purchasing the next month
contract to expire would be positively impacted by a backwardation market, and
negatively impacted by a contango market. Depending on the exact price
relationship of the different month’s prices, portfolio expenses, and the
overall movement of natural gas prices, the impact of backwardation and contango
could have a major impact on the total return of such a portfolio over time.
USCF believes that based on historical evidence, a portfolio that held futures
contracts with a range of expiration dates spread out over a 12 month period of
time would typically be impacted less by the positive effect of backwardation
and the negative effect of contango compared to a portfolio that held contracts
of a single near month. As a result, absent the impact of any other factors, a
portfolio of 12 different monthly contracts would tend to have a lower total
return than a near month only portfolio in a backwardation market and a higher
total return in a contango market. However, there can be no assurance that such
historical relationships would provide the same or similar results in the
future.
Volatility in the natural gas market could limit UNL’s
ability to have a substantial portion of its assets invested in the Benchmark
Futures Contracts. In such a circumstance, UNL could, if it determined it
appropriate to do so in light of market conditions and regulatory requirements,
invest in other Futures Contracts and/or Other Natural Gas-Related
Investments.
Tax Risk
UNL is organized and operated as a limited partnership
in accordance with the provisions of its limited partnership agreement (the “LP
Agreement”) and applicable state law, and therefore, has a more complex tax
treatment than conventional mutual funds. An investment in UNL includes the
following tax risks:
|
· |
An investor’s tax liability may exceed the amount
of distributions, if any, on its shares. |
|
· |
An investor’s allocable share of taxable income or
loss may differ from its economic income or loss on its
shares. |
|
· |
Items of income, gain, deduction, loss and credit
with respect to shares could be reallocated for U.S. federal income tax
purposes, and UNL could be liable for U.S. federal income tax, if the U.S.
Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) does not accept the assumptions and
conventions applied by UNL in allocating those items, with potential
adverse consequences for an investor. |
|
· |
UNL could be treated as a corporation for U.S.
federal income tax purposes, which may substantially reduce the value of
the shares. |
|
· |
UNL is organized and operated as a limited
partnership in accordance with the provisions of the LP Agreement and
applicable state law, and therefore, UNL has a more complex tax treatment
than traditional mutual funds. |
|
· |
If UNL is required to withhold tax with respect to
any non-U.S. shareholders, the cost of such withholding may be borne by
all shareholders. |
|
· |
The impact of changes in U.S. federal income tax
laws on UNL is uncertain. |
Over-the-Counter (“OTC”) Contract Risk
UNL may also invest in Other Natural Gas-Related
Investments, many of which are negotiated over-the-counter or “OTC” contracts
that are not as liquid as Futures Contracts and expose UNL to credit risk that
its counterparty may not be able to satisfy its obligations to UNL. An
investment in UNL includes the following OTC contract risks:
|
· |
UNL will be subject to credit risk with respect to
counterparties to OTC contracts entered into by UNL or held by special
purpose or structured vehicles. |
|
· |
Valuing OTC derivatives may be less certain than
actively traded financial instruments. |
Other Risks
UNL pays fees and expenses that are incurred regardless
of whether UNL is profitable.
Unlike mutual funds, commodity pools or other investment
pools that manage their investments in an attempt to realize income and gains
and distribute such income and gains to their investors, UNL generally does not
distribute cash to shareholders. You should not invest in UNL if you will need
cash distributions from UNL to pay taxes on your share of income and gains of
UNL, if any, or for any other reason.
You will have no rights to participate in the management
of UNL and will have to rely on the duties and judgment of USCF to manage
UNL.
UNL is subject to actual and potential inherent
conflicts involving USCF, various commodity futures brokers and “Authorized
Participants,” the institutional firms that directly purchase and redeem shares
in baskets. USCF’s officers, directors and employees do not devote their time
exclusively to UNL. USCF’s persons are directors, officers or employees of other
entities that may compete with UNL for their services, including other commodity
pools (funds) that USCF manages. USCF could have a conflict between its
responsibilities to UNL and to those other entities. As a result of these and
other relationships, parties involved with UNL have a financial incentive to act
in a manner other than in the best interests of UNL and the
shareholders.
In addition, an investment in UNL includes the following
other risks:
|
· |
UNL is not leveraged, but it could become
leveraged if it had insufficient assets to completely meet its margin or
collateral requirements relating to its
investments. |
|
· |
UNL may temporarily limit the offering of Creation
Baskets. |
|
· |
Certain of UNL’s investments could be illiquid,
which could cause large losses to investors at any time or from time to
time. |
|
· |
UNL is not actively managed and its investment
objective is to track the Benchmark Futures Contracts so that the average
daily percentage change in UNL’s NAV for any period of 30 successive
valuation days will be within plus/minus ten percent (10%) of the average
daily percentage change in the price of the Benchmark Futures Contracts
over the same period. |
|
· |
UNL may not meet the listing standards of NYSE
Arca, which would adversely impact an investor’s ability to sell
shares. |
|
· |
The NYSE Arca may halt trading in UNL’s shares,
which would adversely impact an investor’s ability to sell
shares. |
|
· |
The liquidity of UNL’s shares may also be affected
by the withdrawal from participation of Authorized Participants, which
could adversely affect the market price of the
shares. |
|
· |
Shareholders that are not Authorized Participants
may only purchase or sell their shares in secondary trading markets, and
the conditions associated with trading in secondary markets may adversely
affect investors’ investment in the shares. |
|
· |
The lack of an active trading market for UNL’s
shares may result in losses on an investor’s investment in UNL at the time
the investor sells the shares. |
|
· |
Limited partners and shareholders do not
participate in the management of UNL and do not control USCF, so they do
not have any influence over basic matters that affect
UNL. |
|
· |
Limited partners may have limited liability in
certain circumstances, including potentially having liability for the
return of wrongful distributions. |
|
· |
USCF’s LLC Agreement provides limited authority to
the Non-Management Directors, and any Director of USCF may be removed by
USCF’s parent company, which is wholly owned by The Marygold Companies,
Inc., formerly Concierge Technologies, Inc., a controlled public company
where the majority of shares are owned by Nicholas D. Gerber along with
certain of his other family members and certain other
shareholders. |
|
· |
There is a risk that UNL will not earn trading
gains sufficient to compensate for the fees and expenses that it must pay
and as such UNL may not earn any profit. |
|
· |
UNL is subject to extensive regulatory reporting
and compliance. |
|
· |
Regulatory changes or actions, including the
implementation of new legislation, is impossible to predict but may
significantly and adversely affect UNL. |
|
· |
UNL is not a registered investment company so
shareholders do not have the protections of the 1940
Act. |
|
· |
Trading in international markets could expose UNL
to credit and regulatory risk. |
|
· |
UNL and USCF may have conflicts of interest, which
may permit them to favor their own interests to the detriment of
shareholders. |
|
· |
UNL could terminate at any time and cause the
liquidation and potential loss of an investor’s investment and could upset
the overall maturity and timing of an investor’s investment
portfolio. |
|
· |
UNL does not expect to make cash
distributions. |
|
· |
An unanticipated number of Redemption Basket
requests during a short period of time could have an adverse effect on
UNL’s NAV. |
|
· |
The suspension in the ability of Authorized
Participants to purchase Creation Baskets could cause UNL’s NAV to differ
materially from its trading price. |
|
· |
UNL may determine that, to allow it to reinvest
the proceeds from sales of its Creation Baskets in currently permitted
assets in a manner that meets its investment objective, it may limit its
offers of Creation Baskets. |
|
· |
In a rising rate environment, UNL may not be able
to fully invest at prevailing rates until any current investments in
Treasury Bills mature in order to avoid selling those investments at a
loss. |
|
· |
UNL may potentially lose money by investing in
government money market funds. |
|
· |
The failure or bankruptcy of a clearing broker or
UNL’s Custodian could result in a substantial loss of UNL’s assets and
could impair UNL in its ability to execute
trades. |
|
· |
The failure or bankruptcy of UNL’s Custodian could
result in a substantial loss of UNL’s assets. |
|
· |
Due to the increased use of technologies,
intentional and unintentional cyber-attacks pose operational and
information security risks. |
|
· |
UNL’s investment returns could be negatively
affected by climate change and greenhouse gas
restrictions. |
|
· |
USCF is the subject of class action, derivative,
and other litigation. In light of the inherent uncertainties involved in
litigation matters, an adverse outcome in this litigation could materially
adversely affect USCF’s financial condition. |
UNL’s Fees and Expenses
This table describes the fees and expenses that you
may pay if you buy and hold shares of UNL. You should note that you may pay
brokerage commissions on purchases and sales of UNL’s shares, which are not
reflected in the table. Authorized Participants will pay applicable creation and
redemption fees. See “Creation and Redemption of Shares—Creation and
Redemption Transaction Fee,” page 72.
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay
each year
as a percentage of the value of your
investment)
Management Fees |
|
|
0.75 |
%(1) |
Other Expenses |
|
|
0.61 |
%(2) |
Expense Waiver |
|
|
(0.46 |
)%(3) |
Net Expenses Excluding Management Fees |
|
|
0.15 |
% |
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After
Fee Waiver |
|
|
0.90 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
(1) |
UNL is contractually obligated to pay USCF a
management fee based on average daily total net assets and paid monthly of
0.75% per annum on its average daily net
assets. |
|
(2) |
Based on amounts for the year ended December 31,
2022. The individual expense amounts in dollar terms are shown in the
table below. As used in this table, (i) Professional Expenses include
expenses for legal, audit, tax, accounting and printing; and (ii)
Independent Director and Officer Expenses include amounts paid to
independent directors and for officers’ liability
insurance. |
|
(3) |
USCF has voluntarily agreed to pay certain
expenses typically borne by UNL. USCF has no obligation to continue such
payments. If this agreement were terminated, the Annual Fund Operating
Expenses could increase, which would negatively impact your total return
from an investment in UNL. |
The table below shows the total dollar amount of fees
and expenses paid by UNL for the year ended December 31, 2022:
Management Fees(2) |
|
$ |
266,267 |
|
Brokerage
Commissions |
|
$ |
8,670 |
|
Professional
Expenses |
|
$ |
188,633 |
|
Licensing
Fees |
|
$ |
5,325 |
|
Independent
Director and Officer Expenses |
|
$ |
14,201 |
|
Registration
Fees |
|
$ |
0 |
|
These amounts are based on UNL’s average total net
assets, which are the sum of daily total net assets of UNL divided by the number
of calendar days in the year. For the year ended December 31, 2022, UNL’s
average daily total net assets were $35,502,209.
RISK FACTORS INVOLVED WITH AN
INVESTMENT IN UNL
You should consider carefully the risks described
below before making an investment decision. You should also refer to the other
information included in this prospectus, as well as information found in our
periodic reports, which include UNL’s financial statements and the related
notes, that are incorporated by reference. See “Incorporation by Reference of
Certain Information,” page 75.
UNL’s investment objective is for the daily percentage
changes in the NAV per share to reflect the daily percentage changes of the spot
price of natural gas delivered at the Henry Hub, Louisiana as measured by the
daily changes in the average of the prices of 12 futures contracts on natural
gas traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange (the “NYMEX”), consisting of the
near month contract to expire and the contracts for the following 11 months, for
a total of 12 consecutive months’ contracts, except when the near month contract
is within two weeks of expiration, in which case it will be measured by the
futures contract that is the next month contract to expire and the contracts for
the following 11 consecutive months (the “Benchmark Futures Contracts”), plus
interest earned on UNL’s collateral holdings, less UNL’s expenses. When
calculating the daily movement of the average price of the 12 contracts, each
contract month is equally weighted. UNL seeks to achieve its investment
objective by investing so that the average daily percentage change in UNL’s NAV
for any period of 30 successive valuation days will be within plus/minus ten
percent (10%) of the average daily percentage change in the prices of the
Benchmark Futures Contracts over the same period. UNL’s investment strategy is
designed to provide investors with a cost-effective way to invest indirectly in
natural gas and to hedge against movements in the spot price of natural
gas.
An investment in UNL involves investment risk similar to
a direct investment in Natural Gas Interests. An investment in UNL also involves
investment risk similar to a direct investment in Futures Contracts and Other
Natural Gas-Related Investments, but it is not a proxy for investing in the
natural gas markets. Investing in UNL also involves correlation risk, or the
risk that investors purchasing shares to hedge against movements in the price of
natural gas will have an efficient hedge only if the price they pay for their
shares closely correlates with the price of natural gas. In addition to
investment risk and correlation risk, an investment in UNL involves tax risks,
OTC risks, and other risks.
Investment Risk
The NAV of UNL’s shares relates directly to daily
changes in the average of the prices of the Benchmark Futures Contracts and
other assets held by UNL and fluctuations in the prices of these assets could
materially adversely affect an investment in UNL’s shares. Past performance is
not necessarily indicative of future results; all or substantially all of an
investment in UNL could be lost.
The net assets of UNL consist primarily of investments
in Futures Contracts and, to a lesser extent, in Other Natural Gas-Related
Investments. The NAV of UNL’s shares relates directly to the value of these
assets (less liabilities, including accrued but unpaid expenses), which in turn
relates to the price of natural gas in the marketplace. Natural gas prices
depend on local, regional and global events or conditions that affect supply and
demand for natural gas.
Economic conditions impacting natural gas.
The demand for natural gas correlates closely with general economic growth
rates. The occurrence of recessions or other periods of low or negative economic
growth will typically have a direct adverse impact on natural gas demand and,
therefore, may have an adverse impact on natural gas prices. Other factors that affect general economic
conditions in the world or in a major region, such as changes in population
growth rates, periods of civil unrest, military conflicts, war (such as the
current war between Russia and Ukraine), pandemics (e.g., COVID-19), government
austerity programs, or currency exchange rate fluctuations, can also impact the
demand for natural gas. Sovereign debt downgrades, defaults, inability to access
debt markets due to credit or legal constraints, liquidity crises, the breakup
or restructuring of fiscal, monetary, or political systems such as the European
Union, and other events or conditions (e.g., pandemics such as COVID-19) that
impair the functioning of financial markets and institutions also may adversely
impact the demand for natural gas.
Other natural gas demand-related factors.
Other factors that may affect the demand for natural gas and therefore its
price, include technological improvements in energy efficiency; seasonal weather
patterns, which affect the demand for natural gas associated with heating;
increased competitiveness of alternative energy sources that have so far
generally not been competitive with natural gas without the benefit of
government subsidies or mandates; and changes in technology or consumer
preferences that alter fuel choices, such as toward alternative fueled vehicles
or electric transportation and broad-based changes in personal income
levels.
Other natural gas supply-related factors.
Natural gas prices also vary depending on a number of factors affecting supply,
including geopolitical risk associated with wars (such as the current war
between Russia and Ukraine), terrorist attacks and tensions between countries,
including sanctions imposed as a result of the foregoing that can adversely
affect natural gas trade flows by limiting or disrupting trade between countries
or regions. For example, increased supply from the development of new natural
gas sources and technologies to enhance recovery from existing sources tends to
reduce natural gas prices to the extent such supply increases are not offset by
commensurate growth in demand. Similarly, increases in industry refining or
manufacturing capacity may impact the supply of natural gas. Natural gas supply
levels can also be affected by factors that reduce available supplies, such as
the geopolitical risk associated with wars, terrorist attacks and tensions
between countries, including sanctions imposed as a result of the foregoing that
can adversely affect natural gas and other energy trade flows by limiting or
disrupting trade between countries or regions, natural disasters, disruptions in
competitors’ operations, or unexpected unavailability of distribution channels
that may disrupt supplies. Technological change can also alter the relative
costs for companies in the natural gas industry to find, produce, and transport
natural gas, which in turn may affect the supply of and demand for natural
gas.
Other factors impacting the natural gas
market. The supply of and demand for natural gas may also be impacted by
changes in interest rates, inflation, and other local or regional market
conditions, as well as by the development of alternative energy
sources.
Price volatility may possibly cause the total loss
of your investment.
Futures contracts have a high degree of price
variability and are subject to occasional rapid and substantial changes.
Consequently, you could lose all or substantially all of your investment in
UNL.
Significant market volatility has recently occurred in
the natural gas markets and the natural gas futures markets. Such volatility is
attributable in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, related supply chain disruptions,
war, including the war between Russia and Ukraine, and continuing disputes among
natural gas-producing countries. These and other events could cause continuing
or increased volatility in the future, which may affect the value, pricing and
liquidity of some investments or other assets, including those held by or
invested in by UNL and the impact of which could limit UNL’s ability to have a
substantial portion of its assets invested in the Benchmark Futures Contracts.
In such a circumstance, UNL could, if it determined it appropriate to do so in
light of market conditions and regulatory requirements, invest in other Futures
Contract and/or Other Natural-Gas Related Investments.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and sanctions
brought by the United States and other countries against Russia and others, have
caused disruptions in many business sectors, resulting in significant market
disruptions that have led to increased volatility in the price of certain
commodities, including oil and natural gas, and may lead to volatility in UNL’s
NAV or share price.
On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a large-scale
invasion of Ukraine. The extent and duration of the military action and
resulting sanctions, and future market or supply disruptions in the region are
impossible to predict, but could be significant and may have a severe adverse
effect on the region.
The United States and other countries and certain
international organizations have imposed broad-ranging economic sanctions on
Russia and certain Russian individuals, banking entities and corporations as a
response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and additional sanctions may be
imposed in the future. Such sanctions (and any future sanctions) will adversely
impact the economies of Russia and Ukraine, and certain sectors of each
country’s economy may be particularly affected, including but not limited to,
financial services, energy, metals and mining, engineering and defense and
defense-related materials sectors. Among other things, the extent and duration
of the military action, the responses of countries and political bodies to
Russia’s actions, including sanctions, future market or supply disruptions, and
Ukraine’s military response and the potential for wider conflict may increase
financial market volatility generally, have severe adverse effects on regional
and global economic markets, and cause volatility in the markets for
commodities, including the price of energy, including energy futures, and the
NAV or share price of UNL.
A resolution to the war in Ukraine also could impact the
markets for certain commodities and may have collateral impacts, including
increased volatility, and cause disruptions to the availability of certain
commodities, commodity and futures prices and the supply chain globally. The
longer-term impact on commodities and futures prices, including, e.g., the price
of the Benchmark Futures Contract, is difficult to predict and depends on a
number of factors that may have a negative impact on UNL in the
future.
Infectious disease outbreaks like COVID-19 could
negatively affect the valuation and performance of UNL’s
investments.
An outbreak of infectious respiratory illness caused by
a novel coronavirus known as COVID-19 was first detected in China in December
2019 and spread globally. In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared
the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic. COVID-19 resulted in numerous deaths, travel
restrictions, closed international borders, enhanced health screenings at ports
of entry and elsewhere, disruption of and delays in healthcare service
preparation and delivery, prolonged quarantines and the imposition of both local
and more widespread “work from home” measures, cancellations, loss of
employment, supply chain disruptions, and lower consumer and institutional
demand for goods and services, as well as general concern and uncertainty. The
spread of COVID-19 had a material adverse impact on local economies in the
affected jurisdictions and also on the global economy, as cross border
commercial activity and market sentiment were impacted by the outbreak and
government and other measures seeking to contain its spread. COVID-19 had a
material adverse impact on the natural gas markets and natural gas futures
markets to the extent economic activity and the use of natural gas continues to
be curtailed, which in turn had a significant adverse effect on the prices of
Futures Contracts, including the Benchmark Futures Contracts, and Other Natural
Gas-Related Contracts.
Infectious disease outbreaks like COVID-19 may arise in
the future and could adversely affect individual issuers and capital markets in
ways that cannot necessarily be foreseen. In addition, actions taken by
government and quasi-governmental authorities and regulators throughout the
world in response to such an outbreak, including the potential for significant
fiscal and monetary policy changes, may affect the value, volatility, pricing
and liquidity of some investments or other assets, including those held by or
invested in by UNL. Public health crises caused by infectious disease outbreaks
may exacerbate other pre-existing political, social and economic risks in
certain countries or globally and their duration cannot be determined with
certainty.
Historical performance of UNL and the Benchmark
Futures Contracts is not indicative of future performance.
Past performance of UNL or the Benchmark Futures
Contracts is not necessarily indicative of future results. Therefore, past
performance of UNL or the Benchmark Futures Contracts should not be relied upon
in deciding whether to buy shares of UNL.
Correlation Risk
An investment in UNL may provide little or no
diversification benefits. Thus, in a declining market, UNL may have no gains to
offset losses from other investments, and an investor may suffer losses on an
investment in UNL while incurring losses with respect to other asset classes.
Investors purchasing shares to hedge against movements
in the price of natural gas will have an efficient hedge only if the price
investors pay for their shares closely correlates with the price of natural gas.
Investing in UNL’s shares for hedging purposes includes the following
risks:
|
· |
The market price at which the investor buys or
sells shares may be significantly less or more than
NAV. |
|
· |
Daily percentage changes in NAV may not closely
correlate with daily percentage changes in the average of the prices of
the Benchmark Futures Contracts. |
|
· |
Daily percentage changes in the average of the
prices of the Benchmark Futures Contracts may not closely correlate with
daily percentage changes in the price of natural
gas. |
Historically, Futures Contracts and Other Natural
Gas-Related Investments have generally been non-correlated to the performance of
other asset classes such as stocks and bonds. Non-correlation means that there
is a low statistically valid relationship between the performance of futures and
other commodity interest transactions, on the one hand, and stocks or bonds, on
the other hand.
However, there can be no assurance that such
non-correlation will continue during future periods. If, contrary to historic
patterns, UNL’s performance were to move in the same general direction as the
financial markets, investors will obtain little or no diversification benefits
from an investment in UNL’s shares. In such a case, UNL may have no gains to
offset losses from other investments, and investors may suffer losses on their
investment in UNL at the same time they incur losses with respect to other
investments.
Variables such as drought, floods, weather, military
conflicts, pandemics (such as COVID-19), embargoes, tariffs and other political
events may have a larger impact on natural gas prices and natural gas-linked
instruments, including Futures Contracts and Other Natural Gas-Related
Investments, than on traditional securities. These additional variables may
create additional investment risks that subject UNL’s investments to greater
volatility than investments in traditional securities.
Non-correlation should not be confused with negative
correlation, where the performance of two asset classes would be opposite of
each other. There is no historical evidence that the spot price of natural gas
and prices of other financial assets, such as stocks and bonds, are negatively
correlated. In the absence of negative correlation, UNL cannot be expected to be
automatically profitable during unfavorable periods for the stock market, or
vice versa.
The market price at which investors buy or sell
shares may be significantly less or more than NAV.
UNL’s NAV per share will change throughout the day as
fluctuations occur in the market value of UNL’s portfolio investments. The
public trading price at which an investor buys or sells shares during the day
from their broker may be different from the NAV of the shares, which is also the
price shares can be redeemed with UNL by Authorized Participants in Redemption
Baskets. Generally, price differences may relate primarily to supply and demand
forces at work in the secondary trading market for shares that are closely
related to, but not identical to, the same forces influencing the prices of
natural gas and the Benchmark Futures Contracts at any point in time. USCF
expects that exploitation of certain arbitrage opportunities by Authorized
Participants and their clients will tend to cause the public trading price to
track NAV per share closely over time, but there can be no assurance of that.
For example, a shortage of UNL shares in the market and other factors could
cause UNL’s shares to trade at a premium. Investors should be aware that such
premiums can be transitory. To the extent an investor purchases shares that
include a premium (e.g., because of a shortage of shares in the market due to
the inability of Authorized Participants to purchase additional shares from UNL
that could be resold into the market) and the cause of the premium no longer
exists causing the premium to disappear (e.g., because more shares are available
for purchase from UNL by Authorized Participants that could be resold into the
market) such investor’s return on its investment would be adversely impacted due
to the loss of the premium.
The NAV of UNL’s shares may also be influenced by
non-concurrent trading hours between the NYSE Arca and the various futures
exchanges on which natural gas is traded. While the shares trade on the NYSE
Arca from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, the trading hours for the futures
exchanges on which natural gas trades may not necessarily coincide during all of
this time. For example, while the shares trade on the NYSE Arca until 4:00 p.m.
Eastern Time, liquidity in the global natural gas market will be reduced after
the close of the NYMEX at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time. UNL’s NAV is calculated based
on the settlement price of the Benchmark Futures Contracts at 2:30 p.m. Eastern
Time and the closing share price of UNL on the NYSE Arca taking into account
changes in the price of the Benchmark Futures Contracts that occur after the
settlement price is determined. As a result, during periods when the NYSE Arca
is open and the futures exchanges on which natural gas is traded are closed,
trading spreads and the resulting premium or discount on the shares may widen
and, therefore, increase the difference between the price of the shares and the
NAV of the shares.
Daily percentage changes in UNL’s NAV may not
correlate with daily percentage changes in the average of the prices of the
Benchmark Futures Contracts.
It is possible that the daily percentage changes in
UNL’s NAV per share may not closely correlate to daily percentage changes in the
average of the prices of the Benchmark Futures Contracts. Non-correlation may be
attributable to disruptions in the market for natural gas, the imposition of
position or accountability limits by regulators or exchanges, or other
extraordinary circumstances. As UNL approaches or reaches position limits with
respect to the Benchmark Futures Contracts and other Futures Contracts or in
view of market conditions, UNL may invest in Futures Contracts other than the
Benchmark Futures Contracts and Other Natural Gas-Related
Investments.
Daily percentage changes in the prices of the
Benchmark Futures Contracts may not correlate with daily percentage changes in
the spot price of natural gas.
The correlation between changes in the average of the
prices of the Benchmark Futures Contracts and the spot price of natural gas may
at times be only approximate. The degree of imperfection of correlation depends
upon circumstances such as variations in the speculative natural gas market,
supply and demand for Futures Contracts (including the Benchmark Futures
Contracts) and Other Natural Gas-Related Investments, and technical influences
in natural gas futures trading.
An investment in UNL is not a proxy for investing
in the natural gas markets, and the daily percentage changes in the price of the
Benchmark Futures Contracts, or the NAV of UNL, may not correlate with daily
percentage changes in the spot price of natural gas.
An investment in UNL is not a proxy for investing in the
natural gas markets. To the extent that investors use UNL as a means of
indirectly investing in natural gas, there is the risk that the daily changes in
the price of UNL’s shares on the NYSE Arca, on a percentage basis, will not
closely track the daily changes in the spot price of natural gas on a percentage
basis. This could happen if the price of shares traded on the NYSE Arca does not
correlate closely with the value of UNL’s NAV; the changes in UNL’s NAV do not
correlate closely with the changes in the price of the Benchmark Futures
Contracts; or the changes in the price of the Benchmark Futures Contracts do not
closely correlate with the changes in the cash or spot price of natural gas.
This is a risk because if these correlations do not exist, then investors may
not be able to use UNL as a cost-effective way to indirectly invest in natural
gas or as a hedge against the risk of loss in natural gas-related transactions.
The degree of correlation among UNL’s share price, the price of the Benchmark
Futures Contracts and the spot price of natural gas depends upon circumstances
such as variations in the speculative natural gas market, supply of and demand
for Futures Contracts (including the Benchmark Futures Contracts) and Other
Natural Gas-Related Investments, and technical influences on trading natural gas
futures contracts. Investors who are not experienced in investing in natural gas
futures contracts or the factors that influence that market or speculative
trading in the natural gas markets and may not have the background or ready
access to the types of information that investors familiar with these markets
may have and, as a result, may be at greater risk of incurring losses from
trading in UNL shares than such other investors with such experience and
resources.
Natural forces in the natural gas futures market
known as “backwardation” and “contango” may increase UNL’s tracking error and/or
negatively impact total return.
The design of UNL’s Benchmark Futures Contract consists
of the near month contract to expire and 11 following months, which are changed
to the next month contract to expire and the 11 following months during one day
each month. In the event of a natural gas futures market where near month
contracts trade at a higher price than next month to expire contracts, a
situation described as “backwardation” in the futures market, then absent the
impact of the overall movement in natural gas prices the value of the Benchmark
Futures Contracts would tend to rise as it approaches expiration. Conversely, in
the event of a natural gas futures market where near month contracts trade at a
lower price than next month contracts, a situation described as “contango” in
the futures market, then absent the impact of the overall movement in natural
gas prices the value of the benchmark contracts would tend to decline as it
approaches expiration.
While contango and backwardation are consistently
present in trading in the futures markets, such conditions can be exacerbated by
market forces. For example, extraordinary market conditions in the crude oil
markets, including “super contango” (a higher level of contango arising from the
overabundance of oil being produced and the limited availability of storage for
such excess supply), occurred in the crude oil futures markets in April 2020 due
to over-supply of crude oil in the face of weak demand during the COVID-19
pandemic when disputes among oil-producing countries regarding limitations on
the production of oil also were occurring. This resulted in a negative price for
the May 2020 futures contract on light sweet crude oil as traded on the New York
Mercantile Exchange. Volatility in the natural gas market was also elevated, but
it did not reach the same extreme levels as the volatility in the oil futures
market did. It is possible that the Benchmark Futures Contracts may experience
periods of super contango or negative prices in the future. In any such
circumstance, UNL could, if it determined it appropriate to do so in light of
market conditions and regulatory requirements, invest in other Futures Contracts
and/or Other Natural Gas-Related Investments.
When compared to the total return of other price
indices, such as the spot price of natural gas, the impact of backwardation and
contango may cause the total return of UNL’s per share NAV to vary
significantly. Moreover, absent the impact of rising or falling natural gas
prices, a prolonged period of contango could have a significant negative impact
on UNL’s per share NAV and total return and investors could lose part or all of
their investment. See “Additional Information About UNL, its Investment
Objective and Investments” for a discussion of the potential effects of contango
and backwardation.
See “Additional Information About UNL, its Investment
Objective and Investments” for a discussion of the potential effects of contango
and backwardation.
Accountability levels, position limits, and daily
price fluctuation limits set by the exchanges have the potential to cause
tracking error, which could cause the average of the prices of shares to
substantially vary from the price of the Benchmark Futures
Contracts.
Designated contract markets, such as the NYMEX and ICE
Futures, have established accountability levels and position limits on the
maximum net long or net short futures contracts in commodity interests that any
person or group of persons under common trading control (other than as a hedge,
which an investment by UNL is not) may hold, own or control. These levels and
position limits apply to the futures contracts that UNL invests in to meet its
investment objective. In addition to accountability levels and position limits,
the NYMEX and ICE Futures may also set daily price limits on futures contracts.
The daily price fluctuation limit establishes the maximum amount that the price
of a futures contract may vary either up or down from the previous day’s
settlement price. Once the daily price fluctuation limit has been reached in a
particular futures contract, no trades may be made at a price beyond that
limit.
The accountability levels for the Benchmark Futures
Contracts and other Futures Contracts traded on U.S.-based futures exchanges,
such as the NYMEX, are not a fixed ceiling, but rather a threshold above which
the NYMEX may exercise greater scrutiny and control over an investor’s
positions. The current accountability level for investments for any one-month in
the Benchmark Futures Contracts is 6,000 contracts. In addition, the NYMEX
imposes an accountability level for all months of 12,000 net futures contracts
for natural gas. In addition, ICE Futures maintains accountability levels,
position limits and monitoring authority for its futures contracts for natural
gas. If UNL and the Related Public Funds exceed these accountability levels for
investments in the futures contracts for natural gas, the NYMEX and ICE Futures
will monitor such exposure and may ask for further information on their
activities, including the total size of all positions, investment and trading
strategy, and the extent of liquidity resources of UNL and the Related Public
Funds. If deemed necessary by the NYMEX and/or ICE Futures, UNL could be ordered
to reduce net futures contracts back to the accountability level.
Position limits differ from accountability levels in
that they represent fixed limits on the maximum number of futures contracts that
any person may hold and cannot be exceeded without express CFTC authority to do
so. In addition to accountability levels and position limits that may apply at
any time, the NYMEX and ICE Futures impose position limits on contracts held in
the last few days of trading in the near month contract to expire. It is
unlikely that UNL will run up against such position limits because UNL’s
investment strategy is to close out its positions and “roll” from the near month
contracts to expire and the eleven following months to the next month contracts
to expire and the eleven following months during a one day each month. The
foregoing accountability levels and position limits are subject to
change.
Part 150 of the CFTC’s regulations (“Position Limits
Rule”) establishes federal position limits for 25 core referenced futures
contracts (comprised of agricultural, energy and metals futures contracts),
futures and options linked to the core referenced futures contracts, and swaps
that are economically equivalent to the core referenced futures contracts that
all market participants must comply with, with certain exemptions.
The Benchmark Futures Contracts is subject to position
limits under the Position Limits Rule, and UNL’s trading does not qualify for an
exemption therefrom. Accordingly, the Position Limits Rule could negatively
impact the ability of UNL to meet its investment objective by inhibiting USCF’s
ability to effectively invest the proceeds from sales of Creation Baskets of UNL
in particular amounts and types of its permitted investments.
All of these limits may potentially cause a tracking
error between the price of UNL’s shares and the average of the prices of the
Benchmark Futures Contracts. This may in turn prevent investors from being able
to effectively use UNL as a way to hedge against natural gas-related losses or
as a way to indirectly invest in natural gas.
UNL has not limited the size of its offering and is
committed to utilizing substantially all of its proceeds to purchase Benchmark
Futures Contracts and Other Natural Gas-Related Investments. If UNL encounters
accountability levels, position limits, or price fluctuation limits for the
Benchmark Futures Contracts on the NYMEX or ICE Futures, it may then, if
permitted under applicable regulatory requirements, purchase the Benchmark
Futures Contracts on other exchanges that trade listed natural gas futures or
enter into swaps or other transactions to meet its investment objective. In
addition, if UNL exceeds accountability levels on either the NYMEX or ICE
Futures, and is required by such exchanges to reduce its holdings, such
reduction could potentially cause a tracking error between the price of UNL’s
shares and the average of the prices of the Benchmark Futures
Contracts.
Risk mitigation measures that could be imposed by
UNL’s futures commission merchants (“FCMs”) have the potential to cause tracking
error by limiting UNL’s investments, including its ability to fully invest in
the Benchmark Futures Contracts and other Futures Contracts, which could cause
the price of UNL’s shares to substantially vary from the price of the Benchmark
Futures Contracts.
UNL’s FCMs have discretion to impose limits on the
positions that UNL may hold in the Benchmark Futures Contracts. To date, UNL’s
FCMs have not imposed any such limits. However, were UNL’s FCMs to impose
limits, UNL’s ability to have a substantial portion of its assets invested in
the Benchmark Futures Contracts and other Futures Contracts could be severely
limited, which could lead UNL to invest in other Futures Contracts or,
potentially, Other Natural Gas-Related Investments. UNL could also have to more
frequently rebalance and adjust the types of holdings in its portfolio than is
currently the case. This could inhibit UNL from pursuing its investment
objective in the same manner that it has historically and currently.
In addition, when offering Creation Baskets for
purchase, limitations imposed by exchanges and/or any of UNL’s FCMs could limit
UNL’s ability to invest the proceeds of the purchases of Creation Baskets in
Benchmark Futures Contracts and other Futures Contracts. If this were the case,
UNL may invest in other permitted investments, including Other Natural
Gas-Related Investments, and may hold larger amounts of Treasuries, cash and
cash equivalents, which could impair UNL’s ability to meet its investment
objective.
Tax Risk
An investor’s tax liability may exceed the amount
of distributions, if any, on its shares.
Cash or property will be distributed at the sole
discretion of USCF. USCF has not and does not currently intend to make cash or
other distributions with respect to shares. Investors will be required to pay
U.S. federal income tax and, in some cases, state, local, or foreign income tax,
on their allocable share of UNL’s taxable income, without regard to whether they
receive distributions or the amount of any distributions. Therefore, the tax
liability of an investor with respect to its shares may exceed the amount of
cash or value of property (if any) distributed with respect to such
shares.
An investor’s allocable share of taxable income or
loss may differ from its economic income or loss on its shares.
Due to the application of the assumptions and
conventions applied by UNL in making allocations for tax purposes and other
factors, an investor’s allocable share of UNL’s income, gain, deduction or loss
may be different than its economic profit or loss from its shares for a taxable
year. This difference could be temporary or permanent and, if permanent, could
result in it being taxed on amounts in excess of its economic income.
Items of income, gain, deduction, loss and credit
with respect to shares could be reallocated for U.S. federal income tax
purposes, and UNL could be liable for U.S. federal income tax, if the IRS does
not accept the assumptions and conventions applied by UNL in allocating those
items, with potential adverse consequences for an investor.
The U.S. federal income tax rules pertaining to
partnerships are complex and their application to large, publicly traded
partnerships such as UNL is in many respects uncertain. UNL applies certain
assumptions and conventions in an attempt to comply with the intent of the
applicable rules and to report taxable income, gains, deductions, losses and
credits in a manner that properly reflects shareholders’ economic gains and
losses. It is possible that the IRS could successfully challenge the application
by UNL of these assumptions and conventions as not fully complying with all
aspects of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), and
applicable Treasury Regulations, which would require UNL to reallocate items of
income, gain, deduction, loss or credit in a manner that adversely affects
investors.
UNL may be liable for U.S. federal income tax on any
“imputed understatement” resulting from an adjustment as a result of an IRS
audit. The amount of the imputed understatement generally includes increases in
allocations of items of income or gain to any investor and decreases in
allocations of items of deduction, loss, or credit to any investor without any
offset for corresponding reductions in allocations of items of income or gain to
any investor or increases in allocations of items of deduction, loss, or credit
to any investor. If UNL is required to pay any U.S. federal income taxes on any
imputed understatement, the resulting tax liability would reduce the net assets
of UNL and would likely have an adverse impact on the value of the shares. Under
certain circumstances, UNL may be eligible to make an election to cause the
investors to take into account the amount of any imputed understatement,
including any associated interest and penalties. The ability of a publicly
traded partnership such as UNL to make this election is uncertain. If the
election is made, UNL would be required to provide investors who owned
beneficial interests in the shares in the year to which the adjusted allocations
relate with a statement setting forth their proportionate shares of the
adjustment (“Adjusted K-1s”). The investors would be required to take the
adjustment into account in the taxable year in which the Adjusted K-1s are
issued.
UNL could be treated as a corporation for U.S.
federal income tax purposes, which may substantially reduce the value of the
shares.
UNL has received an opinion of counsel that, under
current U.S. federal income tax laws, UNL will be treated as a partnership that
is not taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, provided
that (i) at least 90 percent of UNL’s annual gross income will be derived from
(a) income and gains from commodities (not held as inventory) or futures,
forwards, options, swaps and other notional principal contracts with respect to
commodities, and (b) interest income; (ii) UNL is organized and operated in
accordance with its governing agreements and applicable law; and (iii) UNL does
not elect to be taxed as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
Although USCF anticipates that UNL has satisfied and will continue to satisfy
the “qualifying income” requirement for all taxable years, that result cannot be
assured. UNL has not requested and will not request any ruling from the IRS with
respect to either its classification as a partnership not taxable as a
corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes. If the IRS were to
successfully assert that UNL is taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal income
tax purposes in any taxable year, rather than passing through its income, gains,
losses and deductions proportionately to shareholders, UNL would be subject to
U.S. federal income tax on its net income for the year at corporate tax rates.
In addition, although USCF does not currently intend to make distributions with
respect to UNL shares, if UNL were treated as a corporation for U.S. federal
income tax purposes, any distributions made with respect to UNL shares would be
taxable to shareholders as dividend income to the extent of UNL’s current and
accumulated earnings and profits. Taxation of UNL as a corporation could
materially reduce the after-tax return on an investment in shares and could
substantially reduce the value of the shares.
UNL is organized and operated as a limited
partnership in accordance with the provisions of the LP Agreement and applicable
state law, and therefore, UNL has a more complex tax treatment than traditional
mutual funds.
UNL is organized and operated as a limited partnership
in accordance with the provisions of the LP Agreement and applicable state law,
and is treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes. No U.S.
federal income tax is paid by UNL on its income. Instead, UNL will furnish
shareholders each year with tax information on IRS Schedules K-1 and/or K-3
(Form 1065) and each U.S. shareholder is required to report on its U.S. federal
income tax return its allocable share of the income, gain, loss, deduction, and
credit of UNL.
These amounts must be reported without regard to the
amount (if any) of cash or property the shareholder receives as a distribution
from UNL during the taxable year. A shareholder, therefore, may be allocated
income or gain by UNL but receive no cash distribution with which to pay the tax
liability resulting from the allocation, or may receive a distribution that is
insufficient to pay such liability.
In addition to U.S. federal income taxes, shareholders
may be subject to other taxes, such as state and local income taxes,
unincorporated business taxes, business franchise taxes and estate, inheritance
or intangible taxes that may be imposed by the various jurisdictions in which
UNL does business or owns property or where the shareholders reside. Although an
analysis of those various taxes is not presented here, each prospective
shareholder should consider their potential impact on its investment in UNL. It
is each shareholder’s responsibility to file the appropriate U.S. federal,
state, local and foreign tax returns.
If UNL is required to withhold tax with respect to
any non-U.S. shareholders, the cost of such withholding may be borne by all
shareholders.
Under certain circumstances, UNL may be required to pay
withholding tax with respect to allocations to non-U.S. shareholders. Although
the LP Agreement provides that any such withholding will be treated as being
distributed to the non-U.S. shareholder, UNL may not be able to cause the
economic cost of such withholding to be borne by the non-U.S. shareholder on
whose behalf such amounts were withheld since it does not generally expect to
make any distributions. Under such circumstances, the economic cost of the
withholding may be borne by all shareholders, not just the shareholders on whose
behalf such amounts were withheld. This could have a material impact on the
value of the shares.
The impact of changes in U.S. federal income tax
laws on UNL is uncertain.
In general, legislative or other actions relating to
U.S. federal income taxes could have a negative effect on UNL or our investors.
The rules dealing with U.S. federal income taxation are constantly under review
by persons involved in the legislative process and by the IRS and the U.S.
Treasury Department. On August 16, 2022, President Biden signed the Inflation
Reduction Act of 2022 (the “IRA”) into law. At this time, we cannot predict with
certainty how the provisions of the might affect UNL, our investors, UNL’s
investments. Investors are urged to consult with their tax advisor with respect
to the status of legislative, regulatory or administrative developments and
proposals and their potential effect on an investment in our shares.
OTC Contract Risk
UNL will be subject to credit risk with respect to
counterparties to OTC contracts entered into by UNL or held by special purpose
or structured vehicles.
UNL faces the risk of non-performance by its
counterparties to OTC contracts. Unlike in futures contracts, the counterparty
to these contracts is generally a single bank or other financial institution,
rather than a clearing organization backed by a group of financial institutions.
As a result, there will be greater counterparty credit risk in these
transactions. A counterparty may not be able to meet its obligations to UNL, in
which case UNL could suffer significant losses on these contracts. The two-way
margining requirements imposed by U.S. regulators are intended to mitigate this
risk.
If a counterparty becomes bankrupt or otherwise fails to
perform its obligations due to financial difficulties, UNL may experience
significant delays in obtaining any recovery in a bankruptcy or other
reorganization proceeding. UNL may obtain only limited recovery or may obtain no
recovery in such circumstances.
UNL mitigates these risks by typically entering into
transactions only with major, global financial institutions.
Valuing OTC derivatives may be less certain than
actively traded financial instruments.
In general, valuing OTC derivatives is less certain than
valuing actively traded financial instruments such as exchange traded futures
contracts and securities or cleared swaps because, for OTC derivatives, the
price and terms on which such OTC derivatives are entered into or can be
terminated are individually negotiated, and those prices and terms may not
reflect the best price or terms available from other sources. In addition, while
market makers and dealers generally quote indicative prices or terms for
entering into or terminating OTC contracts, they typically are not contractually
obligated to do so, particularly if they are not a party to the transaction. As
a result, it may be difficult to obtain an independent value for an outstanding
OTC derivatives transaction.
Other Risks
UNL is not leveraged, but it could become
leveraged if it had insufficient assets to completely meet its margin or
collateral requirements relating to its investments.
UNL has not leveraged, and does not intend to leverage,
its assets through borrowings or otherwise, and makes its investments
accordingly. Consistent with the foregoing, UNL’s announced investment
intentions, and any changes thereto, will take into account the need for UNL to
make permitted investments that also allow it to maintain adequate liquidity to
meet its margin and collateral requirements and to avoid, to the extent
reasonably possible, UNL becoming leveraged. If market conditions require it,
UNL may implement risk reduction procedures, which may include changes to UNL’s
investments, and such changes may occur on short notice if they occur other than
during a roll or rebalance period.
Although UNL does not and will not borrow money or use
debt to satisfy its margin or collateral obligations in respect of its
investments, it could become leveraged if UNL were to hold insufficient assets
that would allow it to meet not only the current, but also future, margin or
collateral obligations required for such investments. Such a circumstance could
occur if UNL were to hold assets that have a value of less than zero.
USCF endeavors to have the value of UNL’s Treasuries,
cash and cash equivalents, whether held by UNL or posted as margin or other
collateral, at all times approximate the aggregate market value of its
obligations under its Futures Contracts and Other Natural Gas-Related
Investments. Although permitted to do so under its LP Agreement, UNL has not and
does not intend to leverage its assets by making investments beyond its
potential ability to meet the potential margin and collateral obligations
relating to such investments. Consistent with this, UNL’s investment decisions
will take into account the need for UNL to make permitted investments that also
allow it to maintain adequate liquidity to meet its margin and collateral
requirements and to avoid, to the extent reasonably possible, UNL becoming
leveraged, including by its holding of assets that have a high probability of
having a value of less than zero. If market conditions require it, these risk
reduction measures may occur on short notice.
UNL may temporarily limit the offering of Creation
Baskets.
UNL may determine to limit the issuance of its shares
through the offering of Creation Baskets to its Authorized Participants in order
to allow it to reinvest the proceeds from sales of its Creation Baskets in
currently permitted assets in a manner that meets its investment
objective.
UNL will announce to the market through the filing of a
Current Report on Form 8-K if it intends to limit the offering of Creation
Baskets at any time. In such case, orders for Creation Baskets will be
considered for acceptance in the order they are received by UNL and UNL would
continue to accept requests for redemption of its shares from Authorized
Participants through Redemption Baskets during the period of the limited
offering of Creation Baskets.
Certain of UNL’s investments could be illiquid,
which could cause large losses to investors at any time or from time to time.
Futures positions cannot always be liquidated at the
desired price. It is difficult to execute a trade at a specific price when there
is a relatively small volume of buy and sell orders in a market. A market
disruption, such as war or a foreign government taking political actions that
disrupt the market for its currency, its natural gas production or exports, or
another major export, can also make it difficult to liquidate a position.
Because both Futures Contracts and Other Natural Gas-Related Investments may be
illiquid, UNL’s Natural Gas Interests may be more difficult to liquidate at
favorable prices in periods of illiquid markets and losses may be incurred
during the period in which positions are being liquidated. The large size of the
positions that UNL may acquire increases the risk of illiquidity both by making
its positions more difficult to liquidate and by potentially increasing losses
while trying to do so.
OTC contracts that are not subject to clearing may be
even less marketable than futures contracts because they are not traded on an
exchange, do not have uniform terms and conditions, and are entered into based
upon the creditworthiness of the parties and the availability of credit support,
such as collateral, and in general, they are not transferable without the
consent of the counterparty. These conditions make such contracts less liquid
than standardized futures contracts traded on a commodities exchange and could
adversely impact UNL’s ability to realize the full value of such contracts. In
addition, even if collateral is used to reduce counterparty credit risk, sudden
changes in the value of OTC transactions may leave a party open to financial
risk due to a counterparty default since the collateral held may not cover a
party’s exposure on the transaction in such situations.
UNL is not actively managed and its investment
objective is to track the Benchmark Futures Contracts so that the average daily
percentage change in UNL’s NAV for any period of 30 successive valuation days
will be within plus/minus ten percent (10%) of the average daily percentage
change in the price of the Benchmark Futures Contracts over the same period.
UNL is not actively managed by conventional methods.
Accordingly, if UNL’s investments in Natural Gas Interests are declining in
value, in the ordinary course, UNL will not close out such positions except in
connection with paying the proceeds to an Authorized Participant upon the
redemption of a basket or closing out its positions in Futures Contracts and
other permitted investments (i) in connection with the monthly change in the
Benchmark Futures Contracts or (ii) when UNL otherwise determines it would be
appropriate to do so, e.g., due to regulatory requirements or risk mitigation
measures, or to avoid UNL becoming leveraged, and it reinvests the proceeds in
new Futures Contracts or Other Natural Gas-Related Investments to the extent
possible. USCF will seek to cause the NAV of UNL’s shares to track the Benchmark
Futures Contracts during periods in which its price is flat or declining as well
as when the price is rising.
UNL’s ability to invest in the Benchmark Futures
Contracts could be limited as a result of any or all of the following: evolving
market conditions, a change in regulatory accountability levels and position
limits imposed on UNL with respect to its investment in Futures Contracts,
additional or different risk mitigation measures taken by market participants,
generally, including UNL, with respect to UNL acquiring additional Futures
Contracts, or UNL selling additional shares.
UNL may not meet the listing standards of NYSE
Arca, which would adversely impact an investor’s ability to sell
shares.
NYSE Arca may suspend UNL’s shares from trading on the
exchange with or without prior notice to UNL, upon failure of UNL to comply with
the NYSE’s listing requirements, or when in its sole discretion, the NYSE Arca
determines that such suspension of dealings is in the public interest or
otherwise warranted. There can be no assurance that the requirements necessary
to maintain the listing of UNL’s shares will continue to be met or will remain
unchanged. If UNL were unable to meet the NYSE’s listing standards and were to
become delisted, an investor’s ability to sell its shares would be adversely
impacted.
The NYSE Arca may halt trading in UNL’s shares,
which would adversely impact an investor’s ability to sell shares.
Trading in shares may be halted due to market conditions
or, in light of NYSE Arca rules and procedures, for reasons that, in the view of
the NYSE Arca, make trading in shares inadvisable. In addition, trading is
subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to
“circuit breaker” rules that require trading to be halted for a specified period
based on a specified market decline.
The liquidity of UNL’s shares may also be affected
by the withdrawal from participation of Authorized Participants, which could
adversely affect the market price of the shares.
In the event that one or more Authorized Participants
which have substantial interests in the shares withdraw from participation, the
liquidity of the shares will likely decrease, which could adversely affect the
market price of the shares and result in investors incurring a loss on their
investment.
Shareholders that are not Authorized Participants
may only purchase or sell their shares in secondary trading markets, and the
conditions associated with trading in secondary markets may adversely affect
investors’ investment in the shares.
Only Authorized Participants may directly purchase
shares from or redeem shares with UNL through Creation Baskets or Redemption
Baskets respectively. All other investors that desire to purchase or sell shares
must do so through the NYSE Arca or in other markets, if any, in which the
shares may be traded. Shares may trade at a premium or discount relative to NAV
per share.
The lack of an active trading market for UNL’s
shares may result in losses on an investor’s investment in UNL at the time the
investor sells the shares.
Although UNL’s shares are listed and traded on the NYSE
Arca, there can be no guarantee that an active trading market for the shares
will be maintained. If an investor needs to sell shares at a time when no active
trading market for them exists, the price the investor receives upon sale of the
shares, assuming they were able to be sold, likely would be lower than if an
active market existed.
Limited partners and shareholders do not
participate in the management of UNL and do not control USCF, so they do not
have any influence over basic matters that affect UNL.
The limited partners and shareholders take no part in
the management or control, and have a minimal voice in UNL’s operations or
business. Limited partners and shareholders must therefore rely upon the duties
and judgment of USCF to manage UNL’s affairs. Limited partners and shareholders
have no right to elect USCF on an annual or any other continuing basis. If USCF
voluntarily withdraws, however, the holders of a majority of UNL’s outstanding
shares (excluding for purposes of such determination shares owned, if any, by
the withdrawing general partner and its affiliates) may elect its successor.
USCF may not be removed as general partner except upon approval by the
affirmative vote of the holders of at least 66 2/3 percent of UNL’s outstanding
shares (excluding shares, if any, owned by USCF and its affiliates), subject to
the satisfaction of certain conditions set forth in the LP Agreement.
Limited partners may have limited liability in
certain circumstances, including potentially having liability for the return of
wrongful distributions.
Under Delaware law, a limited partner might be held
liable for UNL’s obligations as if it were a general partner if the limited
partner participates in the control of the partnership’s business and the
persons who transact business with the partnership think the limited partner is
the general partner.
A limited partner will not be liable for assessments in
addition to its initial capital investment in any of UNL’s shares. However, a
limited partner may be required to repay to UNL any amounts wrongfully returned
or distributed to it under some circumstances. Under Delaware law, UNL may not
make a distribution to limited partners if the distribution causes UNL’s
liabilities (other than liabilities to partners on account of their partnership
interests and nonrecourse liabilities) to exceed the fair value of UNL’s assets.
Delaware law provides that a limited partner who receives such a distribution
and knew at the time of the distribution that the distribution violated the law
will be liable to the limited partnership for the amount of the distribution for
three years from the date of the distribution.
USCF’s LLC Agreement provides limited authority to
the Non-Management Directors, and any Director of USCF may be removed by USCF’s
parent company, which is wholly owned by The Marygold Companies, Inc., a
controlled public company where the majority of shares are owned by Nicholas D.
Gerber along with certain of his other family members and certain other
shareholders.
USCF’s Board of Directors currently consists of four
Management Directors, who are also executive officers or employees of USCF, and
three Non-Management Directors, who are considered independent for purposes of
applicable NYSE Arca and SEC rules. Under USCF’s LLC Agreement, the
Non-Management Directors have only such authority as the Management Directors
expressly confer upon them, which means that the Non-Management Directors may
have less authority to control the actions of the Management Directors than is
typically the case with the independent members of a company’s Board of
Directors. In addition, any Director may be removed by written consent of USCF
Investments, Inc. (“USCF Investments”), formerly Wainwright Holdings, Inc.,
which is the sole member of USCF. The sole shareholder of USCF Investments is
The Marygold Companies, Inc., formerly Concierge Technologies, Inc.
(“Marygold”), a company publicly traded under the ticker symbol “MGLD.” Mr.
Nicholas D. Gerber, along with certain of his family members and certain other
shareholders, owns the majority of the shares in Marygold, which is the sole
shareholder of USCF Investments, the sole member of USCF. Accordingly, although
USCF is governed by the USCF Board of Directors, which consists of both
Management Directors and Non-Management Directors, pursuant to the LLC
Agreement, it is possible for Mr. Gerber to exercise his indirect control of
USCF Investments to effect the removal of any Director (including the
Non-Management Directors which comprise the Audit Committee) and to replace that
Director with another Director. Having control in one person could have a
negative impact on USCF and UNL, including their regulatory
obligations.
There is a risk that UNL will not earn trading
gains sufficient to compensate for the fees and expenses that it must pay and as
such UNL may not earn any profit.
UNL pays brokerage charges of approximately 0.02% of
average total net assets based on brokerage fees of $3.50 per buy or sell,
management fees of 0.75% of NAV on its average net assets, and OTC spreads and
extraordinary expenses (e.g., subsequent offering expenses, other expenses not
in the ordinary course of business, including the indemnification of any person
against liabilities and obligations to the extent permitted by law and required
under the LP Agreement and under agreements entered into by USCF on UNL’s behalf
and the bringing and defending of actions at law or in equity and otherwise
engaging in the conduct of litigation and the incurring of legal expenses and
the settlement of claims and litigation) that cannot be quantified.
These fees and expenses must be paid in all cases
regardless of whether UNL’s activities are profitable. Accordingly, UNL must
earn trading gains sufficient to compensate for these fees and expenses before
it can earn any profit.
UNL is subject to extensive regulatory reporting
and compliance.
UNL is subject to a comprehensive scheme of regulation
under the federal commodities and securities laws. UNL could be subject to
sanctions for a failure to comply with those requirements, which could adversely
affect its financial performance (in the case of financial penalties) or ability
to pursue its investment objective (in the case of a limitation on its ability
to trade).
Because UNL’s shares are publicly traded, UNL is subject
to certain rules and regulations of federal, state and financial market exchange
entities charged with the protection of investors and the oversight of companies
whose securities are publicly traded. These entities include the Public Company
Accounting Oversight Board (the “PCAOB”), the SEC, the CFTC, the NFA, and NYSE
Arca and these authorities have continued to develop additional regulations or
interpretations of existing regulations. UNL’s ongoing efforts to comply with
these regulations and interpretations have resulted in, and are likely to
continue resulting in, a diversion of management’s time and attention from
revenue-generating activities to compliance related activities.
UNL is responsible for establishing and maintaining
adequate internal control over financial reporting. UNL’s internal control
system is designed to provide reasonable assurance to its management regarding
the preparation and fair presentation of published financial statements. All
internal control systems, no matter how well designed, have inherent
limitations. Therefore, even those systems determined to be effective may
provide only reasonable assurance with respect to financial statement
preparation and presentation.
Regulatory changes or actions, including the
implementation of new legislation, is impossible to predict but may
significantly and adversely affect UNL.
The futures markets are subject to comprehensive
statutes, regulations, and margin requirements. In addition, the CFTC and
futures exchanges are authorized to take extraordinary actions in the event of a
market emergency, including, for example, the retroactive implementation of
speculative position limits or higher margin requirements, the establishment of
daily price limits and the suspension of trading. Regulation of commodity
interest transactions in the United States is a rapidly changing area of law and
is subject to ongoing modification by governmental and judicial action.
Considerable regulatory attention has been focused on non-traditional investment
pools that are publicly distributed in the United States. In addition, the SEC,
CFTC and the exchanges are authorized to take extraordinary actions in the event
of a market emergency, including, for example, the retroactive implementation of
speculative position limits or higher margin requirements, the establishment of
daily price limits and the suspension of trading. Further, various national
governments outside of the United States have expressed concern regarding the
disruptive effects of speculative trading in the energy markets and the need to
regulate the derivatives markets in general. The effect of any future regulatory
change on UNL is impossible to predict, but it could be substantial and
adverse.
UNL is not a registered investment company so
shareholders do not have the protections of the 1940 Act.
UNL is not an investment company subject to the 1940
Act. Accordingly, investors do not have the protections afforded by that
statute, which, for example, requires investment companies to have a majority of
disinterested directors and regulates the relationship between the investment
company and its investment manager.
Trading in international markets could expose UNL
to credit and regulatory risk.
UNL invests primarily in Futures Contracts, a
significant portion of which are traded on United States exchanges, including
the NYMEX. However, a portion of UNL’s trades may take place on markets and
exchanges outside the United States. Trading on such non-U.S. markets or
exchanges presents risks because they are not subject to the same degree of
regulation as their U.S. counterparts, including potentially different or
diminished investor protections. In trading contracts denominated in currencies
other than U.S. dollars, UNL is subject to the risk of adverse exchange-rate
movements between the dollar and the functional currencies of such contracts.
Additionally, trading on non-U.S. exchanges is subject to the risks presented by
exchange controls, expropriation, increased tax burdens and exposure to local
economic declines and political instability. An adverse development with respect
to any of these variables could reduce the profit or increase the loss earned on
trades in the affected international markets.
UNL and USCF may have conflicts of interest, which
may permit them to favor their own interests to the detriment of shareholders.
UNL is subject to actual and potential inherent
conflicts involving USCF, various commodity futures brokers and Authorized
Participants. USCF’s officers, directors and employees do not devote their time
exclusively to UNL and also are directors, officers or employees of other
entities that may compete with UNL for their services. They could have a
conflict between their responsibilities to UNL and to those other entities. As a
result of these and other relationships, parties involved with UNL have a
financial incentive to act in a manner other than in the best interests of UNL
and the shareholders. USCF has not established any formal procedure to resolve
conflicts of interest. Consequently, investors are dependent on the good faith
of the respective parties subject to such conflicts of interest to resolve them
equitably. Although USCF attempts to monitor these conflicts, it is extremely
difficult, if not impossible, for USCF to ensure that these conflicts do not, in
fact, result in adverse consequences to the shareholders.
USCF serves as the general partner or sponsor to each of
UNL and the other Related Public Funds. USCF may have a conflict to the extent
that its trading decisions for UNL may be influenced by the effect they would
have on the other funds it manages. By way of example, if, as a result of
reaching position limits imposed by the NYMEX, UNL purchased Futures Contracts,
this decision could impact UNL’s ability to purchase additional Futures
Contracts if the number of contracts held by funds managed by USCF reached the
maximum allowed by the NYMEX. Similar situations could adversely affect the
ability of other Related Public Funds to track their benchmark futures
contract(s).
UNL may also be subject to certain conflicts with
respect to its FCMs, including, but not limited to, conflicts that result from
the FCM receiving greater amounts of compensation from other clients, or
purchasing opposite or competing positions on behalf of third-party accounts
traded through the FCMs. In addition, USCF’s principals, officers, directors or
employees may trade futures and related contracts for their own account. A
conflict of interest may exist if their trades are in the same markets and at
the same time as UNL trades using the clearing broker to be used by UNL. A
potential conflict also may occur if USCF’s principals, officers, directors or
employees trade their accounts more aggressively or take positions in their
accounts which are opposite, or ahead of, the positions taken by UNL.
UNL could terminate at any time and cause the
liquidation and potential loss of an investor’s investment and could upset the
overall maturity and timing of an investor’s investment portfolio.
UNL may terminate at any time, regardless of whether UNL
has incurred losses, subject to the terms of the LP Agreement. In particular,
unforeseen circumstances, including, but not limited to, (i) market conditions,
regulatory requirements, risk mitigation measures taken by UNL or third parties
or otherwise that would lead UNL to determine that it could no longer
foreseeably meet its investment objective or that UNL’s aggregate net assets in
relation to its operating expenses or its margin or collateral requirements make
the continued operation of UNL unreasonable or imprudent, or (ii) adjudication
of incompetence, bankruptcy, dissolution, withdrawal, or removal of USCF as the
general partner of UNL could cause UNL to terminate unless a majority interest
of the limited partners within 90 days of the event elects to continue the
partnership and appoints a successor general partner, or the affirmative vote of
a majority in interest of the limited partners subject to certain conditions.
However, no level of losses will require USCF to terminate UNL. UNL’s
termination would cause the liquidation and potential loss of an investor’s
investment. Termination could also negatively affect the overall maturity and
timing of an investor’s investment portfolio.
UNL does not expect to make cash distributions.
UNL has not previously made any cash distributions and
intends to reinvest any realized gains in additional Natural Gas Interests
rather than distributing cash to limited partners or other shareholders.
Therefore, unlike mutual funds, commodity pools or other investment pools that
actively manage their investments in an attempt to realize income and gains from
their investing activities and distribute such income and gains to their
investors, UNL generally does not expect to distribute cash to limited partners.
An investor should not invest in UNL if the investor will need cash
distributions from UNL to pay taxes on its share of income and gains of UNL, if
any, or for any other reason. Nonetheless, although UNL does not intend to make
cash distributions, the income earned from its investments held directly or
posted as margin may reach levels that merit distribution, e.g., at
levels where such income is not necessary to support its underlying investments
in Natural Gas Interests and investors adversely react to being taxed on such
income without receiving distributions that could be used to pay such tax. If
this income becomes significant then cash distributions may be made.
An unanticipated number of Redemption Basket
requests during a short period of time could have an adverse effect on UNL’s
NAV.
If a substantial number of requests for redemption of
Redemption Baskets are received by UNL during a relatively short period of time,
UNL may not be able to satisfy the requests from UNL’s assets not committed to
trading. As a consequence, it could be necessary to liquidate positions in UNL’s
trading positions before the time that the trading strategies would otherwise
dictate liquidation.
The suspension in the ability of Authorized
Participants to purchase Creation Baskets could cause UNL’s NAV to differ
materially from its trading price.
In the event that there was a suspension in the ability
of Authorized Participants to purchase additional Creation Baskets, Authorized
Participants and other groups that make a market in shares of UNL would likely
still continue to actively trade the shares. However, in such a situation,
Authorized Participants and other market makers may seek to adjust the market
they make in the shares. Specifically, such market participants may increase the
spread between the prices that they quote for offers to buy and sell shares to
allow them to adjust to the potential uncertainty as to when they might be able
to purchase additional Creation Baskets of shares. In addition, Authorized
Participants may be less willing to offer to quote offers to buy or sell shares
in large numbers. The potential impact of either wider spreads between bid and
offer prices, or reduced number of shares on which quotes may be available,
could increase the trading costs to investors in UNL compared to the quotes and
the number of shares on which bids and offers are made if the Authorized
Participants still were able to freely create new baskets of shares. In
addition, there could be a significant variation between the market price at
which shares are traded and the shares’ NAV, which is also the price shares can
be redeemed with UNL by Authorized Participants in Redemption Baskets. The
foregoing could also create significant deviations from UNL’s investment
objective. Any potential impact to the market for shares of UNL that could occur
from the Authorized Participant’s inability to create new baskets would likely
not extend beyond the time when additional shares would be registered and
available for distribution.
UNL may determine that, to allow it to reinvest
the proceeds from sales of its Creation Baskets in currently permitted assets in
a manner that meets its investment objective, it may limit its offers of
Creation Baskets.
UNL may determine to limit the issuance of its shares
through the offering of Creation Baskets to its Authorized Participants. As a
result of certain circumstances described herein, including (1) the need to
comply with regulatory requirements (including, but not limited to, exchange
accountability levels and position limits); (2) market conditions (including but
not limited to those allowing UNL to obtain greater liquidity or to execute
transactions with more favorable pricing); and (3) risk mitigation measures
taken by UNL’s current and other FCMs that limit UNL and other market
participants from investing in particular natural gas futures contracts, UNL’s
management can determine that it will limit the issuance of shares and the
offerings of Creation Baskets because it is unable to invest the proceeds from
such offerings in investments that would permit it to reasonably meet its
investment objective.
If such a determination is made, the same consequences
associated with a suspension of the offering of Creation Baskets, as described
in the foregoing risk factor, “The suspension in the ability of Authorized
Participants to purchase Creation Baskets could cause UNL’s NAV to differ
materially from its trading price.”
In a rising rate environment, UNL may not be able
to fully invest at prevailing rates until any current investments in Treasury
Bills mature in order to avoid selling those investments at a
loss.
When interest rates rise, the value of fixed income
securities typically falls. In a rising interest rate environment, UNL may not
be able to fully invest at prevailing rates until any current investments in
Treasury Bills mature in order to avoid selling those investments at a loss.
Interest rate risk is generally lower for shorter term investments and higher
for longer term investments. The risk to UNL of rising interest rates may be
greater in the future due to the end of a long period of historically low rates,
the effect of potential monetary policy initiatives, including actions taken by
the U.S. Federal Reserve and other foreign equivalents to curb inflation, and
resulting market reactions to those initiatives. When interest rates fall, UNL
may be required to reinvest the proceeds from the sale, redemption or early
prepayment of a Treasury Bill or money market security at a lower interest
rate.
UNL may potentially lose money by investing in
government money market funds.
UNL invests in government money market funds. Although
such government money market funds seek to preserve the value of an investment
at $1.00 per share, there is no guarantee that they will be able to do so and
UNL may lose money by investing in a government money market fund. An investment
in a government money market fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation, referred to herein as the FDIC, or any other
government agency. The share price of a government money market fund can fall
below the $1.00 share price. UNL cannot rely on or expect a government money
market fund’s adviser or its affiliates to enter into support agreements or take
other actions to maintain the government money market fund’s $1.00 share price.
The credit quality of a government money market fund’s holdings can change
rapidly in certain markets, and the default of a single holding could have an
adverse impact on the government money market fund’s share price. Due to
fluctuations in interest rates, the market value of securities held by a
government money market fund may vary. A government money market fund’s share
price can also be negatively affected during periods of high redemption
pressures and/or illiquid markets.
The failure or bankruptcy of a clearing broker
could result in a substantial loss of UNL’s assets and could impair UNL in its
ability to execute trades.
The CEA and CFTC regulations impose several requirements
on FCMs and clearing houses that are designed to protect customers, including
mandating the implementation of risk management programs, internal monitoring
and controls, capital and liquidity standards, customer disclosures, and
auditing and examination programs. In particular, the CEA and CFTC regulations
require FCMs and clearing houses to segregate all funds received from customers
from proprietary assets. There can be no assurance that the requirements imposed
by the CEA and CFTC regulations will prevent losses to, or not materially
adversely affect, UNL or its investors.
In particular, in the event of an FCM’s or clearing
house’s bankruptcy, UNL could be limited to recovering either a pro rata share
of all available funds segregated on behalf of the FCM’s combined customer
accounts or UNL may not recover any assets at all. UNL may also incur a loss of
any unrealized profits on its open and closed positions. This is because if such
a bankruptcy were to occur, UNL would be afforded the protections granted to
customers of an FCM, and participants to transactions cleared through a clearing
house, under the United States Bankruptcy Code and applicable CFTC regulations.
Such provisions generally provide for a pro rata distribution to customers of
customer property held by the bankrupt FCM or an Exchange’s clearing house if
the customer property held by the FCM or the Exchange’s clearing house is
insufficient to satisfy all customer claims.
Bankruptcy of a clearing FCM can be caused by, among
other things, the default of one of the FCM’s customers. In this event, the
Exchange’s clearing house is permitted to use the entire amount of margin posted
by UNL (as well as margin posted by other customers of the FCM) to cover the
amounts owed by the bankrupt FCM. Consequently, UNL could be unable to recover
amounts due to it on its futures positions, including assets posted as margin,
and could sustain substantial losses.
Notwithstanding that UNL could sustain losses upon the
failure or bankruptcy of its FCM, the majority of UNL’s assets are held in
Treasuries, cash and/or cash equivalents with UNL’s Custodian and would not be
impacted by the bankruptcy of an FCM.
The failure or bankruptcy of UNL’s Custodian could
result in a substantial loss of UNL’s assets.
The majority of UNL’s assets are held in Treasuries,
cash and/or cash equivalents with the Custodian. The insolvency of the Custodian
could result in a complete loss of UNL’s assets held by that Custodian, which,
at any given time, would likely comprise a substantial portion of UNL’s total
assets.
Due to the increased use of technologies,
intentional and unintentional cyber-attacks pose operational and information
security risks.
With the increased use of technologies such as the
internet and the dependence on computer systems to perform necessary business
functions, UNL is susceptible to operational and information security risks. In
general, cyber incidents can result from deliberate attacks or unintentional
events such as a cyber-attack against UNL, a natural catastrophe, an industrial
accident, failure of UNL’s disaster recovery systems, or consequential employee
error. Cyber-attacks include, but are not limited to, gaining unauthorized
access to digital systems for purposes of misappropriating assets or sensitive
information, corrupting data, or causing operational disruption. Cyber-attacks
may also be carried out in a manner that does not require gaining unauthorized
access, such as causing denial-of-service attacks on websites. Cyber security
failures or breaches of UNL’s clearing broker or third party service provider
(including, but not limited to, index providers, the administrator and transfer
agent, the custodian), have the ability to cause disruptions and impact business
operations, potentially resulting in financial losses, the inability of UNL
shareholders to transact business, violations of applicable privacy and other
laws, regulatory fines, penalties, reputational damage, reimbursement or other
compensation costs, and/or additional compliance costs. Adverse effects can
become particularly acute if those events affect UNL’s electronic data
processing, transmission, storage, and retrieval systems, or impact the
availability, integrity, or confidentiality of our data. In addition, a service
provider that has experienced a cyber-security incident may divert resources
normally devoted to servicing UNL to addressing the incident, which would be
likely to have an adverse effect on UNL’s operations. Cyber-attacks may also
cause disruptions to the futures exchanges and clearinghouses through which UNL
invests in futures contracts, which could result in disruptions to UNL’s ability
to pursue its investment objective, resulting in financial losses to UNL and its
shareholders.
In addition, substantial costs may be incurred in order
to prevent any cyber incidents in the future. UNL and its shareholders could be
negatively impacted as a result. While USCF and the Related Public Funds,
including UNL, have established business continuity plans, there are inherent
limitations in such plans, including the possibility that certain risks have not
been identified or that new risks will emerge before countervailing measures can
be implemented. Furthermore, UNL cannot control cybersecurity plans and systems
of its service providers, market makers or Authorized Participants.
UNL’s investment returns could be negatively
affected by climate change and greenhouse gas restrictions.
Driven by concern over the risks of climate change, a
number of countries have adopted, or are considering the adoption of, regulatory
frameworks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or production and use of oil and
gas. These include adoption of cap and trade regimes, carbon taxes, trade
tariffs, minimum renewable usage requirements, restrictive permitting, increased
efficiency standards, and incentives or mandates for renewable energy. Political
and other actors and their agents increasingly seek to advance climate change
objectives indirectly, such as by seeking to reduce the availability of or
increase the cost for, financial and investment in the oil and gas sector and
taking actions intended to promote changes in business strategy for oil and gas
companies. Many governments are also providing tax advantages and other
subsidies to support transitioning to alternative energy sources or mandating
the use of specific fuels other than oil or natural gas. Depending on how
policies are formulated and applied, they could have the potential to negatively
affect UNL’s investment returns and make oil and natural gas products more
expensive or less competitive.
USCF is the subject of class action, derivative,
and other litigation. In light of the inherent uncertainties involved in
litigation matters, an adverse outcome in this litigation could materially
adversely affect USCF’s financial condition.
USCF and USCF’s directors and certain of its officers
are currently subject to litigation. Estimating an amount or range of possible
losses resulting from litigation proceedings to USCF is inherently difficult and
requires an extensive degree of judgment, particularly where the matters involve
indeterminate claims for monetary damages and are subject to appeal. In
addition, because most legal proceedings are resolved over extended periods of
time, potential losses are subject to change due to, among other things, new
developments, changes in legal strategy, the outcome of intermediate procedural
and substantive rulings and other parties’ settlement posture and their
evaluation of the strength or weakness of their case against USCF. For these
reasons, we are currently unable to predict the ultimate timing or outcome of,
or reasonably estimate the possible losses or a range of possible losses
resulting therefrom. In light of the inherent uncertainties involved in such
matters, an adverse outcome in this litigation could materially adversely affect
USCF’s financial condition, results of operations or cash flows in any
particular reporting period. In addition, litigation could result in substantial
costs and divert USCF’s management’s attention and resources from conducting
USCF’s operations, including the management of UNL and the Related Public
Funds.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT
UNL, ITS INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE AND INVESTMENTS
UNL is a Delaware limited partnership organized on June
27, 2007. It operates pursuant to the terms of the Third Amended and Restated
Agreement of Limited Partnership dated as of December 15, 2017 (as amended from
time to time, the “LP Agreement”), which grants full management control of UNL
to USCF. UNL maintains its main business office at 1850 Mt. Diablo Boulevard,
Suite 640, Walnut Creek, California 94596.
The net assets of UNL consist primarily of investments
in Futures Contracts and, to a lesser extent, in order to comply with regulatory
requirements, risk mitigation measures, liquidity requirements, or in view of
market conditions, Other Natural Gas-Related Investments. Market conditions that
USCF currently anticipates could cause UNL to invest in Other Natural
Gas-Related Investments include those allowing UNL to obtain greater liquidity
or to execute transactions with more favorable pricing.
UNL invests substantially the entire amount of its
assets in Futures Contracts while supporting such investments by holding the
amounts of its margin, collateral and other requirements relating to these
obligations in short-term obligations of the United States of two years or less
(“Treasuries”), cash and cash equivalents. The daily holdings of UNL are
available on UNL’s website at www.uscfinvestments.com.
UNL invests in Natural Gas Interests to the fullest
extent possible without being leveraged or unable to satisfy its current or
potential margin or collateral obligations with respect to its investments in
Natural Gas Interests. In pursuing this objective, the primary focus of USCF is
the investment in Futures Contracts and the management of UNL’s investments in
Treasuries, cash and/or cash equivalents for margining purposes and as
collateral.
UNL seeks to invest in a combination of Natural Gas
Interests such that the average daily changes in its NAV, measured in percentage
terms, will closely track the average daily changes in the price of the
Benchmark Futures Contracts, also measured in percentage terms. As a specific
benchmark, USCF endeavors to place UNL’s trades in Natural Gas Interests and
otherwise manage UNL’s investments so that “A” will be within plus/minus ten
percent (10%) of “B”, where:
|
· |
A is the average daily percentage change in UNL’s
per share NAV for any period of 30 successive valuation days, i.e.,
any NYSE Arca trading day as of which UNL calculates its per share NAV;
and |
|
· |
B is the average daily percentage change in the
average of the prices of the Benchmark Futures Contracts over the same
period. |
USCF believes that market arbitrage opportunities will
cause the daily changes in UNL’s share price on the NYSE Arca on a percentage
basis to closely track the daily changes in UNL’s per share NAV. USCF further
believes that the daily changes in UNL’s NAV in percentage terms will closely
track the daily changes in percentage terms in the average of the prices of the
Benchmark Futures Contracts, less UNL’s expenses.
The following two charts demonstrate the correlation
between the changes in UNL’s NAV and the changes in the Benchmark Futures
Contracts. The first chart exhibits the daily changes in the last 30 valuation
days ended December 31, 2022. The second chart measures monthly changes
since December 31, 2017 through December 31, 2022.
*PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF
FUTURE RESULTS
*PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF
FUTURE RESULTS
USCF employs a “neutral” investment strategy in order to
track changes in the average prices of the Benchmark Futures Contracts
regardless of whether these prices go up or go down. UNL’s “neutral” investment
strategy is designed to permit investors generally to purchase and sell UNL’s
shares for the purpose of investing indirectly in natural gas in a
cost-effective manner, and/or to permit participants in the natural gas or other
industries to hedge the risk of losses in their natural gas-related
transactions. Accordingly, depending on the investment objective of an
individual investor, the risks generally associated with investing in natural
gas and/or the risks involved in hedging may exist. In addition, an investment
in UNL involves the risk that the daily changes in the average of the prices of
UNL’s shares, in percentage terms, will not accurately track the daily changes
in the average prices of the Benchmark Futures Contracts, in percentage terms,
and that daily changes in the Benchmark Futures Contracts, in percentage terms,
will not closely correlate with daily changes in the spot prices of natural gas,
in percentage terms.
An alternative tracking measurement of the return
performance of UNL versus the return of the Benchmark Futures Contracts can be
calculated by comparing the actual return of UNL, measured by changes in its per
share NAV, versus the expected changes in its per share NAV under the assumption
that UNL’s returns had been exactly the same as the daily changes in the average
of the prices of its Benchmark Futures Contracts.
For the year ended December 31, 2022, the actual total
return of UNL as measured by changes in its per share NAV was 47.98%. This is
based on an initial per share NAV of $11.65 as of December 31, 2021 and an
ending per share NAV as of December 31, 2022 of $17.24. During this time period,
UNL made no distributions to its shareholders. However, if UNL’s daily changes
in its per share NAV had instead exactly tracked the changes in the daily total
return of the Benchmark Futures Contracts, UNL would have had an estimated per
share NAV of $17.13 as of December 31, 2022, for a total return over the
relevant time period of 47.04%. The difference between the actual per share NAV
total return of UNL of 47.98% and the expected total return based on the
Benchmark Futures Contracts of 47.04% was a difference over the time period of
0.94%, which is to say that UNL’s actual total return outperformed its benchmark
by that percentage. UNL incurs expenses primarily composed of the management
fee, brokerage commissions for the buying and selling of futures contracts, and
other expenses. The impact of these expenses, offset by interest and dividend
income, and net of positive or negative execution, tends to cause daily changes
in the per share NAV of UNL to track slightly lower or higher than daily changes
in the price of the Benchmark Futures Contracts.
By comparison, for the year ended December 31, 2021, the
actual total return of UNL as measured by changes in its per share NAV was
50.52%. This was based on an initial per share NAV of $7.74 as of December 31,
2020 and an ending per share NAV as of December 31, 2021 of $11.65. During this
time period, UNL made no distributions to its shareholders. However, if UNL’s
daily changes in its per share NAV had instead exactly tracked the changes in
the daily total return of the Benchmark Futures Contracts, UNL would have had an
estimated per share NAV of $11.65 as of December 31, 2021, for a total return
over the relevant time period of 50.52%. The difference between the actual per
share NAV total return of UNL of 50.52% and the expected total return based on
the Benchmark Futures Contracts of 50.52% was a difference over the time period
of (0.00)%, which is to say that UNL’s actual total return underperformed its
benchmark by that percentage. UNL incurs expenses primarily composed of the
management fee, brokerage commissions for the buying and selling of futures
contracts, and other expenses. The impact of these expenses, offset by interest
and dividend income, and net of positive or negative execution, tends to cause
daily changes in the per share NAV of UNL to track slightly lower or higher than
daily changes in the price of the Benchmark Futures Contracts.
Impact of Contango and
Backwardation on Total Returns
Several factors determine the total return from
investing in futures contracts. One factor arises from “rolling” futures
contracts that will expire at the end of the current month (the “near” or
“front” month contract) forward each month prior to expiration. For a strategy
that entails holding the near month contract, the price relationship between
that futures contract and the next month futures contract will impact returns.
For example, if the price of the near month futures contract is higher than the
next futures month contract (a situation referred to as “backwardation”), then
absent any other change, the price of a next month futures contract tends to
rise in value as it becomes the near month futures contract and approaches
expiration. Conversely, if the price of a near month futures contract is lower
than the next month futures contract (a situation referred to as “contango”),
then absent any other change, the price of a next month futures contract tends
to decline in value as it becomes the near month futures contract and approaches
expiration.
As an example, assume that the price of natural gas for
immediate delivery, is $3 per MMBtu, and the value of a position in the near
month futures contract is also $3. Over time, the price of natural gas will
fluctuate based on a number of market factors, including demand for oil relative
to supply. The value of the near month futures contract will likewise fluctuate
in reaction to a number of market factors. If an investor seeks to maintain a
position in a near month futures contract and not take delivery of physical
MMBtu of natural gas, the investor must sell the current near month futures
contract as it approaches expiration and invest in the next month futures
contract. In order to continue holding a position in the current near month
futures contract, this “roll” forward of the futures contract must be executed
every month.
Contango and backwardation are natural market forces
that have impacted the total return on an investment in UNL’s shares during the
past year relative to a hypothetical direct investment in natural gas. In the
future, it is likely that the relationship between the market price of UNL’s
shares and changes in the spot prices of natural gas will continue to be
impacted by contango and backwardation. It is important to note that this
comparison ignores the potential costs associated with physically owning and
storing natural gas, which could be substantial.
If the futures market is in backwardation, e.g.,
when the price of the near month futures contract is higher than the price of
the next month futures contract, the investor would buy a next month futures
contract for a lower price than the current near month futures contract.
Assuming the price of the next month futures contract was $2.94 per MMBtu, or 2%
cheaper than the $3 near month futures contract, then, hypothetically, and
assuming no other changes (e.g., to either prevailing natural gas prices or the
price relationship between the spot price, the near month contract and the next
month contract, and, ignoring the impact of commission costs and the income
earned on cash and/or cash equivalents), the value of the $2.94 next month
futures contract would rise to $3 as it approaches expiration. In this example,
the value of an investment in the next month futures contract would tend to
outperform the spot price of natural gas. As a result, it would be possible for
the new near month futures contract to rise 12% while the spot price of natural
gas may have risen a lower amount, e.g., only 10%. Similarly, the spot price of
natural gas could have fallen 10% while the value of an investment in the
futures contract might have fallen another amount, e.g., only 8%. Over time, if
backwardation remained constant, this difference between the spot price and the
futures contract price would continue to increase.
If the futures market is in contango, an investor would
be buying a next month futures contract for a higher price than the current near
month futures contract. Again, assuming the near month futures contract is $3
per MMBtu, the price of the next month futures contract might be $3.06 per
MMBtu, or 2% more expensive than the front month futures contract.
Hypothetically, and assuming no other changes, the value of the $3.06 next month
futures contract would fall to $3 as it approaches expiration. In this example,
the value of an investment in the second month would tend to underperform the
spot price of natural gas. As a result, it would be possible for the new near
month futures contract to rise only 10% while the spot price of natural gas may
have risen a higher amount, e.g., 12%. Similarly, the spot price of natural gas
could have fallen 10% while the value of an investment in the second month
futures contract might have fallen another amount, e.g., 12%. Over time, if
contango remained constant, this difference between the spot price and the
futures contract price would continue to increase.
The chart below compares the daily price of the near
month natural gas futures contract to the price of 13th month natural gas
futures contract (i.e., a contract one year forward) over the last 10 years.
When the price of the near month futures contract is higher than the price of
the 13th month futures contract, the market would be described as being in
backwardation. When the price of the near month futures contract is lower than
the 13th month futures contract, the market would be described as being in
contango. Although the price of the near month futures contract and the price of
the 13th month futures contract tend to move together, it can be seen that at
times the near month futures contract prices are higher than the 13th month
futures contract prices (backwardation) and, at other times, the near month
futures contract prices are lower than the 13th month futures contract prices
(contango).
*PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF
FUTURE RESULTS
An alternative way to view the same data is to subtract
the dollar price of the 13th month natural gas futures contract from the dollar
price of the near month natural gas futures contract, as shown in the chart
below. When the difference is positive, the market is in backwardation. When the
difference is negative, the market is in contango. The natural gas market spent
time in both backwardation and contango during the last ten years. The chart
below shows the results from subtracting the average dollar price of the near
12-month contracts from the near month price for the 10-year period between
December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2022. Investors will note that the natural
gas market spent time in both backwardation and contango during that
period.
*PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF
FUTURE RESULTS
An investment in a portfolio that owned only the near
month natural gas futures contract would likely produce a different result than
an investment in a portfolio that owned an equal number of each of the near 12
months’ of natural gas futures contracts. Generally speaking, when the natural
gas futures market is in backwardation, a portfolio of only the near month
natural gas futures contract may tend to have a higher total return than a
portfolio of 12 months’ of the natural gas futures contract. Conversely, if the
natural gas futures market is in contango, the portfolio containing only 12
months’ of natural gas futures contracts may tend to outperform the portfolio
holding only the near month natural gas futures contract.
Historically, the natural gas futures markets have
experienced periods of contango and backwardation. Because natural gas demand is
seasonal, it is possible for the price of natural gas futures contracts for
delivery within one or two months to rapidly move from backwardation into
contango and back again within the relatively short period of time of less than
one year.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and related
developments placed upward pressure on the prices of the Benchmark Futures
Contracts. From 2011 to 2021, the average difference in price between the
front-month Benchmark Futures Contract and the 1-year ahead Benchmark Futures
Contract was ($0.17). A negative price difference such as this indicates that
the Benchmark Futures Contract was generally in contango during the 2011 to 2021
ten-year period. During this time frame, the natural gas market experienced
several intermittent periods of backwardation, mostly due to extreme cold winter
weather. Recently, there was a temporary spike in backwardation in late January
2022 that reflected the reaction of futures prices to extreme weather. However,
there has been a more sustained increase in backwardation as well that has
continued into the second quarter of 2022 that reflects the impact of the
Russian invasion of Ukraine. As of the end of 2021, the spread between the
front-month Benchmark Futures Contract and the 1-year ahead Benchmark Futures
Contract was ($0.25), with the front month Benchmark Futures Contract trading at
a price that is 6.3% lower than the price for the 1-year ahead futures contract.
The spread changed from contango into backwardation in January 2022 and was
$1.74 by March 31, 2022. This represents a 44.5% price premium for the front
month Benchmark Futures Contract relative to the 1-year ahead Benchmark Futures
Contract.
During the year ended December
31, 2022, the price of the front month natural gas futures contract traded in a
range between $3.717 and $9.680. Prices increased 19.97% from December 31, 2021
through December 31, 2022, finishing the year at $4.475. The number of rigs
dedicated to natural gas production rose from 106 at the start of the year to
156 by the end of 2022. Natural gas stored in the United States stood at 2891
billion cubic feet as of December 31, 2022, about 9.5% lower than the same time
last year. Both domestic demand and U.S. exports of natural gas have increased
over the last five years and rising demand relative to gas in storage led to the
best returns for the commodity in almost a decade. The robust ability of the
U.S. energy industry to meet demand may constrain natural gas prices except
during periods of extreme temperatures
There can be no assurance that this current period of
backwardation will continue, nor is it possible to predict how long
backwardation will continue. If the war in Ukraine continues and/or escalates,
or if sanctions or responses by the United States and/or other nations, lead to
a reduction in the supply of natural gas from Russia to Europe, then all natural
gas prices could rise, and distortions in the futures curve for the Benchmark
Futures Contract could become more pronounced. In contrast, if concerns about a
natural gas shortage resulting from the war in Ukraine ebb due to an expected or
actual resolution of the war, then natural gas prices for all delivery months
could decline, and the premium for the Benchmark Futures Contracts closer to
expiration would most likely fall.
Periods of contango or backwardation do not materially
impact UNL’s investment objective of having the daily percentage changes in its
per share NAV track the daily percentage changes in the price of the Benchmark
Futures Contracts. This is because the impact of backwardation and contango tend
to equally impact the daily percentage changes in price of both UNL’s shares and
the Benchmark Futures Contracts. It is impossible to predict with any degree of
certainty whether backwardation or contango will occur in the future. It is
likely that both conditions will occur during different periods and, because of
the seasonal nature of natural gas demand, both may occur within a single year’s
time. Contango may persist for the foreseeable future, potentially at extreme
levels at times, as a result of the ongoing uncertainty in the wake of the
COVID-19 crisis.
In managing UNL’s assets, USCF does not use a technical
trading system that issues buy and sell orders. USCF employs a quantitative
methodology whereby each time a Creation Basket is sold, USCF purchases Natural
Gas Interests, such as the Benchmark Futures Contracts, that have an aggregate
market value that approximates the amount of Treasuries and/or cash received
upon the issuance of the Creation Basket.
The specific Futures Contracts purchased depend on
various factors, including a judgment by USCF as to the appropriate
diversification of UNL’s investments in futures contracts with respect to the
month of expiration, and the prevailing price volatility of particular
contracts. In addition, UNL may make use of a mixture of standard-sized futures
contracts as well as smaller-sized “mini” contracts. While USCF has made
significant investments in NYMEX Futures Contracts, for various reasons,
including the ability to enter into the precise amount of exposure to the
natural gas market, position limits or other regulatory requirements limiting
UNL’s holdings, and market conditions, it may invest in Futures Contracts traded
on other exchanges or invest in Other Natural Gas-Related Investments. To the
extent that UNL invests in Other Natural Gas-Related Investments, it would
prioritize investments in contracts and instruments that are economically
equivalent to the Benchmark Futures Contracts, including cleared swaps that
satisfy such criteria, and then, to a lesser extent, it would invest in other
types of cleared swaps and other contracts, instruments and non-cleared swaps,
such as swaps in the over-the-counter market (or commonly referred to as the
“OTC market”). If UNL is required by law or regulation, or by one of its
regulators, including a futures exchange, to reduce its position in the Futures
Contracts to the applicable position limit or to a specified accountability
level or if market conditions dictate it would be more appropriate to invest in
Other Natural Gas-Related Investments, a substantial portion of UNL’s assets
could be invested in accordance with such priority in Other Natural Gas-Related
Investments that are intended to replicate the return on the Benchmark Futures
Contracts. As UNL’s assets reach higher levels, it is more likely to exceed
position limits, accountability levels or other regulatory limits and, as a
result, it is more likely that it will invest in accordance with such priority
in Other Natural Gas-Related Investments at such higher levels. In addition,
market conditions that USCF currently anticipates could cause UNL to invest in
Other Natural Gas-Related Investments include those allowing UNL to obtain
greater liquidity or to execute transactions with more favorable pricing. See
“Risk Factors Involved with an Investment in UNL” for a discussion of the
potential impact of regulation on UNL’s ability to invest in OTC transactions
and cleared swaps.
USCF may not be able to fully invest UNL’s assets in the
Benchmark Futures Contracts having an aggregate notional amount exactly equal to
UNL’s NAV. For example, as standardized contracts, the Futures Contracts are for
a specified amount of a particular commodity, and UNL’s NAV and the proceeds
from the sale of a Creation Basket are unlikely to be an exact multiple of the
amounts of those contracts. As a result, in such circumstances, UNL may be
better able to achieve the exact amount of exposure to changes in price of the
Benchmark Futures Contracts through the use of Other Natural Gas-Related
Investments, such as OTC contracts that have better correlation with changes in
price of the Benchmark Futures Contracts.
UNL anticipates that to the extent it invests in Futures
Contracts other than contracts on natural gas (such as futures contracts for
light, sweet crude oil, diesel-heating oil and other petroleum-based fuels) and
Other Natural Gas-Related Investments, it will enter into various
non-exchange-traded derivative contracts to hedge the short-term price movements
of such Natural Gas Interests against the current Benchmark Futures
Contracts.
USCF does not anticipate letting UNL’s Futures Contracts
expire and taking delivery of the underlying commodity. Instead, USCF will close
existing positions, e.g., when it changes the Benchmark Futures Contracts
or Other Natural Gas-Related Investments or it otherwise determines it would be
appropriate to do so and reinvests the proceeds in new Natural Gas Interests.
Positions may also be closed out to meet orders for Redemption Baskets and in
such case proceeds for such baskets will not be reinvested.
The Benchmark Futures Contracts are changed from the
near month contract to expire and the 11 following months to the next month
contract to expire and the 11 following months during one day each month. On
that day, USCF “rolls” UNL’s positions by closing, or selling, UNL’s Natural Gas
Interests and reinvests the proceeds from closing these positions in new Natural
Gas Interests.
The anticipated dates on which the Benchmark Futures
Contracts and changed and UNL’s natural gas interests are “rolled” will be
posted on UNL’s website at www.uscfinvestments.com, and are subject to
change without notice.
By remaining invested as fully as possible in Natural
Gas Interests, USCF believes that the daily changes in percentage terms in UNL’s
per share NAV will continue to closely track the daily changes in percentage
terms in the average of the prices of the Benchmark Futures Contracts. USCF
believes that certain arbitrage opportunities result in the price of the shares
traded on the NYSE Arca closely tracking the per share NAV of UNL. Additionally,
Futures Contracts traded on the NYMEX have closely tracked the spot price of
natural gas. Based on these expected interrelationships, USCF believes that the
daily changes in the price of UNL’s shares traded on the NYSE Arca, on a
percentage basis, have closely tracked on a daily basis and will continue to
closely track, the changes in the spot price of natural gas on a percentage
basis.
What are the Trading Policies
of UNL?
Investment Objective
UNL’s investment objective is for the average daily
percentage changes in the NAV per share to reflect the average daily percentage
changes of the spot price of natural gas delivered at the Henry Hub, Louisiana,
as measured by the daily percentage changes in the average of the prices of
specified short-term futures contracts on natural gas called the “Benchmark
Futures Contracts,” plus interest earned on UNL’s collateral holdings, less
UNL’s expenses. The Benchmark Futures Contracts are the futures contracts on
natural gas as traded on the NYMEX that is the near month contract to expire,
and the contracts for the following 11 months, for a total of 12 consecutive
months’ contracts, except when the near month contract is within two weeks of
expiration, in which case it will be measured by the futures contract that is
the next month contract to expire and the contracts for the following 11
consecutive months. When calculating the daily movement of the average price of
the 12 contracts, each contract month is equally weighted.
UNL seeks to achieve its investment objective by
investing so that the average daily percentage change in UNL’s NAV for any
period of 30 successive valuation days will be within plus/minus ten percent
(10%) of the average daily percentage change in the price of the Benchmark
Futures Contracts over the same period.
Liquidity
UNL invests only in Futures Contracts and Other Natural
Gas-Related Investments that, in the opinion of USCF, are traded in sufficient
volume to permit the ready taking and liquidation of positions in these
financial interests and Other Natural Gas-Related Investments that, in the
opinion of USCF, may be readily liquidated with the original counterparty or
through a third party assuming the position of UNL.
Spot Commodities
While Futures Contracts can be physically settled, UNL
does not intend to take or make physical delivery. UNL may from time to time
trade in Other Natural Gas-Related Investments, including contracts based on the
spot price of natural gas.
Leverage
USCF endeavors to have the value of UNL’s Treasuries,
cash and cash equivalents, whether held by UNL or posted as margin or other
collateral, at all times approximate the aggregate market value of its
obligations for its Futures Contracts and Other Natural Gas-Related Investments.
Commodity pools’ trading positions in futures contracts or other related
investments are typically required to be secured by the deposit of margin funds
that represent only a small percentage of a futures contract’s (or other
commodity interest’s) entire market value. While USCF has not and does not
intend to leverage UNL’s assets, it is not prohibited from doing so under the LP
Agreement.
Although permitted to do so under its LP Agreement, UNL
has not and does not intend to leverage its assets and makes its investments
accordingly. Consistent with this, UNL’s investments will take into account the
need for UNL to make permitted investments that also allow it to maintain
adequate liquidity to meet its margin and collateral requirements and to avoid,
to the extent reasonably possible, UNL becoming leveraged, including by its
holding of assets that have a high probability of causing the NAV of UNL to be
less than zero.
Borrowings
Borrowings are not used by UNL, unless UNL is required
to borrow money in the event of physical delivery, if UNL trades in cash
commodities, or for short-term needs created by unexpected
redemptions.
OTC Derivatives (including Spreads and
Straddles)
In addition to Futures Contracts, there are also a
number of listed options on the Futures Contracts on the principal futures
exchanges. These contracts offer investors and hedgers another set of financial
vehicles to use in managing exposure to the natural gas market. Consequently,
UNL may purchase options on natural gas Futures Contracts on these exchanges in
pursuing its investment objective.
In addition to the Futures Contracts and options on the
Futures Contracts, there also exists an active non-exchange-traded market in
derivatives tied to natural gas. These derivatives transactions (also known as
OTC contracts) are usually entered into between two parties in private
contracts. Unlike most of the exchange-traded Futures Contracts or
exchange-traded options on the Futures Contracts, each party to such contract
bears the credit risk of the other party, i.e., the risk that the other party
may not be able to perform its obligations under its contract. To reduce the
credit risk that arises in connection with such contracts, UNL will generally
enter into an agreement with each counterparty based on the Master Agreement
published by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (“ISDA”)
that provides for the netting of its overall exposure to its
counterparty.
USCF assesses or reviews, as appropriate, the
creditworthiness of each potential or existing counterparty to an OTC contract
pursuant to guidelines approved by USCF’s Board.
UNL may enter into certain transactions where an OTC
component is exchanged for a corresponding futures contract (“Exchange for
Related Position” or “EFRP” transactions). In the most common type of EFRP
transaction entered into by UNL, the OTC component is the purchase or sale of
one or more baskets of UNL’s shares. These EFRP transactions may expose UNL to
counterparty risk during the interim period between the execution of the OTC
component and the exchange for a corresponding futures contract. Generally, the
counterparty risk from the EFRP transaction will exist only on the day of
execution.
UNL may employ spreads or straddles in its trading to
mitigate the differences in its investment portfolio and its goal of tracking
the price of the Benchmark Futures Contracts. UNL would use a spread when it
chooses to take simultaneous long and short positions in futures written on the
same underlying asset, but with different delivery months.
During the year ended December 31, 2022, UNL limited its
derivatives activities to Futures Contracts and EFRP transactions.
Pyramiding
UNL has not employed and will not employ the technique,
commonly known as pyramiding, in which the speculator uses unrealized profits on
existing positions as variation margin for the purchase or sale of additional
positions in the same or another commodity interest.
Prior Performance of UNL
*PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF
FUTURE RESULTS
USCF manages UNL which is a commodity pool that issues
shares traded on the NYSE Arca. The chart below shows, as of February 28, 2023,
the number of Authorized Participants, the total number of baskets created and
redeemed since inception and the number of outstanding shares for
UNL.
#
of Authorized Participants |
|
Baskets Redeemed |
|
|
Baskets Purchased |
|
|
Outstanding Shares |
|
9 |
|
|
145 |
|
|
|
152 |
|
|
|
1,150,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Since the commencement of the offering of UNL shares to
the public on November 18, 2009 to February 28, 2023, the simple average daily
change in the average price of its Benchmark Futures Contracts was (0.019)%,
while the simple average daily change in the per share NAV of UNL over the same
time period was (0.020)%. The average daily difference was (0.001)% (or (0.1)
basis points, where 1 basis point equals 1/100 of 1%). As a percentage of the
daily movement of the average price of the Benchmark Futures Contracts, the
average error in daily tracking by the per share NAV was 0.037%, meaning that
over this time period UNL’s tracking error was within the plus or minus 10%
range established as its benchmark tracking goal.
The table below shows the relationship between the
trading prices of the shares and the daily NAV of UNL, since inception through
February 28, 2023. The first row shows the average amount of the variation
between UNL’s closing market price and NAV, computed on a daily basis since
inception, while the second and third rows depict the maximum daily amount of
the end of day premiums and discounts to NAV since inception, on a percentage
basis. USCF believes that maximum and minimum end of day premiums and discounts
typically occur because trading in the shares continues on the NYSE Arca until
4:00 p.m. New York time while regular trading in the Benchmark Futures Contracts
on the NYMEX ceases at 2:30 p.m. New York time and the value of the relevant
Benchmark Futures Contracts, for purposes of determining its end of day NAV, can
be determined at that time.
|
|
UNL |
|
Average Difference |
|
$ |
0.002 |
|
Max Premium % |
|
|
6.153 |
|
Max Discount % |
|
|
(6.523 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
For more information on the performance of UNL, see the
Performance Tables below.
PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF
FUTURE RESULTS
COMPOSITE PERFORMANCE DATA
FOR UNL
Name of Commodity Pool: United States 12 Month Natural
Gas Fund, LP
Type of Commodity Pool: Exchange traded
security
Inception of Trading: November 18, 2009
Aggregate Subscriptions (from inception through February
28, 2023): $193,609,196
Total Net Assets as of February 28, 2023:
$15,201,303.55
NAV per Share as of February 28, 2023: $13.22
Worst Monthly Percentage Draw-down: June 2022
(28.33)%
Worst Peak-to-Valley Draw-down: January 2010–February
2020 (86.76)%
|
|
Rates of Return* |
|
Month |
|
2018 |
|
|
2019 |
|
|
2020 |
|
|
2021 |
|
|
2022 |
|
|
2023 |
|
January |
|
|
4.32 |
% |
|
|
4.68 |
% |
|
|
(9.02 |
)% |
|
|
2.33 |
% |
|
|
29.7 |
% |
|
|
(22.39 |
)% |
February |
|
|
(5.59 |
)% |
|
|
1.30 |
% |
|
|
(7.17 |
)% |
|
|
5.68 |
% |
|
|
(5.49 |
)% |
|
|
(1.20 |
)% |
March |
|
|
1.86 |
% |
|
|
(3.49 |
)% |
|
|
7.16 |
% |
|
|
(5.73 |
)% |
|
|
25.42 |
)% |
|
|
|
|
April |
|
|
(1.94 |
)% |
|
|
(4.00 |
)% |
|
|
13.24 |
% |
|
|
6.97 |
% |
|
|
24.57 |
% |
|
|
|
|
May |
|
|
4.72 |
% |
|
|
(4.37 |
)% |
|
|
(8.91 |
)% |
|
|
1.19 |
% |
|
|
10.58 |
% |
|
|
|
|
June |
|
|
(0.52 |
)% |
|
|
(5.50 |
)% |
|
|
(4.07 |
)% |
|
|
16.86 |
% |
|
|
(28.33 |
)% |
|
|
|
|
July |
|
|
(2.95 |
)% |
|
|
(1.98 |
)% |
|
|
2.78 |
% |
|
|
8.82 |
% |
|
|
35.63 |
% |
|
|
|
|
August |
|
|
2.50 |
% |
|
|
(2.35 |
)% |
|
|
14.56 |
% |
|
|
7.92 |
% |
|
|
14.93 |
% |
|
|
|
|
September |
|
|
0.11 |
% |
|
|
1.38 |
% |
|
|
(3.60 |
)% |
|
|
23.55 |
% |
|
|
(20.10 |
)% |
|
|
|
|
October |
|
|
2.96 |
% |
|
|
3.17 |
% |
|
|
7.70 |
% |
|
|
(2.69 |
)% |
|
|
(4.36 |
)% |
|
|
|
|
November |
|
|
17.37 |
% |
|
|
(8.77 |
)% |
|
|
(11.05 |
)% |
|
|
(7.17 |
)% |
|
|
7.79 |
% |
|
|
|
|
December |
|
|
(10.16 |
)% |
|
|
1.32 |
% |
|
|
(5.73 |
)% |
|
|
(10.93 |
)% |
|
|
(24.05 |
)% |
|
|
|
|
Annual
Rate of Return |
|
|
10.80 |
% |
|
|
(17.84 |
)% |
|
|
(8.19 |
)% |
|
|
50.52 |
% |
|
|
47.98 |
% |
|
|
30.41 |
%** |
|
* |
The monthly rate of return is calculated by
dividing the ending NAV of a given month by the ending NAV of the previous
month, subtracting 1 and multiplying this number by 100 to arrive at a
percentage increase or decrease. |
|
** |
Through February 28,
2023. |
Draw-down: Losses experienced by UNL over a specified
period. Draw-down is measured on the basis of monthly returns only and does not
reflect intra-month figures.
Worst Monthly Percentage Draw-down: The largest single
month loss sustained during the most recent five calendar years and
year-to-date.
Worst Peak-to-Valley Draw-down: The largest percentage
decline in the NAV per share over the history of UNL. This need not be a
continuous decline, but can be a series of positive and negative returns where
the negative returns are larger than the positive returns. Worst Peak-to-Valley
Draw-down represents the greatest cumulative percentage decline in month-end per
share NAV is not equaled or exceeded by a subsequent month-end per share
NAV.
UNL’S
Operations
USCF and its Management and
Traders
USCF is a single member limited liability company that
was formed in the state of Delaware on May 10, 2005. USCF maintains its main
business office at 1850 Mt. Diablo Boulevard, Suite 640, Walnut Creek,
California 94596. USCF is a wholly-owned subsidiary of USCF Investments, a
Delaware corporation, which is an intermediate holding company that owns USCF
and another advisor of exchange traded funds. USCF Investments is a wholly owned
subsidiary of Marygold (publicly traded under the ticker MGLD), a publicly
traded holding company that owns various financial and non-financial businesses.
Mr. Nicholas Gerber (discussed below), along with certain family members and
certain other shareholders, owns the majority of the shares in Marygold. USCF
Investments is a holding company that currently holds both USCF, as well as USCF
Advisers LLC, an investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act
of 1940, as amended (“USCF Advisers”). USCF Advisers serves as the investment
adviser for the USCF SummerHaven Dynamic Commodity Strategy No K-1 Fund
(“SDCI”), the USCF Midstream Energy Income Fund (“UMI”), the USCF Gold Strategy
Plus Income Fund (“GLDX”), the USCF Dividend Income Fund (“UDI”), and the USCF
Sustainable Battery Metals Strategy Fund (“ZSB”), each of which is a series of
the USCF ETF Trust. The USCF ETF Trust is registered under the 1940 Act. The
Board of Trustees for the USCF ETF Trust consists of different independent
trustees than those independent directors who serve on the Board of Directors of
USCF. USCF is a member of the NFA and registered as a CPO with the CFTC on
December 1, 2005 and as a swaps firm on August 8, 2013.
USCF serves as the general partner of UNL. USCF is also
the general partner of the United States Oil Fund, LP (“USO”), the United States
Natural Gas Fund, LP (“UNG”), the United States 12 Month Oil Fund, LP (“USL”),
the United States Gasoline Fund, LP (“UGA”), and the United States Brent Oil
Fund, LP (“BNO”).
USCF is also the sponsor of the United States Commodity
Index Fund (“USCI”) and the United States Copper Index Fund (“CPER”), each a
series of the United States Commodity Index Funds Trust (“USCIFT”).
UNG, UGA, BNO, USL, USO, USCI and CPER are referred to
collectively herein as the “Related Public Funds.”
UNL and the Related Public Funds are subject to
reporting requirements under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended
(the “1934 Act”). For more information about each of the Related Public Funds,
investors in UNL may call 1-800-920-0259 or visit www.uscfinvestments.com
or the SEC website at www.sec.gov.
USCF is required to evaluate the credit risk of UNL to
the FCMs, oversee the purchase and sale of UNL’s shares by certain authorized
participants (“Authorized Participants”), review daily positions and margin
requirements of UNL and manage UNL’s investments. USCF also pays the fees of
ALPS Distributors, Inc., which serves as the marketing agent for UNL (the
“Marketing Agent”), and The Bank of New York Mellon (“BNY Mellon”), which serves
as the administrator (the “Administrator”) and the custodian (the “Custodian”),
and provides accounting and transfer agent services for, UNL since April 1,
2020. In no event may the aggregate compensation paid for the Marketing Agent
and any affiliate of USCF for distribution-related services in connection with
the offering of shares exceed ten percent (10%) of the gross proceeds of this
offering.
The limited partners take no part in the management or
control, and have a minimal voice in UNL’s operations or business. Limited
partners have no right to elect USCF on an annual or any other continuing basis.
If USCF voluntarily withdraws, however, the holders of a majority of UNL’s
outstanding shares (excluding for purposes of such determination shares owned,
if any, by the withdrawing general partner and its affiliates) may elect its
successor. USCF may not be removed as general partner except upon approval by
the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 66 2/3 percent of UNL’s
outstanding shares (excluding shares, if any, owned by USCF and its affiliates),
subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions set forth in the LP
Agreement.
The business and affairs of USCF are managed by the
Board, which is comprised of the Management Directors, each of whom are also
executive officers and employees of USCF, and three independent directors who
meet the independent director requirements established by the NYSE Arca Equities
Rules and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The Management Directors have the
authority to manage USCF pursuant to the terms of the LLC Agreement. Through its
Management Directors, USCF manages the day-to-day operations of UNL. The Board
has an audit committee, which is made up of the three independent directors
(Gordon L. Ellis, Malcolm R. Fobes III and Peter M. Robinson,). The audit
committee is governed by an audit committee charter that is posted on UNL’s
website at www.uscfinvestments.com. The Board has determined that each
member of the audit committee meets the financial literacy requirements of the
NYSE Arca and the audit committee charter. The Board has further determined that
each of Messrs. Ellis and Fobes have accounting or related financial management
expertise, as required by the NYSE Arca, such that each of them is considered an
“Audit Committee Financial Expert” as such term is defined in Item 407(d)(5) of
Regulation S-K.
UNL has no executive officers. Pursuant to the terms of
the LP Agreement, UNL’s affairs are managed by USCF.
The following are individual Principals, as that term is
defined in CFTC Rule 3.1, for USCF: John P. Love, Stuart P. Crumbaugh, Nicholas
D. Gerber, Melinda D. Gerber, Andrew F Ngim, Robert L. Nguyen, Peter M.
Robinson, Scott Schoenberger, Gordon L. Ellis, Malcolm R. Fobes III, Ray W.
Allen, Kevin A. Baum, Daphne G. Frydman and USCF Investments, Inc. The
individuals who are Principals due to their positions are John P. Love, Stuart
P. Crumbaugh, Nicholas D. Gerber, Andrew F Ngim, Robert L. Nguyen, Peter M.
Robinson, Gordon L. Ellis, Malcolm R. Fobes III, Ray W. Allen, Kevin A. Baum,
and Daphne G. Frydman. In addition, USCF Investments is a Principal because it
is the sole member of USCF. None of the Principals owns or has any other
beneficial interest in UNL. Ray W. Allen makes trading and investment decisions
for UNL. Ray W. Allen, Darius Coby, Seth Lancaster and Zach Sanchez execute
trades on behalf of UNL. In addition, Nicholas D. Gerber, John P. Love, Robert
L. Nguyen, Ray W. Allen, Kevin A. Baum, Kathryn Rooney, Maya Lowry, and Ryan
Katz are registered with the CFTC as Associated Persons of USCF and are NFA
Associate Members. John P. Love, Kevin A. Baum and Ray W. Allen are also
registered with the CFTC as Swaps Associated Persons.
Ray W. Allen, 66, Portfolio Manager of
USCF since January 2008. Mr. Allen was the portfolio manager of: (1) UGA from
February 2008 until March 2010, and then portfolio manager since May 2015, (2)
UHN from April 2008 until March 2010, and then portfolio manager from May 2015
to September 2018, (3) UNL from November 2009 until March 2010, and then
portfolio manager since May 2015. In addition, he has been the portfolio manager
of: (1) DNO from September 2009 to September 2018, (2) USO and USL since March
2010, (3) BNO since June 2010, (4) UNG since May 2015 and (4) United States 3x
Oil Fund and United States 3x Short Oil Fund from July 2017 to December 2019,
and (5) the USCF Commodity Strategy Fund, a series of USCF Mutual Funds Trust,
from October 2017 to March 2019. Mr. Allen also has served as the portfolio
manager of the USCF SummerHaven Dynamic Commodity Strategy No K-1 Fund, a series
of the USCF ETF Trust, from May 2018 to October 2021 and then portfolio manager
since January 2022. Mr. Allen has been a principal of USCF listed with the CFTC
and NFA since March 2009 and has been registered as an associated person of USCF
since July 2015 and from March 2008 to November 2012. Additionally, Mr. Allen
has been approved as an NFA swaps associated person of USCF since July 2015. As
of February 2017, he also is an associated person and swap associated person of
USCF Advisers, LLC (“USCF Advisers”). USCF Advisers, an affiliate of USCF, is an
investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, and, as
of February 2017, is registered as a commodity pool operator, NFA member and
swap firm. Mr. Allen earned a B.A. in Economics from the University of
California at Berkeley and holds an NFA Series 3 registration.
Kevin A. Baum, 52, has served as the Chief
Investment Officer of USCF since September 1, 2016 and as a Portfolio Manager of
USCF from March 2016 to April 2017. He also serves as the Chief Investment
Officer of USCF Advisers since June 2021. Prior to joining USCF, Mr. Baum
temporarily retired from December 2015 to March 2016. Mr. Baum served as the
Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager for Invesco, an investment manager
that manages a family of exchange-traded funds, from October 2014 through
December 2015. Mr. Baum was temporarily retired from May 2012 through September
2014. From May 1993 to April 2012, Mr. Baum worked as the Senior Portfolio
Manager, Head of Commodities for OppenheimerFunds, Inc., a global asset manager.
Mr. Baum has been approved with respect to USCF as an NFA principal and
associated person since April 2016, and a swap associated person since November
2020. He also is an associated person of USCF Advisers as of February 2017, and,
as of June 2021, a swap associated person. USCF Advisers, an affiliate of USCF,
is an investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940,
and, as of February 2017, is registered as a commodity pool operator, NFA member
and swap firm. Mr. Baum is a CFA Charterholder, CAIA Charterholder, earned a
B.B.A. in Finance from Texas Tech University and holds an NFA Series 3
registration.
Stuart P. Crumbaugh, 59, Chief Financial
Officer, Secretary and Treasurer of USCF since May 2015 and also the Chief
Financial Officer of The Marygold Companies, Inc., formerly Concierge
Technologies, Inc. (“Marygold”), the parent of USCF Investments, Inc., formerly
Wainwright Holdings, Inc. (“USCF Investments”) since December 2017. He is also
the Treasurer and a member of the Board of Directors of Marygold & Co., a
subsidiary of Marygold, since November 2019. In addition, Mr. Crumbaugh has
served as a director of USCF Investments, the parent and sole member of USCF,
since December 2016. Mr. Crumbaugh has been a principal of USCF listed with the
CFTC and NFA since July 1, 2015 and, as of January 2017, he is a principal of
USCF Advisers. USCF Advisers, an affiliate of USCF, is an investment adviser
registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, and, as of February 2017,
is registered as a commodity pool operator, NFA member and swap firm. Since June
2015, Mr. Crumbaugh has been the Treasurer and Secretary of USCF Advisers. He
has served as a Management Trustee, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of
USCF ETF Trust since May 2015 and (2) USCF Mutual Funds Trust since October
2016. Mr. Crumbaugh joined USCF as the Assistant Chief Financial Officer on
April 6, 2015. Prior to joining USCF, Mr. Crumbaugh was the Vice President
Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Sikka Software Corporation, a software
service healthcare company providing optimization software and data solutions
from April 2014 to April 6, 2015. Mr. Crumbaugh served as a consultant providing
technical accounting, IPO readiness and M&A consulting services to various
early stage companies with the Connor Group, a technical accounting consulting
firm, for the periods of January 2014 through March 2014; October 2012 through
November 2012; and January 2011 through February 2011. From December 2012
through December 2013, Mr. Crumbaugh was Vice President, Corporate Controller
and Treasurer of Auction.com, LLC, a residential and commercial real estate
online auction company. From March 2011 through September 2012, Mr. Crumbaugh
was Chief Financial Officer of IP Infusion Inc., a technology company providing
network routing and switching software enabling software-defined networking
solutions for major mobile carriers and network infrastructure providers. Mr.
Crumbaugh earned a B.A. in Accounting and Business Administration from Michigan
State University in 1987 and is a Certified Public Accountant - Michigan
(inactive).
Daphne G. Frydman, 48, General Counsel of
USCF and USCF Advisers, LLC since May 2018, and Director of Compliance of USCF
since April 2022. She is also the Chief Legal Officer of USCF ETF Trust since
May 2018 and Secretary of the same since December 2021. Ms. Frydman served as
Deputy General Counsel of USCF and USCF Advisers, LLC from May 2016 through May
2018. From September 2001 through April 2016, Ms. Frydman was an attorney in
private practice at the law firm Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP. Ms.
Frydman is registered as a principal of USCF as of June 1, 2022. Ms. Frydman
earned her JD from the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law and a B.A.
in College of Letters and Spanish from Wesleyan University.
Nicholas D. Gerber, 60, Management
Director since June 2005. Mr. Gerber served as President and Chief Executive
Officer of USCF from June 2005 through May 2015, Vice President from May 2015 to
January 2023, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of USCF from June 2005
through October 2019. Mr. Gerber co-founded USCF in 2005 and prior to that, he
co-founded Ameristock Corporation in March 1995, a California-based investment
adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 from March 1995
until January 2013. Since January, 2015, Mr. Gerber also has served as the Chief
Executive Officer, President, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of
Marygold, which is a company publicly traded under the ticker symbol “MGLD.”
Marygold is the sole shareholder of USCF Investments. He is also the CEO and a
member of the Board of Directors of Marygold & Co., a subsidiary of
Marygold, since November 2019. Mr. Gerber serves as CEO of a newly formed
Marygold subsidiary, Marygold & Co. (UK) Limited in London, England, since
August 2021. Mr. Gerber also is the President and a director of USCF
Investments, Inc., a position he has held since March of 2004. From August 1995
to January 2013, Mr. Gerber served as Portfolio Manager of Ameristock Mutual
Fund, Inc. In January 2013, the Ameristock Mutual Fund, Inc. merged with and
into the Drexel Hamilton Centre American Equity Fund, a series of Drexel
Hamilton Mutual Funds. Drexel Hamilton Mutual Funds is not affiliated with
Ameristock Corporation, the Ameristock Mutual Fund, Inc. or USCF. Mr. Gerber
also has served USCF Advisers on the Board of Managers from June 2013 to
present, as the President from June 2013 through June 2015, and as Vice
President from June 2015 to present. USCF Advisers, an affiliate of USCF, is an
investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, and,
since February 2017, is registered as a commodity pool operator, NFA member and
swap firm. He also has served as Chairman of the Boards of Trustees of USCF ETF
Trust since 2014 and USCF Mutual Funds Trust since October 2016, respectively,
(USCF ETF Trust and together with USCF Mutual Funds Trust are referred to as the
“Trusts”) and each of the Trusts are investment companies registered under the
Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. In addition, Mr. Gerber served as
the President and Chief Executive Officer of USCF ETF Trust from June 2014 until
December 2015. Mr. Gerber has been a principal of USCF listed with the CFTC and
NFA since November 2005, an NFA associate member and associated person of USCF
since December 2005. Additionally, effective as of January 2017, he is a
principal of USCF Advisers and, effective as of February 2017, he is an
associated person and swap associated person of USCF Advisers. Mr. Gerber earned
an MBA degree in finance from the University of San Francisco, a B.A. from
Skidmore College and holds an NFA Series 3 registration.
John P. Love, 51, President and
Chief Executive Officer of USCF since May 15, 2015, Management Director of USCF
since October 2016 and Chairman of the Board of Directors of USCF since October
2019. Mr. Love also is a director of USCF Investments, a position he has held
since December 2016. Mr. Love previously served as a Senior Portfolio Manager
for the Related Public Funds from March 2010 through May 15, 2015. Prior to
that, while still at USCF, he was a Portfolio Manager beginning with the launch
of USO in April 2006. Mr. Love was the portfolio manager of USO from April 2006
until March 2010 and the portfolio manager for USL from December 2007 until
March 2010. Mr. Love has been the portfolio manager of UNG since April 2007, and
the portfolio manager of UGA, UHN, and UNL since March 2010. Mr. Love has served
as on the Board of Managers of USCF Advisers since November 2016 and as its
President since June 18, 2015. USCF Advisers, an affiliate of USCF, is an
investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, and, as
of February 2017, is registered as a commodity pool operator, NFA member and
swap firm. He also acted as co-portfolio manager of the Stock Split Index Fund,
a series of the USCF ETF Trust for the period from September 2014 to December
2015, when he was promoted to the position of President and Chief Executive
Officer of the USCF ETF Trust. Since October 2016 to present, he also has served
as the President and Chief Executive of the USCF Mutual Funds Trust. Mr. Love
has been a principal of USCF listed with the CFTC and NFA since January 17,
2006. Mr. Love has been registered as an associated person of USCF since
February 2015 and from December 1, 2005 to April 16, 2009. Additionally, Mr.
Love has been approved as an NFA swaps associated person since February 2015.
Mr. Love is a principal of USCF Advisers LLC as of January 2017. Additionally,
effective as of February 2017, he is an associated person and swap associated
person of USCF Advisers. Mr. Love earned a B.A. from the University of Southern
California, holds an NFA Series 3 and FINRA Series 7 registrations and is a CFA
Charterholder.
Andrew F Ngim, 62, co-founded USCF in 2005
and has served as a Management Director since May 2005 and, since August 15,
2016, has served as the Chief Operating Officer of USCF. Mr. Ngim has served as
the portfolio manager for USCI and CPER since January 2013 and for the United
States Agriculture Index Fund from January 2013 to September 2018. Mr. Ngim also
served as USCF’s Treasurer from June 2005 to February 2012. In addition, he has
been on the Board of Managers and has served as the Assistant Secretary and
Assistant Treasurer of USCF Advisers since its inception in June 2013 and Chief
Operating Officer of USCF Advisers since March 2021. Prior to and concurrent
with his services to USCF and USCF Advisers, from January 1999 to January 2013,
Mr. Ngim served as a Managing Director for Ameristock Corporation, a
California-based investment adviser, which he co-founded in March 1995, and was
Co-Portfolio Manager of Ameristock Mutual Fund, Inc. from January 2000 to
January 2013. Mr. Ngim also served as portfolio manager of (a) the following
series of the USCF ETF Trust: (1) the Stock Split Index Fund from September 2014
to October 2017, (2) the USCF Restaurant Leaders Fund from November 2016 to
October 2017, (3) USCF SummerHaven SHPEI Index Fund from December 2017 to
October 2020, (4) USCF SummerHaven SHPEN Index Fund from December 2017 to April
2020, and (b) a series of USCF Mutual Funds Trust, the USCF Commodity Strategy
Fund, from March 2017 to March 2019. Mr. Ngim also serves as the portfolio
manager for the following series of the USCF ETF Trust: (1) USCF SummerHaven
Dynamic Commodity Strategy No K-1 Fund from May 2018 to present, and (2) the
USCF Sustainable Battery Metals Strategy Fund from January 2023 to present. Mr.
Ngim serves as a Management Trustee of: (1) the USCF ETF Trust from August 2014
to the present and (2) the USCF Mutual Funds Trust from October 2016 to present.
Mr. Ngim has been a principal of USCF listed with the CFTC and NFA since
November 2005 and a principal of USCF Advisers LLC since January 2017. USCF
Advisers, an affiliate of USCF, is an investment adviser registered under the
Investment Advisers Act of 1940, and, as of February 2017, is registered as a
commodity pool operator, NFA member and swap firm. Mr. Ngim earned his B.A. from
the University of California at Berkeley.
Robert L. Nguyen, 63, Management Director
and principal since July 2015. Mr. Nguyen served on the Board of USCF
Investments from December 2014 to December 2016. Mr. Nguyen co-founded USCF in
2005 and served as a Management Director until March 2012. Mr. Nguyen was an
Investment Manager with Ribera Investment Management, an investment adviser
registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, from January 2013 to March
2015. Prior to and concurrent with his services to USCF, from January 2000 to
January 2013, Mr. Nguyen served as a Managing Principal for Ameristock
Corporation, a California-based investment adviser registered under the
Investment Advisers Act of 1940, which he co-founded in March 1995. Mr. Nguyen
was a principal of USCF listed with the CFTC and NFA from November 2005 through
March 2012 and an associated person of USCF listed with the CFTC and NFA from
November 2007 through March 2012. Mr. Nguyen has been a principal of USCF listed
with the CFTC and NFA since July 2015 and an associated person of USCF listed
with the CFTC and NFA since December 2015. As of February 2017, he also is an
associated person of USCF Advisers. USCF Advisers, an affiliate of USCF, is an
investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, and, as
of February 2017, is registered as a commodity pool operator, NFA member and
swap firm. Mr. Nguyen earned his B.S. from California State University at
Sacramento, and holds NFA Series 3 and FINRA Series 7 registrations.
Gordon L. Ellis, 76, Independent Director
of USCF since September 2005. Previously, Mr. Ellis was a founder of
International Absorbents, Inc., Director and Chairman since July 1985 and July
1988, respectively, and Chief Executive Officer and President since November
1996. He also served as Chairman of Absorption Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary
of International Absorbents, Inc., which is a leading developer and producer of
environmentally friendly pet care and industrial products, from May July 1985
until July 2010 when it was sold to Kinderhook Industries, a private investment
banking firm and remained as a director until March 2013 when Absorption Corp
was sold again to J. Rettenmaier & Söhne Group, a German manufacturing firm.
Concurrent with that, he founded and has served as Chairman from November 2010
to present of Lupaka Gold Corp., a firm that acquires, explores and developed
mining properties and is currently driving an arbitration suit against the
Republic of Peru. He also serves as a director of Goldhaven Resources, a firm
that acquires, explores and develops mining properties in Canada and Chile, from
August 2020 to present. Mr. Ellis has his Chartered Directors designation from
The Director’s College (a joint venture of McMaster University and The
Conference Board of Canada). He has been a principal of USCF listed with the
CFTC and NFA since November 2005. Mr. Ellis is a professional engineer, retired,
and earned an MBA in international finance.
Malcolm R. Fobes III, 58, Independent
Director of USCF and Chairman of USCF’s audit committee since September 2005. He
founded and is the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment
Officer of Berkshire Capital Holdings, Inc., a California-based investment
adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 that has been
sponsoring and providing portfolio management services to mutual funds since
June 1997. Mr. Fobes serves as Chairman and President of The Berkshire Funds, a
mutual fund investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of
1940. Since 1997, Mr. Fobes has also served as portfolio manager of the
Berkshire Focus Fund, a mutual fund registered under the Investment Company Act
of 1940, which concentrates its investments in the electronic technology
industry. He was also contributing editor of Start a Successful Mutual Fund: The
Step-by-Step Reference Guide to Make It Happen (JV Books, 1995). Mr. Fobes has
been a principal of USCF listed with the CFTC and NFA since November 2005. He
earned a B.S. in finance with a minor in economics from San Jose State
University in California.
Peter M. Robinson, 65, Independent
Director of USCF since September 2005. Mr. Robinson has been a Research Fellow
since 1993 with the Hoover Institution, a public policy think tank located on
the campus of Stanford University. He authored three books and has been
published in the New York Times, Red Herring, and Forbes ASAP and is the editor
of Can Congress Be Fixed?: Five Essays on Congressional Reform (Hoover
Institution Press, 1995). Mr. Robinson has been a principal of USCF listed with
the CFTC and NFA since December 2005. He earned an MBA from the Stanford
University Graduate School of Business, graduated from Oxford University in 1982
after studying politics, philosophy, and economics and graduated summa cum laude
from Dartmouth College in 1979.
UNL’s Service Providers
Custodian, Registrar, Transfer Agent, and
Administrator
In its capacity as the Custodian for UNL, The Bank of
New York Mellon (“BNY Mellon” or the “Custodian”) holds UNL’s Treasuries, cash
and/or cash equivalents pursuant to a custody agreement. BNY Mellon is also the
registrar and transfer agent for the shares. In addition, in its capacity as
Administrator for UNL, BNY Mellon performs certain administrative and accounting
services for UNL and prepares certain SEC, NFA and CFTC reports on behalf of
UNL.
As compensation for the services that BNY Mellon
provides to UNL in the foregoing capacities, and the services BNY Mellon
provides to the Related Public Funds, BNY Mellon receives certain out of pocket
costs, transaction fees, and asset based fees, which are accrued daily and paid
monthly by USCF.
BNY Mellon is authorized to conduct a commercial banking
business in accordance with the provisions of New York State Banking Law, and is
subject to regulation, supervision, and examination by the New York State
Department of Financial Services and the Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System.
Marketing Agent
UNL also employs ALPS Distributors, Inc. (“ALPS
Distributors”) as the Marketing Agent, which is further discussed under “What is
the Plan of Distribution?” USCF pays the Marketing Agent an annual fee. In no
event may the aggregate compensation paid to the Marketing Agent and any
affiliate of USCF for distribution-related services in connection with the
offering of shares exceed ten percent (10%) of the gross proceeds of the
offering.
ALPS Distributors’ principal business address is 1290
Broadway, Suite 1000, Denver, CO 80203. ALPS Distributors is a broker-dealer
registered with the SEC and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory
Authority (“FINRA”) and a member of the Securities Investor Protection
Corporation.
Payments to Certain Third Parties
USCF or the Marketing Agent, or an affiliate of USCF or
the Marketing Agent, may directly or indirectly make cash payments to certain
broker-dealers for participating in activities that are designed to make
registered representatives and other professionals more knowledgeable about
exchange-traded funds and exchange-traded products, including UNL and the
Related Public Funds, or for other activities, such as participation in
marketing activities and presentations, educational training programs,
conferences, the development of technology platforms and reporting
systems.
Additionally, pursuant to written agreements, USCF may
make payments, out of its own resources, to financial intermediaries in exchange
for providing services in connection with the sale or servicing of UNL’s shares,
including waiving commissions on the purchase or sale of shares of participating
exchange-traded products.
Payments to a broker-dealer or intermediary may create
potential conflicts of interest between the broker-dealer or intermediary and
its clients. The amounts described above, which may be significant, are paid by
USCF and/or the Marketing Agent from their own resources and not from the assets
of UNL or the Related Public Funds.
Futures Commission Merchants
RBC Capital Markets, LLC
On October 8, 2013, USCF entered into a Futures and
Cleared Derivatives Transactions Customer Account Agreement with RBC Capital
Markets, LLC (“RBC Capital” or “RBC”) to serve as UNL’s FCM, effective October
10, 2013. This agreement requires RBC Capital to provide services to UNL, as of
October 10, 2013, in connection with the purchase and sale of Futures Contracts
and Other Natural Gas-Related Investments that may be purchased or sold by or
through RBC Capital for UNL’s account. For the period October 10, 2013 and
after, UNL pays RBC Capital commissions for executing and clearing trades on
behalf of UNL.
RBC Capital’s primary address is 30 Hudson Street, 27th
Floor, Jersey City, NJ 07302. Effective October 10, 2013, RBC Capital became the
futures clearing broker for UNL. RBC Capital is registered in the United States
with FINRA as a broker-dealer and with the CFTC as an FCM. RBC Capital is a
member of various U.S. futures and securities exchanges.
RBC Capital is a large broker dealer subject to many
different complex legal and regulatory requirements. As a result, certain of RBC
Capital’s regulators may from time to time conduct investigations, initiate
enforcement proceedings and/or enter into settlements with RBC Capital with
respect to issues raised in various investigations. RBC Capital complies fully
with its regulators in all investigations being conducted and in all settlements
it reaches. In addition, RBC Capital is and has been subject to a variety of
civil legal claims in various jurisdictions, a variety of settlement agreements
and a variety of orders, awards and judgments made against it by courts and
tribunals, both in regard to such claims and investigations. RBC Capital
complies fully with all settlements it reaches and all orders, awards and
judgments made against it.
RBC Capital has been named as a defendant in various
legal actions, including arbitrations, class actions and other litigation
including those described below, arising in connection with its activities.
Certain of the actual or threatened legal actions include claims for substantial
compensatory and/or punitive damages or claims for indeterminate amounts of
damages. RBC Capital is also involved, in other reviews, investigations and
proceedings (both formal and informal) by governmental and self-regulatory
agencies regarding RBC Capital’s business, including among other matters,
accounting and operational matters, certain of which may result in adverse
judgments, settlements, fines, penalties, injunctions or other
relief.
RBC Capital contests liability and/or the amount of
damages as appropriate in each pending matter. In view of the inherent
difficulty of predicting the outcome of such matters, particularly in cases
where claimants seek substantial or indeterminate damages or where
investigations and proceedings are in the early stages, RBC Capital cannot
predict the loss or range of loss, if any, related to such matters; how or if
such matters will be resolved; when they will ultimately be resolved; or what
the eventual settlement, fine, penalty or other relief, if any, might be.
Subject to the foregoing, RBC Capital believes, based on current knowledge and
after consultation with counsel, that the outcome of such pending matters will
not have a material adverse effect on the consolidated financial condition of
RBC Capital.
On April 27, 2017, pursuant to an offer of settlement, a
Panel of the Chicago Board of Trade Business Conduct Committee (“Panel”) found
that RBC Capital engaged in EFRP transactions which failed to satisfy the Rules
of the Chicago Board of Trade (the “Chicago Board of Trade”) in one or more
ways. Specifically, the Panel found that RBC Capital traders entered into EFRP
trades in which RBC Capital accounts were on both sides of the transactions.
While the purpose of the transactions was to transfer positions between the RBC
Capital accounts, the Panel found that the manner in which the trades occurred
violated the Chicago Board of Trade’s prohibition on wash trades. The Panel
found that RBC Capital thereby violated CBOT Rules 534 and (legacy) 538.B. and
C. In accordance with the settlement offer, the Panel ordered RBC Capital to pay
a $175,000 fine. On October 1, 2019, the CFTC issued an order filing and
settling charges against RBCCM for the above activity, as well as related
charges. The order required that RBCCM cease and desist from violating the
applicable regulations, pay a $5 million civil monetary penalty, and comply with
various conditions, including conditions regarding public statements and future
cooperation with the CFTC.
Various regulators are conducting inquiries regarding
potential violations of antitrust law by a number of banks and other entities,
including RBC Capital, regarding foreign exchange trading. Beginning in 2015,
putative class actions were brought against RBC Capital and/or Royal Bank of
Canada, RBC Capital’s indirect parent, in the U.S. and Canada. These actions
were each brought against multiple foreign exchange dealers and allege, among
other things, collusive behavior in global foreign exchange trading. In August
2018, the U.S. District Court entered a final order approving RBC Capital’s
settlement with class plaintiffs. In November 2018, certain institutional
plaintiffs who had previously opted-out of participating in the settlement filed
their own lawsuit in U.S. District Court. In May 2020, the U.S. District Court
dismissed RBC Capital from the opt-out action, but granted the plaintiffs’
motion to amend the complaint. The Canadian class actions remain pending and RBC
Capital has reached a settlement for an immaterial amount with respect to an
action brought by a class of indirect purchasers. RBC Capital is awaiting the
court’s final approval of the settlement. In October 2020, RBC Capital and Royal
Bank of Canada moved to dismiss the amended complaint. On July 28, 2021, the
court dismissed Royal Bank of Canada from the case but denied the motion as to
RBC. Based on the facts currently known, it is not possible at this time for
management to predict the ultimate outcome of these collective matters or the
timing of their ultimate resolution.
On April 13, 2015, RBC Capital’s affiliate, Royal Bank
of Canada Trust Company (Bahamas) Limited (RBC Bahamas), was charged in France
with complicity in tax fraud. RBC Bahamas believes that its actions did not
violate French law and contested the charge in the French court. The trial of
this matter has concluded and a verdict was delivered on January 12, 2017,
acquitting the company and the other defendants and on June 29, 2018, the French
appellate court affirmed the acquittals. On January 6, 2021, the French Supreme
Court issued a judgment reversing the decision of the French Court of Appeal
dated June 29, 2018 and sent the case back to the French Court of Appeal for
rehearing and, therefore, the proceeding is currently awaiting a new trial with
the French Court of Appeal.
Royal Bank of Canada and other panel banks for the
setting of the U.S. dollar London interbank offered rate (“LIBOR”) have been
named as defendants in private lawsuits filed in the U.S. with respect to the
setting of U.S. dollar LIBOR including a number of class action lawsuits which
have been consolidated before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District
of New York. RBC Capital has also been named as a defendant in one of those
lawsuits. The complaints in those private lawsuits assert claims under various
U.S. laws, including U.S. antitrust laws, the U.S. Commodity Exchange Act, and
state law.
In addition to the LIBOR actions, in January 2019, a
number of financial institutions, including RBC Capital, were named in a
purported class action in New York alleging violations of the U.S. antitrust
laws and common law principles of unjust enrichment in the setting of LIBOR
after the Intercontinental Exchange took over administration of the benchmark
interest rate from the British Bankers’ Association in 2014 (the “ICE LIBOR
action”). On March 26, 2020, the defendants’ motion to dismiss the ICE LIBOR
action was granted. The plaintiffs filed a notice of appeal of that ruling to
the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on April 24, 2020 and,
thereafter, sought to substitute named plaintiffs. The Second Circuit permitted
substitution, but has not yet ruled on the merits of the appeal. In August 2020,
Royal Bank of Canada and other financial institutions were named as defendants
in a separate, individual (i.e., non-class) action filed in California alleging
that the usage and setting of LIBOR constitutes per se collusive conduct. In
November 2020 and May 2021, plaintiffs sought a preliminary injunction with
respect to the setting of ICE LIBOR; defendants opposed these motions and sought
to transfer the matter to New York. On June 3, 2021, the court denied
defendants’ motion to transfer. Defendants then moved to dismiss. Plaintiffs’
motions for a preliminary injunction and defendants’ motion to dismiss remain
pending. Based on the facts currently known, it is not possible at this time to
predict the ultimate outcome of these proceedings or the timing of their
resolution.
Please see RBC Capital’s Form BD, which is available on
the FINRA BrokerCheck program, for more details.
RBC Capital will act only as clearing broker for UNL and
as such will be paid commissions for executing and clearing trades on behalf of
UNL. RBC Capital has not passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of this disclosure
document. RBC Capital will not act in any supervisory capacity with respect to
USCF or participate in the management of USCF or UNL.
RBC Capital is not affiliated with UNL or USCF.
Therefore, neither USCF nor UNL believes that there are any conflicts of
interest with RBC Capital or its trading principals arising from its acting as
UNL’s FCM.
Marex North America, LLC
On May 28, 2020, UNL entered into a Commodity Futures
Customer Agreement with RCG Division of Marex Spectron, now Marex North America,
LLC (“MNA”) to serve as an FCM for UNL. This agreement requires MNA to provide
services to UNL in connection with the purchase and sale of Futures Contracts
and Other Natural Gas-Related Investments that may be purchased or sold by or
through MNA for UNL’s account. Under this agreement, UNL pays MNA commissions
for executing and clearing trades on behalf of UNL.
MNA’s primary address is 360 Madison Avenue, 3rd Floor,
New York, NY 10017. MNA is registered in the United States with FINRA as a
broker-dealer and with the CFTC as an FCM. MNA is a member of various U.S.
futures and securities exchanges.
MNA is a large broker dealer subject to many different
complex legal and regulatory requirements. As a result, certain of MNA’s
regulators may from time to time conduct investigations, initiate enforcement
proceedings and/or enter into settlements with MNA with respect to issues raised
in various investigations. MNA complies fully with its regulators in all
investigations which may be conducted and in all settlements it may
reach.
MNA settled with the CFTC in September 2020 to pay a
monetary penalty of $250,000 for failure to meet minimum adjusted net capital
requirements. MNA improperly accounted for deductions arising out of an
agreement that it entered to guarantee a revolving line of credit for an
affiliated company when computing its net capital requirement.
MNA will act only as clearing broker for UNL and as such
will be paid commissions for executing and clearing trades on behalf of UNL. MNA
has not passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of this disclosure document. MNA
will not act in any supervisory capacity with respect to USCF or participate in
the management of USCF or UNL.
MNA is not affiliated with UNL or USCF. Therefore,
neither USCF nor UNL believes that there are any conflicts of interest with MNA
or its trading principals arising from its acting as UNL’s FCM.
E D & F Man Capital Markets Inc.
On June 5, 2020, UNL entered into a Customer Agreement E
D & F Man Capital Markets Inc. (“MCM”) to serve as an FCM for UNL. This
agreement requires MCM to provide services to UNL in connection with the
purchase and sale of Futures Contracts and Other Natural Gas-Related Investments
that may be purchased or sold by or through MCM for UNL’s account. Under this
agreement, UNL pays MCM commissions for executing and clearing trades on behalf
of UNL.
MCM’s primary address is 140 East 45th Street, 10th
Floor, New York, NY 10017. MCM is registered in the United States with FINRA as
a broker-dealer and with the CFTC as an FCM. MCM is a member of various U.S.
futures and securities exchanges.
MCM is a large broker dealer subject to many different
complex legal and regulatory requirements. As a result, certain of MCM’s
regulators may from time to time conduct investigations, initiate enforcement
proceedings and/or enter into settlements with MCM with respect to issues raised
in various investigations. MCM complies fully with its regulators in all
investigations which may be conducted and in all settlements it may reach. As of
the date hereof, MCM has no material litigation to disclose as that term is
defined under the CEA and the regulations promulgated thereunder.
MCM will act only as clearing broker for UNL and as such
will be paid commissions for executing and clearing trades on behalf of UNL. MCM
has not passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of this disclosure document. MCM
will not act in any supervisory capacity with respect to USCF or participate in
the management of USCF or UNL.
MCM is not affiliated with UNL or USCF. Therefore,
neither USCF nor UNL believes that there are any conflicts of interest with MCM
or its trading principals arising from its acting as UNL’s FCM.
Macquarie Futures USA LLC
On December 3, 2020, UNL engaged Macquarie Futures USA
LLC (“MFUSA”) to serve as an additional FCM for UNL. The Customer Agreement
between UNL and MFUSA requires MFUSA to provide services to UNL in connection
with the purchase and sale of Futures Contracts and Other Natural Gas-Related
Investments that may be purchased or sold by or through MFUSA for UNL’s account.
Under this agreement, UNL pays MFUSA commissions for executing and clearing
trades on behalf of UNL.
MFUSA’s primary address is 125 West 55th
Street, New York, NY 10019. MFUSA is registered in the United States with the
CFTC as an FCM providing futures execution and clearing services covering
futures exchanges globally. MFUSA is a member of various U.S. futures and
securities exchanges.
MFUSA is a large broker dealer subject to many different
complex legal and regulatory requirements. As a result, certain of MFUSA’s
regulators may from time to time conduct investigations, initiate enforcement
proceedings and/or enter into settlements with MFUSA with respect to issues
raised in various investigations. MFUSA complies fully with its regulators in
all investigations which may be conducted and in all settlements it may reach.
As of the date hereof, MFUSA has no material litigation to disclose as that term
is defined under the CEA and the regulations promulgated thereunder.
MFUSA will act only as clearing broker for UNL and as
such will be paid commissions for executing and clearing trades on behalf of
UNL. MFUSA has not passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of this disclosure
document. MFUSA will not act in any supervisory capacity with respect to USCF or
participate in the management of USCF or UNL.
MFUSA is not affiliated with UNL or USCF. Therefore,
neither USCF nor UNL believes that there are any conflicts of interest with
MFUSA or its trading principals arising from its acting as UNL’s FCM.
Commodity Trading Advisor
Currently, USCF does not employ commodity trading
advisors for the trading of UNL contracts. USCF currently does, however, employ
SummerHaven Investment Management, LLC as a commodity trading advisor for USCF’s
own account and for USCI and CPER. If, in the future, USCF employs commodity
trading advisors for UNL, it will choose each advisor based on arm’s-length
negotiations and will consider the advisor’s experience, fees and
reputation.
UNL’s Fees and Expenses
This table describes the fees and expenses that you
may pay if you buy and hold shares of UNL. You should note that you may pay
brokerage commissions on purchases and sales of UNL’s shares, which are not
reflected in the table. Authorized Participants will pay applicable creation and
redemption fees. See “Creation and Redemption of Shares—Creation and
Redemption Transaction Fee,” page 72.
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses
that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your
investment)
Management Fees |
|
|
0.75 |
%(1) |
Other Expenses |
|
|
0.61 |
%(2) |
Expense Waiver |
|
|
(0.46 |
)%(3) |
Net Expenses Excluding Management Fees |
|
|
0.15 |
% |
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After
Fee Waiver |
|
|
0.90 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
(1) |
UNL is contractually obligated to pay USCF a
management fee based on average daily total net assets and paid monthly of
0.75% per annum on its average daily net
assets. |
|
(2) |
Based on amounts for the year ended December 31,
2022. The individual expense amounts in dollar terms are shown in the
table below. As used in this table, (i) Professional Expenses include
expenses for legal, audit, tax, accounting and printing; and (ii)
Independent Director and Officer Expenses include amounts paid to
independent directors and for officers’ liability
insurance. |
|
(3) |
USCF has voluntarily agreed to pay certain
expenses typically borne by UNL. USCF has no obligation to continue such
payments. If this agreement were terminated, the Annual Fund Operating
Expenses could increase, which would negatively impact your total return
from an investment in UNL. |
The table below shows the total dollar amount of fees
and expenses paid by UNL for the year ended December 31, 2022:
Management Fees(2) |
|
$ |
266,267 |
|
Brokerage
Commissions |
|
$ |
8,670 |
|
Professional
Expenses |
|
$ |
188,633 |
|
Licensing
Fees |
|
$ |
5,325 |
|
Independent
Director and Officer Expenses |
|
$ |
14,201 |
|
Registration
Fees |
|
$ |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
These amounts are based on UNL’s average total net
assets, which are the sum of daily total net assets of UNL divided by the number
of calendar days in the year. For the year ended December 31, 2022, UNL’s
average daily total net assets were $35,502,209.
Breakeven
Analysis
The breakeven analysis below indicates the approximate
dollar returns and percentage required for the redemption value of a
hypothetical initial investment in a single share to equal the amount invested
twelve months after the investment was made. For purposes of this breakeven
analysis, we have assumed an initial selling price of $13.22 per share which
equals the NAV per share on February 28, 2023. In order for a hypothetical
investment in shares to break even over the next 12 months, assuming a selling
price of $13.22, the investment would have to generate a 0.00% return or $0.00.
The amount for this breakeven analysis takes into account a fee waiver, which
USCF may terminate at any time in its discretion.
This breakeven analysis refers to the redemption of
baskets by Authorized Participants and is not related to any gains an individual
investor would have to achieve in order to break even. The breakeven analysis is
an approximation only. The breakeven analysis is an approximation only. As used
in this table, (i) Professional Expenses include expenses for legal, audit, tax
accounting and printing; and (ii) Independent Director and Officer Expenses
include amounts paid to independent directors and for officers’ liability
insurance. You should note that you may pay brokerage commissions on purchases
and sales of the UNL’s shares, which are not reflected in the table; however,
UNL’s brokerage fees and commissions are included (those costs associated with
rolling futures contracts).
Assumed initial selling price per
share(1) |
|
$ |
13.22 |
|
Management Fee (0.750%)(2) |
|
$ |
0.099 |
|
Creation Basket Fee
(0.01%)(3) |
|
$ |
(0.001 |
) |
Estimated Brokerage Fee
0.02%(4) |
|
$ |
0.003 |
|
Interest Income (1.593)%(5) |
|
$ |
(0.211 |
) |
Registration
Fee(6) |
|
$ |
0.00 |
|
New York Mercantile Exchange Licensing Fee
0.015%(7) |
|
$ |
0.002 |
|
Independent Director and Officer Expenses
(0.04%)(8) |
|
$ |
0.005 |
|
Professional Expenses
0.531%(9) |
|
$ |
0.07 |
|
Amount
of trading income (loss) required for the redemption value at the end of
one year to equal the initial selling price of the share |
|
$ |
0.00 |
|
Percentage of
initial selling price per share |
|
|
0.00 |
% |
Expense Waiver (0.46)%(10) |
|
$ |
(0.061 |
) |
Amount
of trading income (loss) required for the redemption value at the end of
one year to equal the initial selling price of the unit (inclusive of
credit) |
|
$ |
0.00 |
|
Percentage
of initial selling price per unit (inclusive of credit) |
|
|
0.00 |
% |
|
(1) |
In order to show how a hypothetical investment in
shares would break even over the next 12 months, this breakeven analysis
uses an assumed initial selling price of $13.22 per share, which is based
on the NAV per share for UNL at the close of trading on February 28, 2023.
Investors should note that, because UNL’s NAV changes on a daily basis,
the breakeven amount on any given day could be higher or lower than the
amount reflected here. |
|
(2) |
UNL is contractually obligated to pay USCF a
management fee of 0.75% per annum on its average total net assets.
“Average total net assets” are the sum of the daily total net assets of
UNL (the NAV of UNL calculated as set forth in “Calculating Per Share NAV”
beginning on page 68) divided by the number of calendar days in the year.
On days when markets are closed, the daily total net assets are the daily
total net assets from the last day when the market was open. See page 6
for a discussion of net assets of UNL. |
|
(3) |
Authorized Participants are required to pay a
Creation Basket fee of $350 for each order they place to create one or
more baskets. This breakeven analysis assumes a hypothetical investment in
a single share, which would equal the $350 Creation Basket fee divided by
the total number of outstanding shares plus the 50,000 shares created by
the Creation Basket. This calculation will always result in a value that
is below 0.010%, but for purposes of this breakeven analysis we assume a
creation basket fee of 0.010%. |
|
(4) |
This amount is based on the actual brokerage fees
for UNL calculated on an annualized basis and includes an estimated
half-turn commission of $3.50. A half-turn commission is the commissions
liability related to FCM transaction fees for futures contracts on a
half-turn basis. |
|
(5) |
Interest earned on UNL’s assets, including its
Treasuries holdings. UNL earns interest on its investments and funds it
deposits with its futures commission merchants and the custodian, U.S.
Treasuries, and money market funds at an estimated interest rate of
1.593%. This is a rate based on the rate of interest earned on UNL’s
Treasury holdings as of December 31, 2022. The actual rates may
vary. |
|
(6) |
UNL pays fees to the SEC and FINRA to register its
shares for sale. This amount is based on actual registration fees for UNL
calculated on an annualized basis. This fee may vary in the
future. |
|
(7) |
The NYMEX Licensing Fee is 0.015% of the aggregate
net assets of UNL and the Related Public Funds, except for BNO, USCI, and
CPER. For more information, see “UNL’s Fees and
Expenses.” |
|
(8) |
Independent Director and Officer Expenses include
amounts paid to independent directors and for officers’ liability
insurance. The foregoing assumes that the average total net assets of UNL
as of December 31, 2022, which were $35,502,209, were aggregated with the
average total net assets of the Related Public Funds as of December 31,
2022, that the aggregate fees paid to the independent directors for the
year ended December 31, 2022 was $1,258,000 and that the allocable portion
of the fees borne by UNL based on the proportion of its average total net
assets when aggregated with the average total net assets of the Related
Public Funds equals $14,201. |
|
(9) |
Professional Expenses include expenses for legal,
audit, tax accounting and printing. UNL’s costs attributable to
Professional Expenses for the year ended December 31, 2022 is $188,633.
The number in the break-even table assumes UNL had $35,502,209 in average
daily total net assets during the calendar year ended December 31,
2022. |
|
(10) |
USCF has voluntarily agreed to pay certain
expenses typically borne by UNL. |
Conflicts of Interest
There are present and potential future conflicts of
interest in UNL’s structure and operation you should consider before you
purchase shares. USCF will use this notice of conflicts as a defense against any
claim or other proceeding made. If USCF is not able to resolve these conflicts
of interest adequately, it may impact UNL and the Related Public Funds’ ability
to achieve their investment objectives.
UNL and USCF may have inherent conflicts to the extent
USCF attempts to maintain UNL’s asset size in order to preserve its fee income
and this may not always be consistent with UNL’s objective of having the value
of its share’s NAV track changes in the average price of the Benchmark Futures
Contracts.
USCF’s officers, directors and employees, do not devote
their time exclusively to UNL. These persons are directors, officers or
employees of other entities which may compete with UNL for their services. They
could have a conflict between their responsibilities to UNL and to those other
entities.
USCF has adopted policies that prohibit their
principals, officers, directors and employees from trading futures and related
contracts in which either UNL or any of the Related Public Funds invests. These
policies are intended to prevent conflicts of interest occurring where USCF, or
their principals, officers, directors or employees could give preferential
treatment to their own accounts or trade their own accounts ahead of or against
UNL or any of the Related Public Funds.
USCF has sole current authority to manage the
investments and operations of UNL, and this may allow it to act in a way that
furthers its own interests which may create a conflict with your best interests.
Limited partners have limited voting control, which will limit their ability to
influence matters such as amendment of the LP Agreement, change in UNL’s basic
investment policy, dissolution of UNL, or the sale or distribution of UNL’s
assets.
USCF serves as the general partner or sponsor to each of
UNL and the Related Public Funds. USCF may have a conflict to the extent that
its trading decisions for UNL may be influenced by the effect they would have on
the other funds it manages. By way of example, if, as a result of reaching
position limits imposed by the NYMEX, UNL purchased natural gas futures
contracts, this decision could impact UNL’s ability to purchase additional
natural gas futures contracts if the number of contracts held by funds managed
by USCF reached the maximum allowed by the NYMEX. Similar situations could
adversely affect the ability of any fund to track its benchmark futures
contract.
In addition, USCF is required to indemnify the officers
and directors of UNL and the Related Public Funds, if the need for
indemnification arises. This potential indemnification will cause USCF’s assets
to decrease. If USCF’s other sources of income are not sufficient to compensate
for the indemnification, then USCF may terminate and you could lose your
investment.
Whenever a conflict of interest exists or arises between
USCF on the one hand, and the partnership or any limited partner, on the other
hand, any resolution or course of action by USCF in respect of such conflict of
interest shall be permitted and deemed approved by all partners and shall not
constitute a breach of the LP Agreement or of any agreement contemplated hereby
or of a duty stated or implied by law or equity, if the resolution or course of
action is, or by operation of the LP Agreement is deemed to be, fair and
reasonable to the partnership. If a dispute arises, under the LP Agreement it
will be resolved either through negotiations with USCF or by courts located in
the State of Delaware.
Under the LP Agreement, any resolution is deemed to be
fair and reasonable to the partnership if the resolution is:
|
· |
approved by the audit committee, although no party
is obligated to seek approval and USCF may adopt a resolution or course of
action that has not received approval; |
|
· |
on terms no less favorable to the limited partners
than those generally being provided to or available from unrelated third
parties; or |
|
· |
fair to the limited partners, taking into account
the totality of the relationships of the parties involved including other
transactions that may be particularly favorable or advantageous to the
limited partners. |
The previous risk factors and conflicts of interest are
complete as of the date of this prospectus; however, additional risks and
conflicts may occur which are not presently foreseen by USCF. You may not
construe this prospectus as legal or tax advice. Before making an investment in
UNL, you should read this entire prospectus, including the LP Agreement, which
can be found on UNL’s website at www.uscfinvestments.com. You should also
consult with your personal legal, tax, and other professional
advisors.
Interests of Named Experts and Counsel
USCF has employed Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP to
prepare this prospectus. Neither the law firm nor any other expert hired by UNL
to give advice on the preparation of this offering document has been hired on a
contingent fee basis. None of them have any present or future expectation of
interest in USCF, Marketing Agent, Authorized Participants, Custodian,
Administrator or other service providers to UNL.
Ownership or Beneficial
Interest in UNL
As of February 28, 2023, neither USCF nor any of the
directors or executive officers of USCF own any shares of UNL.
USCF’s Responsibilities and
Remedies
Pursuant to the DRULPA (“Delaware Revised Uniform
Limited Partnership Act”), parties may contractually modify or even eliminate
fiduciary duties in a limited partnership agreement to the limited partnership
itself, or to another partner or person otherwise bound by the limited
partnership agreement. Parties may not, however, eliminate the implied covenant
of good faith and fair dealing. Where parties unambiguously provide for
fiduciary duties in a limited partnership agreement, those expressed duties
become the standard that courts will use to determine whether such duties were
breached. For this reason, the LP Agreement does not explicitly provide for any
fiduciary duties so that common law fiduciary duty principles will apply to
measure USCF’s conduct.
A prospective investor should be aware that USCF has a
responsibility to limited partners of UNL to exercise good faith and fairness in
all dealings. The fiduciary responsibility of USCF to limited partners is a
developing and changing area of the law and limited partners who have questions
concerning the duties of USCF should consult with their counsel. In the event
that a limited partner of UNL believes that USCF has violated its fiduciary duty
to the limited partners, he may seek legal relief individually or on behalf of
UNL under applicable laws, including under DRULPA and under commodities laws, to
recover damages from or require an accounting by USCF. Limited partners may also
have the right, subject to applicable procedural and jurisdictional
requirements, to bring class actions in federal court to enforce their rights
under the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations promulgated
thereunder by the SEC. Limited partners who have suffered losses in connection
with the purchase or sale of the shares may be able to recover such losses from
USCF where the losses result from a violation by USCF of the federal securities
laws. State securities laws may also provide certain remedies to limited
partners.
Limited partners should be aware that performance by
USCF of its fiduciary duty is measured by the terms of the LP Agreement as well
as applicable law. Limited partners are afforded certain rights to institute
reparations proceedings under the CEA for violations of the CEA or of any rule,
regulation or order of the CFTC by USCF.
Liability and
Indemnification
Under the LP Agreement, neither a general partner nor
any employee or other agent of UNL nor any officer, director, stockholder,
partner, employee or agent of a general partner (a “Protected Person”) shall be
liable to any partner or UNL for any mistake of judgment or for any action or
inaction taken, nor for any losses due to any mistake of judgment or to any
action or inaction or to the negligence, dishonesty or bad faith of any officer,
director, stockholder, partner, employee, agent of UNL or any officer, director,
stockholder, partner, employee or agent of such general partner, provided that
such officer, director, stockholder, partner, employee, or agent of the partner
or officer, director, stockholder, partner, employee or agent of such general
partner was selected, engaged or retained by such general partner with
reasonable care, except with respect to any matter as to which such general
partner shall have been finally adjudicated in any action, suit or other
proceeding not to have acted in good faith in the reasonable belief that such
Protected Person’s action was in the best interests of UNL and except that no
Protected Person shall be relieved of any liability to which such Protected
Person would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, gross
negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of the
Protected Person’s office.
UNL shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, but
only out of UNL assets, indemnify and hold harmless a general partner and each
officer, director, stockholder, partner, employee or agent thereof (including
persons who serve at UNL’s request as directors, officers or trustees of another
organization in which UNL has an interest as a shareholder, creditor or
otherwise) and their respective Legal Representatives and successors
(hereinafter referred to as a “Covered Person”) against all liabilities and
expenses, including but not limited to amounts paid in satisfaction of
judgments, in compromise or as fines and penalties, and counsel fees reasonably
incurred by any Covered Person in connection with the defense or disposition of
any action, suit or other proceedings, whether civil or criminal, before any
court or administrative or legislative body, in which such Covered Person may be
or may have been involved as a party or otherwise or with which such person may
be or may have been threatened, while in office or thereafter, by reason of an
alleged act or omission as a general partner or director or officer thereof, or
by reason of its being or having been such a general partner, director or
officer, except with respect to any matter as to which such Covered Person shall
have been finally adjudicated in any such action, suit or other proceeding not
to have acted in good faith in the reasonable belief that such Covered Person’s
action was in the best interest of UNL, and except that no Covered Person shall
be indemnified against any liability to UNL or limited partners to which such
Covered Person would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad
faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the
conduct of such Covered Person’s office. Expenses, including counsel fees so
incurred by any such Covered Person, may be paid from time to time by UNL in
advance of the final disposition of any such action, suit or proceeding on the
condition that the amounts so paid shall be repaid to UNL if it is ultimately
determined that the indemnification of such expenses is not authorized
hereunder.
Meetings
Meetings of limited partners may be called by USCF and
may be called by it upon the written request of limited partners holding at
least 20% of the outstanding shares of UNL. USCF shall deposit written notice to
all limited partners of the meeting and the purpose of the meeting, which shall
be held on a date not less than 30 nor more than 60 days after the date of
mailing of such notice, at a reasonable time and place. USCF may also call a
meeting upon not less than 20 and not more than 60 days prior notice.
Each limited partner appoints USCF and each of its
authorized officers as its attorney-in-fact with full power and authority in its
name, place and stead to execute, swear to, acknowledge, deliver, file and
record all ballots, consents, approval waivers, certificates and other
instruments necessary or appropriate, in the sole discretion of USCF, to make,
evidence, give, confirm or ratify any vote, consent, approval, agreement or
other action that is made or given by the partner of UNL. However, when the LP
Agreement establishes a percentage of the limited partners required to take any
action, USCF may exercise such power of attorney made only after the necessary
vote, consent or approval of the limited partners.
Termination
Events
UNL will dissolve at any time upon the happening of any
of the following events:
|
· |
The bankruptcy, dissolution, withdrawal, or
removal of USCF, unless a majority in interest of the limited partners
within 90 days after such event elects to continue UNL and appoints a
successor general partner; or |
|
· |
The affirmative vote of a majority in interest of
the limited partners, provided that prior to or concurrently with such
vote, there shall have been established procedures for the assumption of
UNL’s obligations arising under any agreement to which UNL is a party and
which is still in force immediately prior to such vote regarding
termination, and there shall have been an irrevocable appointment of an
agent who shall be empowered to give and receive notices, reports and
payments under such agreements, and hold and exercise such other powers as
are necessary to permit all other parties to such agreements to deal with
such agent as if the agent were the sole owner of UNL’s interest, which
procedures are agreed to in writing by each of the other parties to such
agreements. |
Provisions of
Law
According to applicable law, indemnification of USCF is
payable only if USCF determined, in good faith, that the act, omission or
conduct that gave rise to the claim for indemnification was in the best interest
of UNL and the act, omission or activity that was the basis for such loss,
liability, damage, cost or expense was not the result of negligence or
misconduct and such liability or loss was not the result of negligence or
misconduct by USCF, and such indemnification or agreement to hold harmless is
recoverable only out of the assets of UNL and not from the members,
individually.
Provisions of Federal and State Securities Laws
This offering is made pursuant to federal and applicable
state securities laws. The SEC and state securities agencies take the position
that indemnification of USCF that arises out of an alleged violation of such
laws is prohibited unless certain conditions are met.
Those conditions require that no indemnification of USCF
or any underwriter for UNL may be made in respect of any losses, liabilities or
expenses arising from or out of an alleged violation of federal or state
securities laws unless: (i) there has been a successful adjudication on the
merits of each count involving alleged securities law violations as to the party
seeking indemnification and the court approves the indemnification; (ii) such
claim has been dismissed with prejudice on the merits by a court of competent
jurisdiction as to the party seeking indemnification; or (iii) a court of
competent jurisdiction approves a settlement of the claims against the party
seeking indemnification and finds that indemnification of the settlement and
related costs should be made, provided that, before seeking such approval, USCF
or other indemnitee must apprise the court of the position held by regulatory
agencies against such indemnification. These agencies are the SEC and the
securities administrator of the State or States in which the plaintiffs claim
they were offered or sold membership interests.
Provisions of the 1933 Act and NASAA Guidelines
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under
the 1933 Act may be permitted to USCF or its directors, officers, or persons
controlling UNL, UNL has been informed that the SEC and the various state
administrators believe that such indemnification is against public policy as
expressed in the 1933 Act and the North American Securities Administrators
Association, Inc. (“NASAA”) commodity pool guidelines and is therefore
unenforceable.
Books and
Records
UNL keeps its books of record and account at its office
located at 1850 Mt. Diablo Boulevard, Suite 640, Walnut Creek, California 94596
or at the offices of the Administrator at its office located at 240 Greenwich
Street, New York, New York, 10286, or such office, including of an
administrative agent, as it may subsequently designate upon notice. These books
and records are open to inspection by any person who establishes to UNL’s
satisfaction that such person is a limited partner upon reasonable advance
notice at all reasonable times during the usual business hours of
UNL.
UNL keeps a copy of the LP Agreement on file in its
office which is available for inspection on reasonable advance notice at all
reasonable times during its usual business hours by any limited
partner.
Statements, Filings, and
Reports
At the end of each fiscal year, UNL will furnish to
banks, broker dealers and trust companies (“DTC Participants”) for distribution
to each person who is a shareholder at the end of the fiscal year an annual
report containing UNL’s audited financial statements and other information about
UNL. USCF is responsible for the registration and qualification of the shares
under the federal securities laws and federal commodities laws and any other
securities and blue-sky laws of the United States or any other jurisdiction as
USCF may select. USCF is responsible for preparing all reports required by the
SEC, CFTC and the NYSE Arca, but has entered into an agreement with the
Administrator to prepare these reports as required by the SEC, NYSE Arca and the
CFTC on UNL’s behalf.
The financial statements of UNL will be audited, as
required by law and as may be directed by USCF, by an independent registered
public accounting firm designated from time to time by USCF. The accountants
report will be furnished by UNL to shareholders upon request. UNL will make such
elections, file such tax returns, and prepare, disseminate and file such tax
reports, as it is advised by its counsel or accountants are from time to time
required by any applicable statute, rule or regulation.
Reports to Limited Partners
In addition to periodic reports filed with the SEC,
including annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and
current reports on Form 8-K, all of which can be accessed on the SEC’s website
at www.sec.gov or on UNL’s website at www.uscfinvestments.com,
UNL, pursuant to the LP Agreement, will provide the following reports to limited
partners in the manner prescribed below:
Annual Reports. Within 90 days after the end of
each fiscal year, USCF shall cause to be delivered to each limited partner who
was a limited partner at any time during the fiscal year, an annual report
containing the following:
|
(i) |
financial statements of the partnership,
including, without limitation, a balance sheet as of the end of the
partnership’s fiscal year and statements of income, partners’ equity and
changes in financial position, for such fiscal year, which shall be
prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in
the United States of America consistently applied and shall be audited by
a firm of independent certified public accountants registered with the
Public Company Accounting Oversight Board; |
|
(ii) |
a general description of the activities of the
partnership during the period covered by the report;
and |
|
(iii) |
a report of any material transactions between the
partnership and USCF or any of its affiliates, including fees or
compensation paid by the partnership and the services performed by USCF or
any such affiliate for such fees or
compensation. |
Quarterly Reports. Within 45 days after the end
of each quarter of each fiscal year, USCF shall cause to be delivered to each
limited partner who was a limited partner at any time during the quarter then
ended, a quarterly report containing a balance sheet and statement of income for
the period covered by the report, each of which may be unaudited but shall be
certified by USCF as fairly presenting the financial position and results of
operations of the partnership during the period covered by the report. The
report shall also contain a description of any material event regarding the
business of the partnership during the period covered by the report.
Monthly Reports. Within 30 days after the end of
each month, USCF shall cause to be posted on its website and upon request, to be
delivered to each limited partner who was a limited partner at any time during
the month then ended, a monthly report containing an account statement, which
will include a statement of income (loss) and a statement of changes in NAV, for
the prescribed period. In addition, the account statement will disclose any
material business dealings between the partnership, USCF, commodity trading
advisor (if any), FCMs, or the principals thereof that previously have not been
disclosed in this prospectus or any amendment thereto, other account statements
or annual reports.
UNL will provide information to its shareholders to the
extent required by applicable SEC, CFTC, and NYSE Arca requirements. An issuer,
such as UNL, of exchange-traded securities may not always readily know the
identities of the investors who own those securities. UNL will post the same
information that would otherwise be provided in UNL’s reports to limited
partners described above including its monthly account statements, which will
include, without limitation, UNL’s NAV, on UNL’s website
www.uscfinvestments.com.
Fiscal Year
The fiscal year of UNL is the calendar year. USCF may
select an alternate fiscal year.
Governing Law; Consent to
Delaware Jurisdiction
The rights of USCF, UNL, DTC (as registered owner of
UNL’s global certificate for shares) and the shareholders, are governed by the
laws of the State of Delaware. USCF, UNL and DTC and, by accepting shares, each
DTC Participant and each shareholder, consent to the jurisdiction of the courts
of the State of Delaware and any federal courts located in Delaware. Such
consent is not required for any person to assert a claim of Delaware
jurisdiction over USCF or UNL.
Legal Matters
Optimum Strategies Action
On April 6, 2022, USO and USCF were named as defendants
in an action filed by Optimum Strategies Fund I, LP, a purported investor in
call option contracts on USO (the “Optimum Strategies Action”). The action is
pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut at Civil
Action No. 3:22-cv-00511.
The Optimum Strategies Action asserts claims under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “1934 Act”), Rule 10b-5
thereunder, and the Connecticut Uniform Securities Act (“CUSA”). It purports to
challenge statements in registration statements that became effective in
February 2020, March 2020, and on April 20, 2020, as well as public statements
between February 2020 and May 2020, in connection with certain extraordinary
market conditions and the attendant risks that caused the demand for oil to fall
precipitously, including the COVID-19 global pandemic and the Saudi
Arabia-Russia oil price war. The complaint seeks damages, interest, costs,
attorney’s fees, and equitable relief.
USCF and USO intend to vigorously contest such claims,
and have moved for their dismissal. On March 15, 2023, the Court issued a
decision granting defendants’ motion to dismiss, with prejudice as to the
Exchange Act claims and without prejudice as to the CUSA claim.
Settlement of SEC and CFTC
Investigations
On November 8, 2021, USCF and USO announced a resolution
with each of the SEC and the CFTC relating to matters set forth in certain Wells
Notices issued by the staffs of each of the SEC and CFTC as more fully described
below. On August 17, 2020, USCF, USO, and John Love received a “Wells Notice”
from the staff of the SEC (the “SEC Wells Notice”). The SEC Wells Notice stated
that the SEC staff made a preliminary determination to recommend that the SEC
file an enforcement action against USCF, USO, and Mr. Love alleging violations
of Sections 17(a)(1) and 17(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the
“1933 Act”), and Section 10(b) of the 1934 Act, and Rule 10b-5
thereunder.
Subsequently, on August 19, 2020, USCF, USO, and Mr.
Love received a Wells Notice from the staff of the CFTC (the “CFTC Wells
Notice”). The CFTC Wells Notice stated that the CFTC staff made a preliminary
determination to recommend that the CFTC file an enforcement action against
USCF, USO, and Mr. Love alleging violations of Sections 4o(1)(A) and (B) and
6(c)(1) of the Commodity Exchange Act of 1936, as amended (the “CEA”), 7 U.S.C.
§§ 6o(1)(A) and (B) and 9(1) (2018), and CFTC Regulations 4.26, 4.41, and
180.1(a), 17 C.F.R. §§ 4.26, 4.41, 180.1(a) (2019).
On November 8, 2021, acting pursuant to an offer of
settlement submitted by USCF and USO, the SEC issued an order instituting
cease-and-desist proceedings, making findings, and imposing a cease-and-desist
order pursuant to Section 8A of the 1933 Act, directing USCF and USO to cease
and desist from committing or causing any violations of Section 17(a)(3) of the
1933 Act, 15 U.S.C. § 77q(a)(3) (the “SEC Order”). In the SEC Order, the SEC
made findings that, from April 24, 2020 to May 21, 2020, USCF and USO violated
Section 17(a)(3) of 1933 Act, which provides that it is “unlawful for any person
in the offer or sale of any securities to engage in any transaction, practice,
or course of business which operates or would operate as a fraud or deceit upon
the purchaser.” USCF and USO consented to entry of the SEC Order without
admitting or denying the findings contained therein, except as to
jurisdiction.
Separately, on November 8, 2021, acting pursuant to an
offer of settlement submitted by USCF, the CFTC issued an order instituting
cease-and-desist proceedings, making findings, and imposing a cease-and-desist
order pursuant to Section 6(c) and (d) of the CEA, directing USCF to cease and
desist from committing or causing any violations of Section 4o(1)(B) of the CEA,
7 U.S.C. § 6o(1) (B), and CFTC Regulation 4.41(a)(2), 17 C.F.R. § 4.41(a)(2)
(the “CFTC Order”). In the CFTC Order, the CFTC made findings that, from on or
about April 22, 2020 to June 12, 2020, USCF violated Section 4o(1)(B) of the CEA
and CFTC Regulation 4.41(a)(2), which make it unlawful for any commodity pool
operator (“CPO”) to engage in “any transaction, practice, or course of business
which operates as a fraud or deceit upon any client or participant or
prospective client or participant” and prohibit a CPO from advertising in a
manner which “operates as a fraud or deceit upon any client or participant or
prospective client or participant,” respectively. USCF consented to entry of the
CFTC Order without admitting or denying the findings contained therein, except
as to jurisdiction.
Pursuant to the SEC Order and the CFTC Order, in
addition to the command to cease and desist from committing or causing any
violations of Section 17(a)(3) of the 1933 Act, Section 4o(1)(B) of the CEA, and
CFTC Regulation 4.14(a)(2), civil monetary penalties totaling two million five
hundred thousand dollars ($2,500,000) in the aggregate were required to be paid
to the SEC and CFTC, of which one million two hundred fifty thousand dollars
($1,250,000) was paid by USCF to each of the SEC and the CFTC, respectively,
pursuant to the offsets permitted under the orders.
In re: United States Oil Fund, LP Securities
Litigation
On June 19, 2020, USCF, USO, John P. Love, and Stuart P.
Crumbaugh were named as defendants in a putative class action filed by purported
shareholder Robert Lucas (the “Lucas Class Action”). The Court thereafter
consolidated the Lucas Class Action with two related putative class actions
filed on July 31, 2020 and August 13, 2020, and appointed a lead plaintiff. The
consolidated class action is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern
District of New York under the caption In re: United States Oil Fund, LP
Securities Litigation, Civil Action No. 1:20-cv-04740.
On November 30, 2020, the lead plaintiff filed an
amended complaint (the “Amended Lucas Class Complaint”). The Amended Lucas Class
Complaint asserts claims under the 1933 Act, the 1934 Act, and Rule 10b-5. The
Amended Lucas Class Complaint challenges statements in registration statements
that became effective on February 25, 2020 and March 23, 2020 as well as
subsequent public statements through April 2020 concerning certain extraordinary
market conditions and the attendant risks that caused the demand for oil to fall
precipitously, including the COVID-19 global pandemic and the Saudi
Arabia-Russia oil price war. The Amended Lucas Class Complaint purports to have
been brought by an investor in USO on behalf of a class of similarly-situated
shareholders who purchased USO securities between February 25, 2020 and April
28, 2020 and pursuant to the challenged registration statements. The Amended
Lucas Class Complaint seeks to certify a class and to award the class
compensatory damages at an amount to be determined at trial as well as costs and
attorney’s fees. The Amended Lucas Class Complaint named as defendants USCF,
USO, John P. Love, Stuart P. Crumbaugh, Nicholas D. Gerber, Andrew F Ngim,
Robert L. Nguyen, Peter M. Robinson, Gordon L. Ellis, and Malcolm R. Fobes III,
as well as the marketing agent, ALPS Distributors, Inc., and the Authorized
Participants: ABN Amro, BNP Paribas Securities Corporation, Citadel Securities
LLC, Citigroup Global Markets, Inc., Credit Suisse Securities USA LLC, Deutsche
Bank Securities Inc., Goldman Sachs & Company, J.P. Morgan Securities Inc.,
Merrill Lynch Professional Clearing Corporation, Morgan Stanley & Company
Inc., Nomura Securities International Inc., RBC Capital Markets LLC, SG Americas
Securities LLC, UBS Securities LLC, and Virtu Financial BD LLC.
The lead plaintiff has filed a notice of voluntary
dismissal of its claims against BNP Paribas Securities Corporation, Citadel
Securities LLC, Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Credit Suisse Securities USA LLC,
Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Morgan Stanley & Company, Inc., Nomura
Securities International, Inc., RBC Capital Markets, LLC, SG Americas Securities
LLC, and UBS Securities LLC.
USCF, USO, and the individual defendants in In re:
United States Oil Fund, LP Securities Litigation intend to vigorously
contest such claims and have moved for their dismissal.
Wang Class Action
On July 10, 2020, purported shareholder Momo Wang filed
a putative class action complaint, individually and on behalf of others
similarly situated, against defendants USO, USCF, John P. Love, Stuart P.
Crumbaugh, Nicholas D. Gerber, Andrew F. Ngim, Robert L. Nguyen, Peter M.
Robinson, Gordon L. Ellis, Malcolm R. Fobes, III, ABN Amro, BNP Paribas
Securities Corp., Citadel Securities LLC, Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Credit
Suisse Securities USA LLC, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Goldman Sachs &
Company, JP Morgan Securities Inc., Merrill Lynch Professional Clearing Corp.,
Morgan Stanley & Company Inc., Nomura Securities International Inc., RBC
Capital Markets LLC, SG Americas Securities LLC, UBS Securities LLC, and Virtu
Financial BD LLC, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of
California as Civil Action No. 3:20-cv-4596 (the “Wang Class
Action”).
The Wang Class Action asserted federal securities claims
under the 1933 Act, challenging disclosures in a March 19, 2020 registration
statement. It alleged that the defendants failed to disclose to investors in USO
certain extraordinary market conditions and the attendant risks that caused the
demand for oil to fall precipitously, including the COVID-19 global pandemic and
the Saudi Arabia-Russia oil price war. The Wang Class Action was voluntarily
dismissed on August 4, 2020.
Mehan Action
On August 10, 2020, purported shareholder Darshan Mehan
filed a derivative action on behalf of nominal defendant USO, against defendants
USCF, John P. Love, Stuart P. Crumbaugh, Nicholas D. Gerber, Andrew F Ngim,
Robert L. Nguyen, Peter M. Robinson, Gordon L. Ellis, and Malcolm R. Fobes, III
(the “Mehan Action”). The action is pending in the Superior Court of the State
of California for the County of Alameda as Case No. RG20070732.
The Mehan Action alleges that the defendants breached
their fiduciary duties to USO and failed to act in good faith in connection with
a March 19, 2020 registration statement and offering and disclosures regarding
certain extraordinary market conditions that caused demand for oil to fall
precipitously, including the COVID-19 global pandemic and the Saudi
Arabia-Russia oil price war. The complaint seeks, on behalf of USO, compensatory
damages, restitution, equitable relief, attorney’s fees, and costs. All
proceedings in the Mehan Action are stayed pending disposition of the motion(s)
to dismiss in In re: United States Oil Fund, LP Securities
Litigation.
USCF, USO, and the other defendants intend to vigorously
contest such claims.
In re United States Oil Fund, LP Derivative
Litigation
On August 27, 2020, purported shareholders Michael
Cantrell and AML Pharm. Inc. DBA Golden International filed two separate
derivative actions on behalf of nominal defendant USO, against defendants USCF,
John P. Love, Stuart P. Crumbaugh, Andrew F Ngim, Gordon L. Ellis, Malcolm R.
Fobes, III, Nicholas D. Gerber, Robert L. Nguyen, and Peter M. Robinson in the
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York at Civil Action No.
1:20-cv-06974 (the “Cantrell Action”) and Civil Action No. 1:20-cv-06981 (the
“AML Action”), respectively.
The complaints in the Cantrell and AML Actions are
nearly identical. They each allege violations of Sections 10(b), 20(a) and 21D
of the 1934 Act, Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and common law claims of breach of
fiduciary duties, unjust enrichment, abuse of control, gross mismanagement, and
waste of corporate assets. These allegations stem from USO’s disclosures and
defendants’ alleged actions in light of the extraordinary market conditions in
2020 that caused demand for oil to fall precipitously, including the COVID-19
global pandemic and the Saudi Arabia-Russia oil price war. The complaints seek,
on behalf of USO, compensatory damages, restitution, equitable relief,
attorney’s fees, and costs. The plaintiffs in the Cantrell and AML Actions have
marked their actions as related to the Lucas Class Action.
The Court consolidated the Cantrell and AML Actions
under the caption In re United States Oil Fund, LP Derivative Litigation,
Civil Action No. 1:20-cv-06974 and appointed co-lead counsel. All proceedings in
In re United States Oil Fund, LP Derivative Litigation are stayed pending
disposition of the motion(s) to dismiss in In re: United States Oil Fund, LP
Securities Litigation.
USCF, USO, and the other defendants intend to vigorously
contest the claims in In re United States Oil Fund, LP Derivative
Litigation.
Legal Opinion
Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP is counsel to and advises
UNL and USCF with respect to the shares being offered hereby and has passed upon
the validity of the shares being issued hereunder. Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP
has also provided USCF with its opinion with respect to federal income tax
matters addressed herein.
Experts
Spicer Jeffries LLP, an independent registered public
accounting firm, has audited the statements of financial condition of UNL as of
December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, including the schedule of investments
as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, and the related statements of operations,
changes in partners’ capital and cash flows for the years ended December 31,
2022, 2021 and 2020, that appear in the annual report on Form 10-K that is
incorporated by reference. The financial statements of UNL in the Form 10-K were
included therein in reliance upon the report of Spicer Jeffries LLP dated
February 27, 2023, given on its authority of such firm as experts in accounting
and auditing.
Material U.S. Federal Income
Tax Considerations
The following discussion summarizes the material U.S.
federal income tax consequences of the purchase, ownership and disposition of
shares in UNL, and the U.S. federal income tax treatment of UNL, as of the date
hereof. Except where noted otherwise, it deals only with shares held by
beneficial owners as capital assets and does not deal with special situations,
such as those of dealers in securities or currencies, financial institutions,
tax-exempt entities, insurance companies, persons holding shares as a part of a
position in a “straddle” or as part of a “hedging,” “conversion” or other
integrated transaction for U.S. federal income tax purposes, traders in
securities or commodities that elect to use a mark-to-market method of
accounting, or holders of shares whose “functional currency” is not the U.S.
dollar. Furthermore, the discussion below is based upon the provisions of the
Code and U.S. Treasury Regulations, rulings and judicial decisions thereunder as
of the date hereof, and such authorities may be repealed, revoked or modified so
as to result in U.S. federal income tax consequences different from those
discussed below.
Investors considering the purchase, ownership or
disposition of shares should consult their own tax advisors concerning the U.S.
federal income tax consequences in light of their particular situations as well
as any consequences arising under the laws of any other taxing
jurisdiction.
As used herein, a “U.S. shareholder” is a beneficial
owner of a share that is for U.S. federal income tax purposes: (i) an individual
citizen or resident of the United States; (ii) a corporation (or other entity
treated as a corporation) created or organized in or under the laws of the
United States, any state thereof, or the District of Columbia; (iii) an estate
the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income taxation, regardless of
its source; or (iv) a trust (x) the administration of which is subject to the
primary supervision of a U.S. court and has one or more “United States persons”
(within the meaning of the Code) who have the authority to control all
substantial decisions of the trust, or (y) that has made a valid election under
applicable U.S. Treasury Regulations to be treated as a “United States person”
(within the meaning of the Code). A “non-U.S. shareholder” generally is a
beneficial owner of shares that is neither a U.S. shareholder nor partnership
for U.S. federal income tax purposes. If a partnership (or other entity or
arrangement treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) holds
our shares, the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a partner will generally
depend upon the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. A
partnership, or a partner of a partnership, holding our shares should consult
his, her, or its own tax advisor regarding the U.S. federal tax consequences of
investing in our shares.
USCF, on behalf of UNL, has received the opinion of
Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP, counsel to UNL, that the material U.S. federal
income tax consequences to UNL and to U.S. shareholders and non-U.S.
shareholders will be as described below. In rendering its opinion, Eversheds
Sutherland (US) LLP has relied on the facts described in this disclosure
document as well as certain factual representations made by UNL and USCF. The
opinion of Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP is not binding on the IRS, and as a
result, the IRS may not agree with the tax positions taken by UNL. If challenged
by the IRS, UNL’s tax positions might not be sustained by the courts. No ruling
has been requested from the IRS with respect to any matter affecting UNL or
prospective investors.
INVESTORS CONSIDERING THE PURCHASE OF SHARES SHOULD
CONSULT WITH THEIR OWN TAX ADVISORS REGARDING THE APPLICATION OF U.S. FEDERAL
INCOME TAX LAWS TO THEIR PARTICULAR SITUATIONS AND THE CONSEQUENCES OF U.S.
FEDERAL ESTATE OR GIFT TAX LAWS, STATE, LOCAL AND FOREIGN LAWS, AND TAX
TREATIES.
U.S. Federal Income Tax Status of UNL
UNL is organized and operated as a limited partnership
in accordance with the provisions of the LP Agreement and applicable state law.
Under the Code, an entity or arrangement treated as a partnership that is deemed
to be a “publicly traded partnership” is generally taxable as a corporation for
U.S. federal income tax purposes. The Code provides an exception to this general
rule for a publicly traded partnership whose gross income for each taxable year
of its existence consists of at least 90% “qualifying income” (the “qualifying
income exception”). For this purpose, section 7704 defines “qualifying income”
as including, in pertinent part, interest (other than from a financial
business), dividends and gains from the sale or disposition of capital assets
held for the production of interest or dividends. In addition, in the case of a
partnership a principal activity of which is the buying and selling of
commodities (other than as inventory) or of futures, forwards and options with
respect to commodities, “qualifying income” includes income and gain from such
commodities and futures, forwards and options with respect to commodities. UNL
and USCF have represented, among other items, the following to Eversheds
Sutherland (US) LLP:
|
· |
At least 90% of UNL’s gross income for each
taxable year will constitute “qualifying income” within the meaning of
Code section 7704 (as described above); |
|
· |
UNL is organized and operated in accordance with
its governing agreements and applicable law; |
|
· |
UNL (i) has not registered, and will not register,
under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, as a management
company or unit investment trust, and (ii) has not elected, and will not
elect to be treated as a business development company under the Investment
Company Act of 1940, as amended; |
|
· |
UNL has not elected, and will not elect, to be
classified as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax
purposes. |
Based in part on these representations, Eversheds
Sutherland (US) LLP is of the opinion that UNL will be classified as a
partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes and that it is not taxable as a
corporation for such purposes. UNL’s taxation as a partnership rather than a
corporation will require USCF to conduct UNL’s business activities in such a
manner that it satisfies the qualifying income exception on a continuing basis.
No assurance can be given that UNL’s operations for any given year will produce
income that satisfies the requirements of the qualifying income exception.
Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP will not review UNL’s ongoing compliance with
these requirements and will have no obligation to advise UNL or UNL’s
shareholders in the event of any subsequent change in the facts, representations
or applicable law relied upon in reaching its opinion.
If UNL failed to satisfy the qualifying income exception
in any year, other than a failure that is determined by the IRS to be
inadvertent and that is cured within a reasonable time after discovery, UNL
would be taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes and would
be obligated to pay U.S. federal income tax on its income at regular corporate
rates. In that event, shareholders would not report their share of UNL’s income
or loss on their returns.
In addition, distributions to shareholders would be
treated as dividends to the extent of UNL’s current and accumulated earnings and
profits. Subject to holding period and other requirements, any such dividend to
a non-corporate distributees may be a qualifying dividend that is subject to
U.S. federal income tax at the lower maximum tax rates applicable to long-term
capital gains, and corporate distributees may be eligible for the
dividends-received deduction. To the extent a distribution exceeded UNL’s
current and accumulated earnings and profits, the distribution would be treated
as a return of capital to the extent of a shareholder’s adjusted tax basis in
its shares, and to the extent that the amount of the distribution exceeded the
shareholder’s adjusted tax basis in its shares, such excess is treated as gain
from the sale or exchange of property. Accordingly, if UNL were to be treated as
a corporation thereby resulting in UNL being taxed at regular corporate U.S.
federal income tax rates, such treatment would likely have a material adverse
effect on the economic return from an investment in UNL and on the value of the
shares.
The remainder of this summary assumes that UNL is
classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes and not taxable
as a corporation.
U.S. Shareholders
US Federal Income Tax Consequences of Ownership of
Shares
Taxation of UNL’s Income. No U.S. federal income
tax is paid by UNL on its income. Instead, UNL files annual information returns,
and each U.S. shareholder is required to report on its U.S. federal income tax
return its allocable share of the income, gain, loss, deduction, and credit of
UNL. For example, shareholders must take into account their share of ordinary
income realized by UNL from accruals of interest on Treasuries and other
investments, and their share of gain from Natural Gas Interests. These items
must be reported without regard to the amount (if any) of cash or property the
shareholder receives as a distribution from UNL during the taxable year.
Consequently, a shareholder may be allocated income or gain by UNL but receive
no cash distribution with which to pay its tax liability resulting from the
allocation, or may receive a distribution that is insufficient to pay such
liability. Because USCF currently does not intend to make distributions, it is
likely that in any year UNL realizes net income and/or gain, a U.S. shareholder
will be required to pay taxes on its allocable share of such income or gain from
sources other than UNL distributions. In addition, individuals with income in
excess of $200,000 ($250,000 in the case of married individuals filing jointly)
and certain estates and trusts are subject to an additional 3.8% tax on their
“net investment income,” which generally includes net income from interest,
dividends, annuities, royalties, and rents, and net capital gains (other than
certain amounts earned from trades or businesses). The income subject to the
additional 3.8% tax includes any income from businesses involved in the trading
of financial instruments or commodities.
Allocations of UNL’s Profit and Loss. Under Code
section 704, the determination of a partner’s distributive share of any item of
income, gain, loss, deduction or credit is governed by the applicable
organizational document unless the allocation provided by such document lacks
“substantial economic effect.”
An allocation that lacks substantial economic effect
nonetheless will be respected if it is in accordance with the partners’
interests in the partnership, determined by taking into account all facts and
circumstances relating to the economic arrangements among the partners. Subject
to the discussion below, concerning certain conventions to be used by UNL,
allocations of UNL income pursuant to the LP Agreement should be considered as
having substantial economic effect or as being in accordance with a
shareholder’s interest in UNL.
In general, UNL applies a monthly closing-of-the-books
convention in determining allocations of economic profit or loss to
shareholders. Income, gain, loss and deduction are determined on a monthly
“mark-to-market” basis, taking into account accrued income and deductions and
realized and unrealized gains and losses for the month. Items of taxable income,
deduction, gain, loss and credit recognized by UNL for U.S. federal income tax
purposes for any taxable year are allocated among holders in a manner that
equitably reflects the allocation of economic profit or loss.
Under the monthly allocation convention used by UNL, an
investor who holds a share as of the close of business on the last trading day
of the previous month will be treated for purposes of making allocations as if
it owned the share throughout the current month even if such investor disposes
of such share during the current month. For example, an investor who buys a
share on April 10 of a year and sells it on May 20 of the same year will be
allocated all of the tax items attributable to May (because he is deemed to hold
it through the last day of May) but will not be allocated any of the tax items
attributable to April. The tax items attributable to that share for April will
be allocated to the person who is the actual or deemed holder of the share as of
the close of business on the last trading day of March.
Under the monthly convention, an investor who purchases
and sells a share during the same month, and therefore does not hold (and is not
deemed to hold) the share at the close of business on the last trading day of
either that month or the previous month, will receive no allocations with
respect to that share for any period. Accordingly, investors may receive no
allocations with respect to shares that they actually held, or may receive
allocations with respect to shares attributable to periods that they did not
actually hold the shares.
By investing in shares, a U.S. shareholder agrees that,
in the absence of new legislation, regulatory or administrative guidance, or
judicial rulings to the contrary, it will file its U.S. federal income tax
returns in a manner that is consistent with the monthly allocation convention as
described above and with the IRS Schedules K-1 K-3, or any successor form
provided to shareholders by UNL.
UNL applies certain conventions in determining and
allocating items for tax purposes in order to reduce the complexity and costs of
administration. USCF believes that application of these conventions is
consistent with the intent of the partnership provisions of the Code and the
applicable Treasury Regulations, and that the resulting allocations will have
substantial economic effect or otherwise should be respected as being in
accordance with shareholders’ interests in UNL for U.S. federal income tax
purposes. The Code and existing Treasury Regulations do not expressly permit
adoption of these conventions, although the monthly allocation convention
described above is consistent with methods permitted under the applicable
Treasury Regulations, as well as the legislative history for the provisions that
require allocations to appropriately reflect changes in ownership interests. It
is possible that the IRS could successfully challenge UNL’s allocations methods
on the ground that they do not satisfy the technical requirements off the Code
or Treasury Regulations, requiring a shareholder to report a greater or lesser
share of items of income, gain, loss, deduction, or credit than if our method
was respected. USCF is authorized to revise our allocation method to conform to
any method permitted under future Treasury Regulations.
The assumptions and conventions used in making tax
allocations may cause a shareholder to be allocated more or less income or loss
for U.S. federal income tax purposes than its proportionate share of the
economic income or loss realized by UNL during the period it held its shares.
This “mismatch” between taxable and economic income or loss in some cases may be
temporary, reversing itself in a later period when the shares are sold, but
could be permanent.
Section 754 Election. UNL has made the election
permitted by section 754 of the Code, which is irrevocable without the consent
of the IRS. The effect of this election is that, in connection with secondary
market sales, we adjust the purchaser’s proportionate share of the adjusted tax
basis of our assets to fair market value, as reflected in the price paid for the
shares, as if the purchaser had directly acquired an interest in our assets. The
section 754 election is intended to eliminate disparities between a partner’s
basis in its partnership interest and its share of the tax bases of the
partnership’s assets, so that the partner’s allocable share of taxable gain or
loss on a disposition of an asset will correspond to its share of the
appreciation or depreciation in the value of the asset since it acquired its
interest. Depending on the price paid for shares and the tax bases of UNL’s
assets at the time of the purchase, the effect of the section 754 election on a
purchaser of shares may be favorable or unfavorable. In order to make the
appropriate basis adjustments in a cost-effective manner, UNL will use certain
simplifying conventions and assumptions. It is possible the IRS will
successfully assert that the conventions and assumptions applied are improper
and require different basis adjustments to be made, which could adversely affect
some shareholders.
Mark-to-Market of Certain Exchange-Traded
Contracts. For U.S. federal income tax purposes, UNL generally is required
to use a “mark-to-market” method of accounting under which unrealized gains and
losses on instruments constituting “section 1256 contracts” are recognized
currently. A section 1256 contract is defined as: (1) a futures contract that is
traded on or subject to the rules of a national securities exchange which is
registered with the SEC, a domestic board of trade designated as a contract
market by the CFTC, or any other board of trade or exchange designated by the
Secretary of the Treasury, and with respect to which the amount required to be
deposited and the amount that may be withdrawn depends on a system of
“marking-to-market”; (2) a forward contract on exchange-traded foreign
currencies, where the contracts are traded in the interbank market; (3) a
non-equity option traded on or subject to the rules of a qualified board or
exchange; (4) a dealer equity option; or (5) a dealer securities futures
contract.
Under these rules, section 1256 contracts held by UNL at
the end of each taxable year, including for example Futures Contracts and
options on Futures Contracts traded on a U.S. exchange or board of trade or
certain foreign exchanges, are treated as if they were sold by UNL for their
fair market value on the last business day of the taxable year. A shareholder’s
distributive share of UNL’s net gain or loss with respect to each section 1256
contract generally is treated as long-term capital gain or loss to the extent of
60 percent thereof, and as short-term capital gain or loss to the extent of 40
percent thereof, without regard to the actual holding period (“60-40
treatment”).
Many of UNL’s Futures Contracts and some of their other
commodity interests will qualify as “section 1256 contracts” under the Code.
Gain or loss recognized through disposition, termination or marking-to-market of
UNL’s section 1256 contracts will be subject to 60-40 treatment and allocated to
shareholders in accordance with the monthly allocation convention. Cleared swaps
and other commodity swaps will likely not qualify as section 1256 contracts. If
a commodity swap is not treated as a section 1256 contract, any gain or loss on
the swap recognized at the time of disposition or termination will be long-term
or short-term capital gain or loss depending on the holding period of the
swap.
Limitations on Deductibility of Losses and Certain
Expenses. A number of different provisions of the Code may defer or disallow
the deduction of losses or expenses allocated to you by UNL, including, but not
limited to, those described below.
A shareholder’s deduction of its allocable share of any
loss of UNL is limited to the lesser of (1) the adjusted tax basis in its shares
or (2) in the case of a shareholder that is an individual or a closely held
corporation, the amount which the shareholder is considered to have “at risk”
with respect to our activities. In general, the amount at risk will be your
invested capital plus your share of any recourse debt of UNL for which you are
liable. Losses in excess of the lesser of (1) the adjusted tax basis or (2) the
amount at risk, must be deferred until years in which UNL generates additional
taxable income against which to offset such carryover losses or until additional
capital is placed at risk.
Noncorporate taxpayers are permitted to deduct capital
losses only to the extent of their capital gains for the taxable year plus
$3,000 of other income. Unused capital losses can be carried forward and used to
offset capital gains in future years. In addition, a noncorporate taxpayer may
elect to carry back net losses on section 1256 contracts to each of the three
preceding years and use them to offset section 1256 contract gains in those
years, subject to certain limitations. Corporate taxpayers generally may deduct
capital losses only to the extent of capital gains, subject to special carryback
and carryforward rules.
For taxable years beginning before January 1, 2026,
otherwise deductible expenses incurred by noncorporate taxpayers constituting
“miscellaneous itemized deductions,” generally including investment-related
expenses (other than interest and certain other specified expenses), are not
deductible. For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, such
miscellaneous itemized deductions are deductible only to the extent they exceed
2 percent of the taxpayer’s adjusted gross income for the year. Although the
matter is not free from doubt, we believe management fees we pay to USCF and
other expenses we incur will constitute investment-related expenses subject to
the miscellaneous itemized deduction limitation, rather than expenses incurred
in connection with a trade or business, and will report these expenses
consistent with that interpretation. In addition, for taxable years beginning on
or after January 1, 2026, the Code imposes additional limitations on the amount
of certain itemized deductions allowable to individuals with adjusted gross
income in excess of certain amounts by reducing the otherwise allowable portion
of such deductions by an amount equal to the lesser of:
|
· |
3% of the individual’s adjusted gross income in
excess of certain threshold amounts; or |
|
· |
80% of the amount of certain itemized deductions
otherwise allowable for the taxable year. |
For taxable years beginning before January 1, 2026,
noncorporate shareholders are entitled to a deduction (subject to certain
limitations) equal to their “combined qualified business income.” “Combined
qualified business income” for this purpose includes 20% of a noncorporate
taxpayer’s “qualified publicly traded partnership income.” In general,
“qualified publicly traded partnership income” includes a noncorporate
taxpayer’s allocable share of “qualified items” of income, gain, deduction, and
loss. A “qualified item” for this purpose is an item of income, gain deduction,
or loss that is effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business and
includible income for the year. As discussed below, although the matter is not
free from doubt, UNL believes that the activities directly conducted by UNL will
not result in UNL being engaged in a trade or business within in the United
States. See “Non-U.S. Shareholders—Withholding on Allocations and
Distributions” below. As a result, we do not anticipate that any of our items of
income, gain, deduction, or loss will be reported as “qualified publicly traded
partnership income” eligible for the deduction for “combined qualified business
income.” “Qualified publicly traded partnership income” also includes any gain
or loss from the sale of an interest in a partnership to the extent attributable
to “unrealized receivables” or “inventory” under section 751 (for a discussion
of section 751, see “Tax Consequences of Disposition of Shares” below). A
noncorporate taxpayer that recognizes any gain or loss from the sale of an
interest in UNL that is attributable to “unrealized receivables” or “inventory”
under section 751 should consult with such taxpayer’s tax advisor to determine
whether any portion of such gain or loss constitutes “qualified publicly traded
partnership income” eligible for the deduction for “combined qualified business
income.”
A taxpayer is generally prohibited from deducting
business interest to the extent that it exceeds the sum of (i) business interest
income of such taxpayer, (ii) 30% of the adjusted taxable income of such
taxpayer, plus (iii) the floor plan financing interest of such taxpayer. In the
case of partnerships, this determination is made at the partnership level. To
the extent that the business income of the partnership exceeds the amount
necessary to absorb all of the partnership’s business interest, such excess
amount is allocated to the partners as excess business income, which amount may
be used against any business interest of the partner (but not any other
partnerships). To the extent that the partnership has any disallowed business
interest expense, such amount is allocated among the partners, reduces the
partners’ outside tax basis in their partnership interests by their allocable
shares, and is carried forward to future years. Such carryforward may only be
used as a deduction to the extent that the partnership has excess business
income in the future. In the event that a partner transfers a partnership
interest with any excess business interest carryforward amounts, such amounts
increase the partner’s tax basis in its partnership interest immediately before
the transfer. Although it is not free from doubt, UNL does not anticipate that
it will be treated as engaged in a trade or business. As a result, UNL does not
anticipate that any portion of its interest expense (if any) will constitute
business interest or that shareholders will be allocated any excess business
income as a result of holding UNL shares.
Noncorporate shareholders generally may deduct
“investment interest expense” only to the extent of their “net investment
income.” “Investment interest expense” of a shareholder will generally include
any interest accrued by UNL and any interest paid or accrued on direct
borrowings by a shareholder to purchase or carry its shares, such as interest
with respect to a margin account. Net investment income generally includes gross
income from property held for investment (including “portfolio income” under the
passive loss rules but not, absent an election, long-term capital gains or
certain qualifying dividend income) less deductible expenses other than interest
directly connected with the production of investment income.
To the extent that we allocate losses or expenses to you
that must be deferred or are disallowed as a result of these or other
limitations in the Code, the U.S. Treasury Regulations thereunder, or other U.S.
federal income tax authorities, you may be taxed on income in excess of your
economic income or distributions (if any) on your shares. As one example, you
could be allocated and required to pay tax on your share of interest income
accrued by UNL for a particular taxable year, and in the same year be allocated
a share of a capital loss that you cannot deduct currently because you have
insufficient capital gains against which to offset the loss. As another example,
you could be allocated and required to pay tax on your share of interest income
and capital gain for a year, but be unable to deduct some or all of your share
of management fees and/or margin account interest incurred by you with respect
to your shares. Shareholders are urged to consult their own professional tax
advisors regarding the effect of limitations under the Code, the U.S. Treasury
Regulations thereunder, and other U.S. federal income tax authorities on their
ability to deduct your allocable share of UNL’s losses and expenses.
Tax Basis of Shares
A shareholder’s adjusted tax basis in its shares is
important in determining (1) the amount of taxable gain or loss it will realize
on the sale or other disposition of its shares, (2) the amount of non-taxable
distributions that it may receive from UNL and (3) its ability to utilize its
distributive share of any losses of UNL on its tax return. A shareholder’s
initial tax basis of its shares will equal its cost for the shares plus its
share of UNL’s liabilities (if any) at the time of purchase. In general, a
shareholder’s “share” of those liabilities will equal the sum of (i) the entire
amount of any otherwise nonrecourse liability of UNL as to which the shareholder
or an affiliate is the creditor, guarantor, or otherwise bears the economic risk
of loss (a “partner nonrecourse liability”) and (ii) a pro rata share of
any nonrecourse liabilities of UNL that are not partner nonrecourse liabilities
as to any shareholder.
A shareholder’s adjusted tax basis in its shares
generally will be (1) increased by (a) its allocable share of UNL’s taxable
income and gain and (b) any additional contributions by the shareholder to UNL
and (2) decreased (but not below zero) by (a) its allocable share of UNL’s tax
deductions and losses and (b) any distributions by UNL to the shareholder. For
this purpose, a net increase in a shareholder’s share of UNL’s liabilities will
be treated as a contribution of cash by the shareholder to UNL and a net
decrease in that share will be treated as a distribution of cash by UNL to the
shareholder. Pursuant to certain IRS rulings, a shareholder will be required to
maintain a single, “unified” adjusted tax basis in all shares that it owns. As a
result, when a shareholder that acquired its shares at different prices sells
less than all of its shares, such shareholder will not be entitled to specify
particular shares (e.g., those with a higher adjusted tax basis) as
having been sold. Rather, it must determine its gain or loss on the sale by
using an “equitable apportionment” method to allocate a portion of its unified
adjusted tax basis in its shares to the shares sold.
Treatment of UNL Distributions. If UNL makes
non-liquidating distributions to shareholders, such distributions generally will
not be taxable to the shareholders for U.S. federal income tax purposes except
to the extent that the sum of (i) the amount of cash and (ii) the fair market
value of marketable securities distributed exceeds the shareholder’s adjusted
basis of its interest in UNL immediately before the distribution. Any cash
distributions in excess of a shareholder’s adjusted tax basis generally will be
treated as gain from the sale or exchange of shares.
U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences of
Disposition of Shares
If a shareholder sells its shares, it will recognize
gain or loss equal to the difference between the amount realized and its
adjusted tax basis in the shares sold. A shareholder’s amount realized will be
the sum of the cash and the fair market value of other property received, plus
its share of any UNL debt outstanding.
Gain or loss recognized by a shareholder on the sale or
exchange of shares held for more than one year will generally be taxable as
long-term capital gain or loss; otherwise, such gain or loss will generally be
taxable as short-term capital gain or loss. A special election is available
under the Treasury Regulations that will allow shareholders to identify and use
the actual holding periods for the shares sold for purposes of determining
whether the gain or loss recognized on a sale of shares will give rise to
long-term or short-term capital gain or loss. It is expected that most
shareholders will be eligible to elect, and generally will elect, to identify
and use the actual holding period for shares sold. If a shareholder fails to
make the election or is not able to identify the holding periods of the shares
sold, the shareholder may have a split holding period in the shares sold. Under
such circumstances, a shareholder will be required to determine its holding
period in the shares sold by first determining the portion of its entire
interest in UNL that would give rise to long-term capital gain or loss if its
entire interest were sold and the portion that would give rise to short-term
capital gain or loss if the entire interest were sold. The shareholder would
then treat each share sold as giving rise to long-term capital gain or loss and
short-term capital gain or loss in the same proportions as if it had sold its
entire interest in UNL.
Under Section 751 of the Code, a portion of a
shareholder’s gain or loss from the sale of shares (regardless of the holding
period for such shares), will be separately computed and taxed as ordinary
income or loss to the extent attributable to “unrealized receivables” or
“inventory” owned by UNL. The term “unrealized receivables” includes, among
other things, market discount bonds and short-term debt instruments to the
extent such items would give rise to ordinary income if sold by UNL. However,
the short-term capital gain on section 1256 contracts resulting from 60-40
treatment, described above, should not be subject to this rule.
If some or all of your shares are lent by your broker or
other agent to a third party — for example, for use by the third party in
covering a short sale — you may be considered as having made a taxable
disposition of the loaned shares. Shareholders desiring to avoid these and other
possible consequences of a deemed disposition of their shares are urged to seek
advice from their tax advisors.
Other U.S. Federal Income Tax Matters
Information Reporting. UNL reports tax
information to the beneficial owners of shares. The IRS has ruled that assignees
of partnership interests who have not been admitted to a partnership as
partners, but who have the capacity to exercise substantial dominion and control
over the assigned partnership interests, will be considered beneficial owners
for U.S. federal income tax purposes. On the basis of such ruling, except as
otherwise provided herein, we treat the following persons as partners for U.S.
federal income tax purposes: (1) assignees of shares who are pending admission
as limited partners, and (2) shareholders whose shares are held in street name
or by another nominee and who have the right to direct the nominee in the
exercise of all substantive rights attendant to the ownership of their shares.
UNL will furnish shareholders each year with tax information on IRS Schedules
K-1 or K-3 (Form 1065), as applicable, which will be used by the shareholders in
completing their tax returns.
Persons who hold an interest in UNL as a nominee for
another person are required to furnish to us the following information: (1) the
name, address and taxpayer identification number of the beneficial owner and the
nominee; (2) whether the beneficial owner is (a) a person that is not a U.S.
person, (b) a foreign government, an international organization, or any
wholly-owned agency or instrumentality of either of the foregoing, or (c) a
tax-exempt entity; (3) the amount and description of shares acquired or
transferred for the beneficial owner; and (4) certain information, including the
dates of acquisitions and transfers, means of acquisitions and transfers, and
acquisition cost for purchases, as well as the amount of net proceeds from
sales. Brokers and financial institutions are required to furnish additional
information, including whether they are U.S. persons and certain information on
shares they acquire, hold or transfer for their own account. The nominee is
required to supply the beneficial owner of the shares with the information
furnished to us. Penalties may apply for a failure to report required
information.
Partnership Audit Procedures. The IRS may audit
the U.S. federal income tax returns filed by UNL. Partnerships are generally
treated as separate entities for purposes of U.S. federal income tax audits,
judicial review of administrative adjustments by the IRS, and tax settlement
proceedings. The tax treatment of partnership items of income, gain, loss,
deduction, and credit are determined at the partnership level in a unified
partnership proceeding rather than in separate proceedings with the
shareholders.
UNL may be liable for U.S. federal income tax on any
“imputed understatement” resulting from an adjustment due to an IRS audit. The
amount of the imputed understatement generally includes increases in allocations
of items of income or gains to any investor and decreases in allocations of
items of deduction, loss, or credit to any shareholder without any offset for
any corresponding reductions in allocations of items of income or gain to any
investor or increases in allocations of items of deduction, loss, or credit to
any investor. If UNL is required to pay any U.S. federal income tax arising from
an imputed understatement, the resulting tax liability would reduce the net
assets of UNL and would likely have an adverse impact on the value of the
shares. Under certain circumstances, UNL may be eligible to make an election to
cause the shareholder to take into account the amount of any imputed
understatement, including any interest and penalties. The ability of a publicly
traded partnership such as UNL to make this election is uncertain. If the
election is made, UNL would be required to provide shareholders who owned
beneficial interests in the shares in the year to which the adjusted allocations
relate with a statement setting forth their proportionate shares of the
adjustment (“Adjusted K-1s”). The investors would be required to take the
adjustment into account in the taxable year in which the Adjusted K-1s are
issued. The Code generally requires UNL to designate one person as the
“partnership representative” who has sole authority to defend against an audit
with the IRS, challenge any adjustment in a court of law, and settle any audit
or other proceeding. The LP Agreement appoints USCF as the partnership
representative of UNL.
Reportable Transaction Disclosure Rules. In
certain circumstances the Code, Treasury Regulations, and certain IRS
administrative guidance require that the IRS be notified of taxable transactions
through a disclosure statement attached to a taxpayer’s U.S. federal income tax
return. These disclosure rules may apply to transactions, irrespective of
whether they are structured to achieve particular tax benefits. These disclosure
rules could require disclosure by UNL or shareholders if a shareholder incurs a
loss in excess a specified threshold from a sale or redemption of its shares or
possibly in other circumstances. While these rules generally do not require
disclosure of a loss recognized on the disposition of an asset in which the
taxpayer has a “qualifying basis” (generally is an adjusted tax basis equal to
and solely determined by the amount of cash paid by the taxpayer for such asset,
and satisfies certain other requirements, they do apply to a loss recognized
with respect to interests in a pass-through entity, such as the shares.
Significant penalties may be imposed in connection with a failure to comply with
these reporting requirements. Shareholders should consult their own tax
advisors concerning the application of these reporting requirements to their
specific situation.
Regulated Investment Companies. Interests in and
income from “qualified publicly traded partnerships” satisfying certain gross
income tests are treated as qualifying assets and income, respectively, for
purposes of determining eligibility for regulated investment company (“RIC”)
status. A RIC may invest up to 25% of its assets in interests in a qualified
publicly traded partnership. The determination of whether a publicly traded
partnership, such as UNL, is a qualified publicly traded partnership is made on
an annual basis. UNL expects to be a qualified publicly traded partnership in
each of its taxable years. However, such qualification is not
assured.
Non-U.S. Shareholders
Generally, non-U.S. persons who derive U.S. source
income or gain from investing or engaging in a U.S. business are taxable on two
categories of income. The first category consists of amounts that are fixed,
determinable, annual and periodic income, such as interest, dividends and rent
that are not connected with the operation of a U.S. trade or business (“FDAP”).
The second category is income that is effectively connected with the conduct of
a U.S. trade or business (“ECI”). FDAP income (other than interest that is
considered “portfolio interest”) is generally subject to a 30-percent
withholding tax, which may be reduced for certain categories of income by a
treaty between the United States and the recipient’s country of residence. In
contrast, ECI is generally subject to U.S. tax on a net basis at graduated rates
upon the filing of a U.S. tax return.
Withholding on Allocations and Distributions. The
Code provides that a non-U.S. person who is a partner in a partnership that is
engaged in the conduct of a U.S. trade or business during a taxable year will
also be considered to be engaged in the conduct of a U.S. trade or business
during that year. Classifying an activity by a partnership as an investment or
an operating business is a factual determination. Under certain safe harbors in
the Code, an investment fund whose activities consist of trading in stocks,
securities, or commodities for its own account generally will not be considered
to be engaged in a U.S. trade or business unless it is a dealer in such stocks,
securities, or commodities. This safe harbor applies to investments in
commodities only if the commodities are of a kind customarily dealt on an
organized commodity exchange and if the transaction is of a kind customarily
consummated at such place. Although the matter is not free from doubt, UNL
believes that the activities directly conducted by UNL will not result in UNL
being engaged in the conduct of a trade or business within in the United States.
However, there can be no assurance that the IRS would not successfully assert
that UNL’s activities constitute a U.S. trade or business.
In the event that UNL’s activities were considered to
constitute a U.S. trade or business, UNL would be required to withhold at the
highest rate specified in section 1 of the Code on allocations of income to
individual and corporate non-U.S. shareholders when such income is allocated or
distributed. A non-U.S. shareholder with ECI will generally be required to file
a U.S. federal income tax return, and the return will provide the non-U.S.
shareholder with the mechanism to seek a refund of any withholding in excess of
such shareholder’s actual U.S. federal income tax liability. Any amount withheld
by UNL on behalf of a non-U.S. shareholder will be treated as a distribution to
the non-U.S. shareholder to the extent possible. In some cases, UNL may not be
able to match the economic cost of satisfying its withholding obligations to a
particular non-U.S. shareholder, which may result in such cost being borne by
UNL, generally, and by all shareholders.
If UNL is not treated as engaged in a U.S. trade or
business, a non-U.S. shareholder may nevertheless be treated as having FDAP
income, which would be subject to a 30 percent withholding tax (possibly subject
to reduction by treaty), with respect to some or all of its distributions from
UNL or its allocable share of UNL income. Amounts withheld on behalf of a
non-U.S. shareholder will be treated as being distributed to such
shareholder.
To the extent any interest income allocated to a
non-U.S. shareholder that otherwise constitutes FDAP is considered “portfolio
interest,” neither the allocation of such interest income to the non-U.S.
shareholder nor a subsequent distribution of such interest income to the
non-U.S. shareholder will be subject to withholding, provided that the non-U.S.
shareholder is not otherwise engaged in a trade or business in the United States
and provides UNL with a timely and properly completed and executed IRS Form
W-8BEN, W-8BEN-E, or other applicable form. In general, “portfolio interest” is
interest paid on debt obligations issued in registered form, unless the
“recipient” owns 10 percent or more of the voting power of the
issuer.
Most of UNL’s interest income qualifies as “portfolio
interest.” In order for UNL to avoid withholding on any interest income
allocable to non-U.S. shareholders that would qualify as “portfolio interest,”
it will be necessary for all non-U.S. shareholders to provide UNL with a timely
and properly completed and executed Form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E (or other applicable
form). If a non-U.S. shareholder fails to provide a properly completed Form
W-8BEN, W-8BEN-E, or other applicable form, USCF may request that the non-U.S.
shareholder provide, within 15 days after the request by USCF, a properly
completed Form W-8BEN, W-8BEN-E, or other applicable form. If a non-U.S.
shareholder fails to comply with this request, the shares owned by such non-U.S.
shareholder will be subject to redemption.
U.S. Treasury Regulations require withholding on certain
distributions occurring on or after January 1, 2023 made by a publicly traded
partnership. An exception under these rules applies if a publicly traded
partnership certifies that it is not engaged in a trade or business within the
United States at any time during its taxable year through the publicly traded
partnership’s designated date. In order to make this certification, the publicly
traded partnership must issue a “qualified notice” indicating that it qualifies
for this exception. A broker may not rely on such a certification if it has
actual knowledge that the certification is incorrect or unreliable. UNL intends
to issue qualified notices that satisfy the applicable requirements and which
confirms this exception from withholding. Certain aspects of these rules remain
unclear. Until the IRS issues guidance further clarifying these rules, non-U.S.
shareholders are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding the impact of
these rules on an investment in our shares, and brokers are urged consult their
tax advisors in making withholding decisions pursuant to these rules.
Gain from Sale of Shares. Gain from the sale or
exchange of the shares may be taxable to a non-U.S. shareholder if the non-U.S.
shareholder is a nonresident alien individual who is present in the U.S. for 183
days or more during the taxable year. In such case, the nonresident alien
individual will be subject to a 30 percent withholding tax on the amount of such
individual’s gain. In addition, if UNL is treated as being engaged in a U.S.
trade or business, a portion of the gain on the sale or exchange will be treated
as effectively connected income subject to U.S. federal income tax to the extent
that a sale of UNL’s assets would give rise to effectively connected income.
Section 1446(f) of the Code provides that certain transfers of a partnership
interest, including an interest in a publicly traded partnership, may be subject
to 10% withholding.
Under U.S. Treasury Regulations, brokers generally are
required to withhold on certain transfers of interests in partnerships,
including interests in publicly traded partnerships. An exception under these
rules applies if a publicly traded partnership certifies that it is not engaged
in a trade or business within the United States at any time during its taxable
year through the publicly traded partnership’s designated date. In order to make
this certification, the publicly traded partnership must issue a “qualified
notice” indicating that it qualifies for this exception. A broker may not rely
on such a certification if it has actual knowledge that the certification is
incorrect or unreliable. UNL intends to issue qualified notices that satisfy the
applicable requirements and which confirms this exception from withholding. In
addition, certain aspects of these rules remain unclear. Until the IRS issues
guidance further clarifying these rules, non-U.S. shareholders are urged to
consult their tax advisors regarding the impact of these rules on an investment
in our shares, and brokers are urged to consult their tax advisors in making
withholding decisions pursuant to these rules.
Branch Profits Tax on Corporate Non-U.S.
Shareholders. In addition to the taxes noted above, any non-U.S.
shareholders with ECI that are corporations may also be subject to an additional
tax, the branch profits tax, at a rate of 30 percent. The branch profits tax is
imposed on a non-U.S. corporation’s dividend equivalent amount, which generally
consists of the corporation’s after-tax earnings and profits that are
effectively connected with the corporation’s U.S. trade or business but are not
reinvested in a U.S. business. This tax may be reduced or eliminated by an
income tax treaty between the United States and the country in which the
non-U.S. shareholder is a “qualified resident.”
Prospective non-U.S. shareholders should consult
their tax advisor with regard to these and other issues unique to non-U.S.
shareholders.
Backup Withholding
U.S. Shareholders.
A U.S. shareholder may be subject to information
reporting and backup withholding when such U.S. shareholder receives
taxable distributions on the shares and proceeds from the sale or other
disposition of the shares (including a redemption of the shares). Certain
U.S. shareholders generally are not subject to information reporting or
backup withholding. A U.S. shareholder will be subject to backup
withholding if such U.S. shareholder is not otherwise exempt and such
U.S. shareholder:
|
· |
fails to furnish the U.S. shareholder’s U.S.
taxpayer identification number, which, for an individual, generally is his
or her U.S. social security number; |
|
· |
furnishes an incorrect U.S. taxpayer
identification number; |
|
· |
is notified by the IRS that the
U.S. shareholder has failed properly to report payments of interest
or dividends; or |
|
· |
fails to certify, under penalties of perjury, on
an IRS Form W-9 (Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and
Certification) or a suitable substitute form (or other applicable
certificate), that the U.S. shareholder has furnished a correct U.S.
taxpayer identification number and that the IRS has not notified the
U.S. shareholder that the U.S. shareholder is subject to backup
withholding. |
U.S. shareholders should consult their tax advisors
regarding their qualification for an exemption from backup withholding and the
procedures for obtaining such an exemption, if applicable. Backup withholding is
not an additional U.S. federal income tax, and taxpayers may use amounts
withheld as a credit against their U.S. federal income tax liability or may
claim a refund if they timely provide certain information to the IRS.
Non-U.S. Shareholders.
The amount of taxable distributions that we pay to any
non-U.S. shareholder on the shares will be reported to the
non-U.S. shareholder and to the IRS annually on an IRS Form 1042-S,
regardless of the amount of U.S. federal income tax withheld. Copies of these
information returns may also be made available under the provisions of a
specific income tax treaty or agreement with the tax authorities of the country
in which the non-U.S. shareholder resides. However, a
non-U.S. shareholder generally will not be subject to backup withholding
and certain other information reporting with respect to payments that we make to
the non-U.S. shareholder, provided that we do not have actual knowledge or
reason to know that such non-U.S. shareholder is a “United States
person” within the meaning of the Code, and the non-U.S. shareholder
complies with applicable certification and disclosure requirements and furnishes
to us the requisite information.
If a non-U.S. shareholder sells or exchanges a
share through a United States broker or the United States office of a
foreign broker or such sale is deemed to occur through a United States
office of a foreign broker, the proceeds from such sale or exchange will be
subject to information reporting and backup withholding, unless the
non-U.S. shareholder provides a withholding certificate establishing that
such holder is not a U.S. shareholder to the broker and such broker does
not have actual knowledge or reason to know that such holder is a
U.S. shareholder, or the non-U.S. shareholder is an exempt recipient
eligible for an exemption from information reporting and backup withholding. If
a non-U.S. shareholder sells or exchanges a share through the foreign
office of a broker who is a “United States person” (within the meaning of
the Code) or a “U.S. middleman” (as that that term is defined under
applicable U.S. Treasury Regulations), the proceeds from such sale or exchange
will be subject to information reporting, unless the non-U.S. shareholder
provides to such broker a withholding certificate establishing that such
shareholder is not a U.S. shareholder and such broker does not have actual
knowledge or reason to know that such evidence is false, or the
non-U.S. shareholder is an exempt recipient eligible for an exemption from
information reporting. In circumstances where information reporting by the
foreign office of such a broker is required, backup withholding will be required
only if the broker has actual knowledge that the holder is a
U.S. shareholder.
A non-U.S. shareholder generally will be entitled
to credit any amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules against the
non-U.S. shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax liability or may claim
a refund, provided that the required information is furnished to the IRS in a
timely manner.
Non-U.S. shareholders are urged to consult their
tax advisors regarding the application of information reporting and backup
withholding in their particular situations, the availability of an exemption
therefrom, and the procedures for obtaining such an exemption, if
available.
Foreign Account Tax
Compliance Act Provisions
Legislation commonly referred to as the “Foreign Account
Tax Compliance Act,” or “FATCA,” generally imposes a 30% withholding tax on
payments of certain types of income to foreign financial institutions (“FFIs”),
unless such FFIs either: (1) enter into an agreement with the U.S. Treasury
Department to report certain required information with respect to accounts held
by certain specified U.S. persons (or held by foreign entities that have certain
specified U.S. persons as substantial owners) or (2) reside in a jurisdiction
that has entered into an intergovernmental agreement (“IGA”) with the United
States to collect and share such information and comply with the terms of such
IGA and any enabling legislation or regulations. The types of income subject to
the tax include U.S.-source interest and dividends. While the Code would also
require withholding on the payments of the gross proceeds from the sale of any
property that could produce U.S.-source interest or dividends, the U.S. Treasury
Department has indicated its intent to eliminate this requirement in proposed
regulations. The information required to be reported includes the identity and
taxpayer identification number of each account holder that is a specified U.S.
person and transaction activity within the holder’s account. In addition,
subject to certain exceptions, this legislation also imposes a 30% withholding
tax on certain payments to certain foreign entities that are not FFIs unless the
foreign entity certifies that it does not have a greater than 10% owner that is
a specified U.S. person or provides the withholding agent with identifying
information on each greater than 10% owner that is a specified U.S. person.
Depending on the status of a beneficial owner and the status of the
intermediaries through which they hold their shares, beneficial owners could be
subject to this 30% withholding tax with respect to distributions on their
shares. Under certain circumstances, a beneficial owner might be eligible for
refunds or credits of such taxes.
Other Tax Considerations
In addition to U.S. federal income taxes, shareholders
may be subject to other taxes, such as foreign (non-U.S.) income taxes, state
and local income taxes, unincorporated business taxes, business franchise taxes,
gift and estate, inheritance or intangible taxes that may be imposed by the
various jurisdictions in which UNL does business or owns property or where the
shareholders reside. Although an analysis of those various taxes is not
presented here, each prospective shareholder should consider their potential
impact on its investment in UNL. It is each shareholder’s responsibility to file
the appropriate U.S. federal, state, local, and foreign tax returns. Eversheds
Sutherland (US) LLP has not provided an opinion concerning any aspects of state,
local or foreign tax or U.S. federal tax other than those U.S. federal income
tax issues discussed herein.
Certain ERISA and Related
Considerations
General
Many employee benefit plans and individual retirement
accounts (“IRAs”) are subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of
1974, as amended (“ERISA”) or the Code, or both. This section discusses certain
considerations that arise under ERISA and the Code that a fiduciary of: (i) an
employee benefit plan as defined in ERISA; (ii) a plan as defined in Section
4975 of the Code; or (iii) any collective investment vehicle, business trust,
investment partnership, pooled separate account or other entity the assets of
which are treated as comprised (at least in part) of “plan assets” under the
ERISA plan asset rules (“plan asset entity”); who has investment discretion
should take into account before deciding to invest in the entity’s assets in
UNL. Employee benefit plans, plans defined under Section 4975 of the Code and
plan asset entities are collectively referred to below as “plans”, and
fiduciaries with investment discretion are referred to below as “plan
fiduciaries.”
This summary is based on the provisions of ERISA, the
Code and applicable guidance as of the date hereof. This summary is not intended
to be complete, but only to address certain questions under ERISA and the Code.
The summary does not include state or local law.
Potential plan investors are urged to consult with
their own professional advisors concerning the appropriateness of an investment
in UNL and the manner in which limited partnership interests should be
purchased. USCF does not represent that the limited partnership interests hereby
offered are appropriate for plans or any particular plan.
Special Investment Considerations
Investments by plans governed by ERISA are subject to
ERISA’s fiduciary requirements, including the requirements of investment prudent
and diversification. As a result, each plan fiduciary must consider the facts
and circumstances that are relevant to their plan’s specific circumstances when
evaluating an investment in UNL, including the role that an investment in UNL
would play in the plan’s overall investment portfolio, taking into account the
plan’s purpose, the risk and loss of potential return with respect to the
investment, the liquidity, the current return of the total portfolio relative to
the anticipated cash flow needs of the plan, and the projected return of the
portfolio and relative to the plan’s investment objectives. Each plan fiduciary,
before deciding to invest in UNL, must be satisfied that its investment in the
limited partnership interests in UNL is prudent for the plan, that the
investments of the plan are properly diversified and that an investment in UNL
complies with the terms of the plan.
UNL and Plan Assets
Regulations issued under ERISA contains rules for
determining when an investment by a plan in an equity interest of a limited
partnership will result in the underlying assets of the partnership being deemed
“plan assets” for purposes of ERISA and Section 4975 of the Code. Those rules
provide that assets of a limited partnership will not be deemed to be assets of
a plan that purchases an equity interest in the partnership if the equity
interest purchased qualifies as a publicly-offered security. If the underlying
assets of a limited partnership are considered to be assets of any plan for
purposes of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code, the operations of that
partnership would be subject to and, in some cases, limited by, the provisions
of ERISA and Section 4975 of the Code.
An equity interest will qualify as a publicly offered
security if it is:
|
1. |
freely transferable (determined based on the
relevant facts and circumstances); |
|
2. |
part of a class of securities that is widely held
(meaning that the class of securities is owned by 100 or more investors
independent of the issuer and of each other);
and |
|
3. |
either (a) part of a class of securities
registered under Section 12(b) or 12(g) of the 1934 Act or (b) sold to the
plan as part of a public offering pursuant to an effective registration
statement under the 1933 Act and the class of which such security is a
part is registered under the 1934 Act within 120 days (or such later time
as may be allowed by the SEC) after the end of the fiscal year of the
issuer in which the offering of such security
occurred. |
Regulations under ERISA state that the determination of
whether a security is “freely transferable” is to be made based on all of the
relevant facts and circumstances. In the case of a security that is part of an
offering in which the minimum investment is $10,000 or less, the following
requirements, alone or in combination, ordinarily will not affect a finding that
the security is freely transferable: (1) a requirement that no transfer or
assignment of the security or rights relating to the security be made that would
violate any federal or state law, (2) a requirement that no transfer or
assignment be made without advance written notice given to the entity that
issued the security, and (3) any restriction on the substitution of an assignee
as a limited partner of a partnership, including a general partner consent
requirement, provided that the economic benefits of ownership of the assignor
may be transferred or assigned without regard to such restriction or consent
(other than compliance with any of the foregoing restrictions).
USCF believes that the conditions described above are
satisfied with respect to the limited partnership interests. USCF believes that
the limited partnership interests therefore constitute publicly-offered
securities, and the underlying assets of UNL will not be deemed to be “plan
assets” under applicable ERISA regulations.
Prohibited Transactions
ERISA and the Code generally prohibit certain
transactions involving plans and persons who have certain specified
relationships to plans.
In general, UNL limited partnership interests may not be
purchased with the assets of a plan if USCF, the clearing brokers, the trading
advisors (if any), or any of their affiliates, agents or employees:
|
· |
exercise any discretionary authority or
discretionary control with respect to management of the
plan; |
|
· |
exercise any authority or control with respect to
management or disposition of the assets of the
plan; |
|
· |
render investment advice for a fee or other
compensation, direct or indirect, with respect to any monies or other
property of the plan; |
|
· |
have any authority or responsibility to render
investment advice with respect to any monies or other property of the
plan; or |
|
· |
have any discretionary authority or discretionary
responsibility in the administration of the
plan. |
Also, a prohibited transaction may occur under ERISA or
the Code when circumstances indicate that (1) the investment in an equity
interest is made or retained for the purpose of avoiding application of the
fiduciary standards of ERISA, (2) the investment in an equity interest share
constitutes an arrangement under which UNL is expected to engage in transactions
that would otherwise be prohibited if entered into directly by the plan
purchasing the share, (3) the investing plan, by itself, has the authority or
influence to cause UNL to engage in such transactions, or (4) a person who is
prohibited from transacting with the investing plan may, but only with the aid
of certain of its affiliates and the investing plan, cause UNL to engage in such
transactions with such person.
Special IRA Rules
Individual retirement accounts (“IRAs”) are not subject
to ERISA’s fiduciary standards, but are subject to their own rules, including
the prohibited transaction rules of Section 4975 of the Code, which generally
mirror ERISA’s prohibited transaction rules. For example, IRAs are subject to
special custody rules and must maintain a qualifying IRA custodial arrangement
separate and distinct from UNL and its custodial arrangement. Otherwise, if a
separate qualifying custodial arrangement is not maintained, an investment in
the limited partnership interests will be treated as a distribution from the
IRA. Additionally, IRAs are prohibited from investing in certain commingled
investments, and USCF makes no representation regarding whether an investment in
limited partnership interests is an inappropriate commingled investment for an
IRA. Finally, in applying the prohibited transaction provisions of Section 4975
of the Code, in addition to the rules summarized above, the individual for whose
benefit the IRA is maintained is also treated as the creator of the IRA. For
example, if the owner or beneficiary of an IRA enters into any transaction,
arrangement, or agreement involving the assets of his or her IRA to benefit the
IRA owner or beneficiary (or his or her relatives or business affiliates)
personally, or with the understanding that such benefit will occur, directly or
indirectly, such transaction could give rise to a prohibited transaction that is
not exempted by any available exemption. Moreover, in the case of an IRA, the
consequences of a non-exempt prohibited transaction are that the IRA’s assets
will be treated as if they were distributed, causing immediate taxation of the
assets (including any early distribution penalty tax applicable under Section 72
of the Code), in addition to any other fines or penalties that may
apply.
Exempt Plans
Governmental plans and church plans are generally not
subject to ERISA, and the above-described prohibited transaction provisions
described above do not apply to them. These plans are, however, subject to
prohibitions against certain related-party transactions under Section 503 of the
Code, which operate similar to the prohibited transaction rules described above.
In addition, the fiduciary of any governmental or church plan should consider
any applicable state or local laws and any restrictions and duties of common law
imposed upon the plan.
No view is expressed as to whether an investment in UNL
(and any continued investment in UNL), or the operation and administration of
UNL, is appropriate or permissible for any governmental plan or church plan
under Code Section 503, or under any state, county, local or other law relating
to that type of plan.
Allowing an investment in UNL is not to be construed
as a representation by USCF, any trading advisor, any clearing broker, the
Marketing Agent or legal counsel or other advisors to such parties or any other
party that this investment meets some or all of the relevant legal requirements
with respect to investments by any particular plan or that this investment is
appropriate for any such particular plan. The person with investment discretion
should consult with the plan’s attorney and financial advisors as to the
propriety of an investment in UNL in light of the circumstances of the
particular plan, current tax law and ERISA.
THE FOREGOING SUMMARY OF ERISA CONSIDERATIONS IS
BASED UPON ERISA, JUDICIAL DECISIONS, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR REGULATIONS AND
RULINGS IN EXISTENCE ON THE DATE HEREOF, ALL OF WHICH ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. THE
SUMMARY IS GENERAL IN NATURE AND DOES NOT ADDRESS EVERY ERISA ISSUE THAT MAY BE
APPLICABLE TO AN INVESTMENT IN UNL OR TO A PARTICULAR INVESTOR.
Form of Shares
Registered Form. Shares are issued in
registered form in accordance with the LP Agreement. The Administrator has been
appointed registrar and transfer agent for the purpose of transferring shares in
certificated form. The Administrator keeps a record of all limited partners and
holders of the shares in certificated form in the registry (the “Register”).
USCF recognizes transfers of shares in certificated form only if done in
accordance with the LP Agreement. The beneficial interests in such shares are
held in book-entry form through participants and/or accountholders in the
Depository Trust Company (“DTC”).
Book Entry. Individual certificates are
not issued for the shares. Instead, shares are represented by one or more global
certificates, which are deposited by the Administrator with DTC and registered
in the name of Cede & Co., as nominee for DTC. The global certificates
evidence all of the shares outstanding at any time. Shareholders are limited to
(1) participants in DTC such as banks, brokers, dealers and trust companies
(“DTC Participants”), (2) those who maintain, either directly or indirectly, a
custodial relationship with a DTC Participant (“Indirect Participants”), and (3)
those banks, brokers, dealers, trust companies and others who hold interests in
the shares through DTC Participants or Indirect Participants, in each case who
satisfy the requirements for transfers of shares. DTC Participants acting on
behalf of investors holding shares through such participants’ accounts in DTC
will follow the delivery practice applicable to securities eligible for DTC’s
Same-Day Funds Settlement System. Shares are credited to DTC Participants’
securities accounts following confirmation of receipt of payment.
DTC. DTC has advised UNL as follows: DTC
is a limited purpose trust company organized under the laws of the State of New
York and is a member of the Federal Reserve System, a “clearing corporation”
within the meaning of the New York Uniform Commercial Code and a “clearing
agency” registered pursuant to the provisions of Section 17A of the 1934 Act.
DTC holds securities for DTC Participants and facilitates the clearance and
settlement of transactions between DTC Participants through electronic
book-entry changes in accounts of DTC Participants.
Transfer of
Shares
Transfers of Shares Only Through DTC. The
shares are only transferable through the book-entry system of DTC. Limited
partners who are not DTC Participants may transfer their shares through DTC by
instructing the DTC Participant holding their shares (or by instructing the
Indirect Participant or other entity through which their shares are held) to
transfer the shares. Transfers are made in accordance with standard securities
industry practice.
Transfers of interests in shares with DTC are made in
accordance with the usual rules and operating procedures of DTC and the nature
of the transfer. DTC has established procedures to facilitate transfers among
the participants and/or accountholders of DTC. Because DTC can only act on
behalf of DTC Participants, who in turn act on behalf of Indirect Participants,
the ability of a person or entity having an interest in a global certificate to
pledge such interest to persons or entities that do not participate in DTC, or
otherwise take actions in respect of such interest, may be affected by the lack
of a certificate or other definitive document representing such
interest.
DTC has advised UNL that it will take any action
permitted to be taken by a shareholder (including, without limitation, the
presentation of a global certificate for exchange) only at the direction of one
or more DTC Participants in whose account with DTC interests in global
certificates are credited and only in respect of such portion of the aggregate
principal amount of the global certificate as to which such DTC Participant or
Participants has or have given such direction.
Transfer/Application Requirements. All
purchasers of UNL’s shares, and potentially any purchasers of shares in the
future, who wish to become limited partners or other record holders and receive
cash distributions, if any, or have certain other rights, must deliver an
executed transfer application in which the purchaser or transferee must certify
that, among other things, he, she or it agrees to be bound by UNL’s LP Agreement
and is eligible to purchase UNL’s securities. Each purchaser of shares offered
by this prospectus must execute a transfer application and certification. The
obligation to provide the form of transfer application will be imposed on the
seller of shares or, if a purchase of shares is made through an exchange, the
form may be obtained directly through UNL. Further, USCF may request each record
holder to furnish certain information, including that record holder’s
nationality, citizenship or other related status. A record holder is a
shareholder that is, or has applied to be, a limited partner. An investor who is
not a U.S. resident may not be eligible to become a record holder or one of
UNL’s limited partners if that investor’s ownership would subject UNL to the
risk of cancellation or forfeiture of any of UNL’s assets under any federal,
state or local law or regulation. If the record holder fails to furnish the
information or if USCF determines, on the basis of the information furnished by
the holder in response to the request, that such holder is not qualified to
become one of UNL’s limited partners, USCF may be substituted as a holder for
the record holder, who will then be treated as a non-citizen assignee, and UNL
will have the right to redeem those securities held by the record
holder.
A transferee’s broker, agent or nominee may complete,
execute and deliver a transfer application and certification. UNL may, at its
discretion, treat the nominee holder of a share as the absolute owner. In that
case, the beneficial holder’s rights are limited solely to those that it has
against the nominee holder as a result of any agreement between the beneficial
owner and the nominee holder.
A person purchasing UNL’s existing shares, who does not
execute a transfer application and certify that the purchaser is eligible to
purchase those securities acquires no rights in those securities other than the
right to resell those securities. Whether or not a transfer application is
received or the consent of USCF obtained, UNL’s shares are securities and are
transferable according to the laws governing transfers of securities.
Any transfer of shares will not be recorded by the
transfer agent or recognized by USCF unless a completed transfer application is
delivered to USCF or the Administrator. When acquiring shares, the transferee of
such shares that completes a transfer application will:
|
· |
be an assignee until admitted as a substituted
limited partner upon the consent and sole discretion of USCF and the
recording of the assignment on the books and records of the
partnership; |
|
· |
automatically request admission as a substituted
limited partner; |
|
· |
agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of,
and execute, the LP Agreement; |
|
· |
represent that such transferee has the capacity
and authority to enter into the LP Agreement; |
|
· |
grant powers of attorney to USCF and any
liquidator of UNL; and |
|
· |
make the consents and waivers contained in the LP
Agreement. |
An assignee will become a limited partner in respect of
the transferred shares upon the consent of USCF and the recordation of the name
of the assignee on UNL’s books and records. Such consent may be withheld in the
sole discretion of USCF.
If consent of USCF is withheld, such transferee shall be
an assignee. An assignee shall have an interest in the partnership equivalent to
that of a limited partner with respect to allocations and distributions,
including, without limitation, liquidating distributions, of the partnership.
With respect to voting rights attributable to shares that are held by assignees,
USCF shall be deemed to be the limited partner with respect thereto and shall,
in exercising the voting rights in respect of such shares on any matter, vote
such shares at the written direction of the assignee who is the record holder of
such shares. If no such written direction is received, such shares will not be
voted. An assignee shall have no other rights of a limited partner.
Until a share has been transferred on UNL’s books, UNL
and the transfer agent may treat the record holder of the share as the absolute
owner for all purposes, except as otherwise required by law or stock exchange
regulations.
What is the Plan of
Distribution?
Buying and Selling Shares
Most investors buy and sell shares of UNL in secondary
market transactions through brokers. Shares trade on the NYSE Arca under the
ticker symbol “UNL.” Shares are bought and sold throughout the trading day like
other publicly traded securities. When buying or selling shares through a
broker, most investors incur customary brokerage commissions and charges.
Investors are encouraged to review the terms of their brokerage account for
details on applicable charges.
Marketing Agent and Authorized
Participants
The offering of UNL’s shares is a best efforts offering.
UNL continuously offers Creation Baskets consisting of 50,000 shares through the
Marketing Agent, to Authorized Participants. Authorized Participants pay a $350
fee for each order they place to create or redeem one or more Creation Baskets
or Redemption Baskets. Through September 30, 2022, the fee of the Marketing
Agent, which is borne by USCF, was equal to 0.06% on UNL’s assets up to the
first $3 billion and 0.04% on UNL’s assets in excess of $3 billion. The
agreement with the Marketing Agent has been amended and, commencing October 1,
2022, the fee of the Marketing Agent, which is calculated daily and payable
monthly and borne by USCF, is equal to 0.025% of UNL’s total net assets. In no
event may the aggregate compensation paid to the Marketing Agent and any
affiliate of USCF for distribution-related services in connection with this
offering exceed ten percent (10%) of the gross proceeds of this
offering.
The offering of baskets is being made in compliance with
Conduct Rule 2310 of FINRA. Accordingly, Authorized Participants will not make
any sales to any account over which they have discretionary authority without
the prior written approval of a purchaser of shares.
The per share price of shares offered in Creation
Baskets on any subsequent day will be the total NAV of UNL calculated shortly
after the close of the core trading session on the NYSE Arca on that day divided
by the number of issued and outstanding shares. An Authorized Participant is not
required to sell any specific number or dollar amount of shares.
When an Authorized Participant executes an agreement
with USCF on behalf of UNL (each such agreement, an “Authorized Participant
Agreement”), such Authorized Participant becomes part of the group of parties
eligible to purchase baskets from, and put baskets for redemption to, UNL. An
Authorized Participant is under no obligation to create or redeem baskets, and
an Authorized Participant is under no obligation to offer to the public shares
of any baskets it does create.
As of February 28, 2023, UNL had the following
Authorized Participants: Citadel Securities LLC, Citigroup Global Markets, Inc.,
Credit Suisse Securities USA LLC, JP Morgan Securities Inc., Merrill Lynch
Professional Clearing Corp., Morgan Stanley & Company, Inc., RBC Capital
Markets LLC, SG Americas Securities LLC, and Virtu Americas LLC.
Because new shares can be created and issued on an
ongoing basis, at any point during the life of UNL, a “distribution”, as such
term is used in the 1933 Act, will be occurring. Authorized Participants, other
broker-dealers and other persons are cautioned that some of their activities may
result in their being deemed participants in a distribution in a manner that
would render them statutory underwriters and subject them to the
prospectus-delivery and liability provisions of the 1933 Act. In addition, any
purchaser who purchases shares with a view towards distribution of such shares
may be deemed to be a statutory underwriter.
Authorized Participants will comply with the
prospectus-delivery requirements in connection with the sale of shares to
customers. For example, an Authorized Participant, other broker-dealer firm or
its client will be deemed a statutory underwriter if it purchases a Creation
Basket from UNL, breaks the Creation Basket down into the constituent shares and
sells the shares to its customers; or if it chooses to couple the creation of a
supply of new shares with an active selling effort involving solicitation of
secondary market demand for the shares. Authorized Participants may also engage
in secondary market transactions in shares that would not be deemed
“underwriting”. For example, an Authorized Participant may act in the capacity
of a broker or dealer with respect to shares that were previously distributed by
other Authorized Participants. A determination of whether a particular market
participant is an underwriter must take into account all the facts and
circumstances pertaining to the activities of the broker-dealer or its client in
the particular case, and the examples mentioned above should not be considered a
complete description of all the activities that would lead to designation as an
underwriter and subject them to the prospectus-delivery and liability provisions
of the 1933 Act.
Dealers who are neither Authorized Participants nor
“underwriters” but are nonetheless participating in a distribution (as
contrasted to ordinary secondary trading transactions), and thus dealing with
shares that are part of an “unsold allotment” within the meaning of Section
4(a)(3)(C) of the 1933 Act, would be unable to take advantage of the
prospectus-delivery exemption provided by Section 4(a)(3) of the 1933
Act.
USCF may qualify the shares in states selected by USCF
and intends that sales be made through broker-dealers who are members of FINRA.
Investors intending to create or redeem baskets through Authorized Participants
in transactions not involving a broker-dealer registered in such investor’s
state of domicile or residence should consult their legal advisor regarding
applicable broker-dealer or securities regulatory requirements under the state
securities laws prior to such creation or redemption.
While the Authorized Participants may be indemnified by
USCF, they will not be entitled to receive a discount or commission from UNL for
their purchases of Creation Baskets.
Calculating Per Share
NAV
UNL’s per share NAV is calculated by:
|
· |
Taking the current market value of its total
assets; |
|
· |
Subtracting any liabilities;
and |
|
· |
Dividing that total by the total number of
outstanding shares. |
The Administrator calculates the per share NAV of UNL
once each NYSE Arca trading day. The per share NAV for a normal trading day is
released after 4:00 p.m. New York time. Trading during the core trading session
on the NYSE Arca typically closes at 4:00 p.m. New York time. The Administrator
uses the NYMEX closing price (determined at the earlier of the close of the
NYMEX or 2:30 p.m. New York time) for the Futures Contracts traded on the NYMEX,
but calculates or determines the value of all other UNL investments (including
Futures Contracts not traded on the NYMEX, Other Natural Gas-Related Investments
and Treasuries) using market quotations, if available, or other information
customarily used to determine the fair value of such investments as of the
earlier of the close of the NYSE Arca or 4:00 p.m. New York time in accordance
with the current Administrative Agency Agreement among the Administrator, UNL
and USCF. “Other information” customarily used in determining fair value
includes information consisting of market data in the relevant market supplied
by one or more third parties including, without limitation, relevant rates,
prices, yields, yield curves, volatilities, spreads, correlations or other
market data in the relevant market; or information of the types described above
from internal sources if that information is of the same type used by UNL in the
regular course of its business for the valuation of similar transactions. The
information may include costs of funding, to the extent costs of funding are not
and would not be a component of the other information being utilized. Third
parties supplying quotations or market data may include, without limitation,
dealers in the relevant markets, end-users of the relevant product, information
vendors, brokers and other sources of market information.
In addition, in order to provide updated information
relating to UNL for use by investors and market professionals, the NYSE Arca
calculates and disseminates throughout the core trading session on each trading
day an updated indicative fund value. The indicative fund value is calculated by
using the prior day’s closing per share NAV of UNL as a base and updating that
value throughout the trading day to reflect changes in the most recently
reported trade price for the active natural gas Futures Contracts on the NYMEX.
The prices reported for those Futures Contract months are adjusted based on the
prior day’s spread differential between settlement values for the relevant
contract and the spot month contract. In the event that the spot month contract
is also the Benchmark Futures Contracts, the last sale price for those contracts
is not adjusted. The indicative fund value share basis disseminated during NYSE
Arca core trading session hours should not be viewed as an actual real time
update of the per share NAV, because the per share NAV is calculated only once
at the end of each trading day based upon the relevant end of day values of
UNL’s investments.
The indicative fund value is disseminated on a per share
basis every 15 seconds during regular NYSE Arca core trading session hours of
9:30 a.m. New York time to 4:00 p.m. New York time. The normal trading hours of
the NYMEX are 9:00 a.m. New York time to 2:30 p.m. New York time. This means
that there is a gap in time at the beginning and the end of each day during
which UNL’s shares are traded on the NYSE Arca, but real-time NYMEX trading
prices for Futures Contracts traded on the NYMEX are not available. During such
gaps in time, the indicative fund value will be calculated based on the end of
day price of such Futures Contracts from the NYMEX’s immediately preceding
trading session. In addition, other Futures Contracts, Other Natural Gas-Related
Investments and Treasuries held by UNL will be valued by the Administrator,
using rates and points received from client-approved third-party vendors (such
as Reuters and WM Company) and advisor quotes. These investments will not be
included in the indicative fund value.
The NYSE Arca disseminates the indicative fund value
through the facilities of CTA/CQ High Speed Lines. In addition, the indicative
fund value is published on the NYSE Arca’s website and is available through
on-line information services such as Bloomberg and Reuters.
Dissemination of the indicative fund value provides
additional information that is not otherwise available to the public and is
useful to investors and market professionals in connection with the trading of
UNL shares on the NYSE Arca. Investors and market professionals are able
throughout the trading day to compare the market price of UNL and the indicative
fund value. If the market price of UNL shares diverges significantly from the
indicative fund value, market professionals will have an incentive to execute
arbitrage trades. For example, if UNL appears to be trading at a discount
compared to the indicative fund value, a market professional could buy UNL
shares on the NYSE Arca and sell short Futures Contracts. Such arbitrage trades
can tighten the tracking between the market price of UNL and the indicative fund
value and thus can be beneficial to all market participants.
UNL reserves the right to adjust the share price of UNL
in the future to maintain convenient trading ranges for investors. Any
adjustments would be accomplished through stock splits or reverse stock splits.
Such splits would decrease (in the case of a split) or increase (in the case of
a reverse split) the proportionate NAV per share, but would have no effect on
the net assets of UNL or the proportionate voting rights of shareholders or
limited partners.
Creation and Redemption of
Shares
UNL creates and redeems shares from time to time, but
only in one or more Creation Baskets or Redemption Baskets. The creation and
redemption of baskets are only made in exchange for delivery to UNL or the
distribution by UNL of the amount of Treasuries and any cash represented by the
baskets being created or redeemed, the amount of which is based on the combined
NAV of the number of shares included in the baskets being created or redeemed
determined as of 4:00 p.m. New York time on the day the order to create or
redeem baskets is properly received.
Authorized Participants are the only persons that may
place orders to create and redeem baskets. Authorized Participants must be (1)
registered broker-dealers or other securities market participants, such as banks
and other financial institutions, that are not required to register as
broker-dealers to engage in securities transactions as described below, and (2)
DTC Participants. To become an Authorized Participant, a person must enter into
an Authorized Participant Agreement with USCF on behalf of UNL (each such
agreement, an “Authorized Participant Agreement”). The Authorized Participant
Agreement provides the procedures for the creation and redemption of baskets and
for the delivery of the Treasuries and any cash required for such creations and
redemptions. The Authorized Participant Agreement and the related procedures
attached thereto may be amended by USCF, without the consent of any limited
partner or shareholder or Authorized Participant. Authorized Participants pay a
transaction fee of $350 to UNL for each order they place to create one or more
Creation Baskets or to redeem one or more Redemption Baskets. The transaction
fee may be reduced, increased or otherwise changed by USCF. Authorized
Participants who make deposits with UNL in exchange for baskets receive no fees,
commissions or other form of compensation or inducement of any kind from either
UNL or USCF, and no such person will have any obligation or responsibility to
USCF or UNL to effect any sale or resale of shares.
Certain Authorized Participants are expected to be
capable of participating directly in the physical natural gas market and the
natural gas futures market. In some cases, Authorized Participants or their
affiliates may from time to time buy natural gas or sell natural gas or Natural
Gas Interests and may profit in these instances. USCF believes that the size and
operation of the natural gas market make it unlikely that an Authorized
Participant’s direct activities in the natural gas or securities markets will
significantly affect the price of natural gas, Natural Gas Interests, or the
price of the shares.
Each Authorized Participant is required to be registered
as a broker-dealer under the 1934 Act and is a member in good standing with
FINRA, or exempt from being or otherwise not required to be registered as a
broker-dealer or a member of FINRA, and qualified to act as a broker or dealer
in the states or other jurisdictions where the nature of its business so
requires. Certain Authorized Participants may also be regulated under federal
and state banking laws and regulations. Each Authorized Participant has its own
set of rules and procedures, internal controls and information barriers as it
determines is appropriate in light of its own regulatory regime.
Under the Authorized Participant Agreement, USCF, and
UNL under limited circumstances, have agreed to indemnify the Authorized
Participants against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the 1933
Act, and to contribute to the payments the Authorized Participants may be
required to make in respect of those liabilities.
The following description of the procedures for the
creation and redemption of baskets is only a summary and an investor should
refer to the relevant provisions of the LP Agreement and the form of Authorized
Participant Agreement for more detail, each of which is incorporated by
reference into this prospectus.
Creation Procedures
On any business day, an Authorized Participant may place
an order with the Marketing Agent to create one or more baskets. For purposes of
processing purchase and redemption orders, a “business day” means any day other
than a day when any of the NYSE Arca, the NYMEX or the NYSE is closed for
regular trading. Purchase orders must be placed by 12:00 p.m. New York time or
the close of regular trading on the NYSE Arca, whichever is earlier. The day on
which the Marketing Agent receives a valid purchase order is referred to as the
purchase order date.
By placing a purchase order, an Authorized Participant
agrees to deposit Treasuries, cash, or a combination of Treasuries and cash, as
described below. Prior to the delivery of baskets for a purchase order, the
Authorized Participant must also have wired to the Custodian the non-refundable
transaction fee due for the purchase order. Authorized Participants may not
withdraw a creation request, except as otherwise set forth in the procedures in
the Authorized Participant Agreement.
The manner by which creations are made is dictated by
the terms of the Authorized Participant Agreement. By placing a purchase order,
an Authorized Participant agrees to (1) deposit Treasuries, cash, or a
combination of Treasuries and cash with the Custodian of UNL, and (2) if
required by USCF in its sole discretion, enter into or arrange for a block
trade, an exchange for physical or exchange for swap, or any other OTC energy
transaction (through itself or a designated acceptable broker) with UNL for the
purchase of a number and type of futures contracts at the closing settlement
price for such contracts on the purchase order date. If an Authorized
Participant fails to consummate (1) and (2), the order shall be cancelled. The
number and types of contracts specified shall be determined by USCF, in its sole
discretion, to meet UNL’s investment objective and shall be purchased as a
result of the Authorized Participant’s purchase of shares.
Determination of Required Deposits
The total deposit required to create each Creation
Basket (“Creation Basket Deposit”) is the amount of Treasuries and/or cash that
is in the same proportion to the total assets of UNL (net of estimated accrued
but unpaid fees, expenses and other liabilities) on the purchase order date as
the number of shares to be created under the purchase order is in proportion to
the total number of shares outstanding on the purchase order date. USCF
determines, directly in its sole discretion or in consultation with the
Administrator, the requirements for Treasuries and the amount of cash, including
the maximum permitted remaining maturity of a Treasury and proportions of
Treasury and cash that may be included in deposits to create baskets. The
Marketing Agent will publish such requirements at the beginning of each business
day. The amount of cash deposit required is the difference between the aggregate
market value of the Treasuries required to be included in a Creation Basket
Deposit as of 4:00 p.m. New York time on the date the order to purchase is
properly received and the total required deposit.
Delivery of Required Deposits
An Authorized Participant who places a purchase order is
responsible for transferring to UNL’s account with the Custodian the required
amount of Treasuries and cash by the end of the second business day following
the purchase order date. Upon receipt of the deposit amount, the Administrator
directs DTC to credit the number of baskets ordered to the Authorized
Participant’s DTC account on the second business day following the purchase
order date. The expense and risk of delivery and ownership of Treasuries until
such Treasuries have been received by the Custodian on behalf of UNL shall be
borne solely by the Authorized Participant.
Because orders to purchase baskets must be placed by
12:00 p.m., New York time, but the total payment required to create a basket
during the continuous offering period will not be determined until after 4:00
p.m. New York time on the date the purchase order is received, Authorized
Participants will not know the total amount of the payment required to create a
basket at the time they submit an irrevocable purchase order for the basket.
UNL’s per share NAV and the total amount of the payment required to create a
basket could rise or fall substantially between the time an irrevocable purchase
order is submitted and the time the amount of the purchase price in respect
thereof is determined.
Rejection of Purchase Orders
USCF acting by itself or through the Marketing Agent
shall have the absolute right but no obligation to reject a purchase order or a
Creation Basket Deposit if:
|
· |
it determines that the investment alternative
available to UNL at that time will not enable it to meet its investment
objective; |
|
· |
it determines that the purchase order or the
Creation Basket Deposit is not in proper form; |
|
· |
it believes that the purchase order or the
Creation Basket Deposit would have adverse tax consequences to UNL, the
limited partners or its shareholders; |
|
· |
the acceptance or receipt of the Creation Basket
Deposit would, in the opinion of counsel to USCF, be unlawful;
or |
|
· |
circumstances outside the control of USCF,
Marketing Agent or Custodian make it, for all practical purposes, not
feasible to process creations of baskets. |
None of USCF, the Marketing Agent or the Custodian will
be liable for the rejection of any purchase order or Creation Basket
Deposit.
Redemption Procedures
The procedures by which an Authorized Participant can
redeem one or more baskets mirror the procedures for the creation of baskets. On
any business day, an Authorized Participant may place an order with the
Marketing Agent to redeem one or more baskets. Redemption orders must be placed
by 12:00 p.m. New York time or the close of regular trading on the NYSE Arca,
whichever is earlier. A redemption order so received will be effective on the
date it is received in satisfactory form by the Marketing Agent (“Redemption
Order Date”). The redemption procedures allow Authorized Participants to redeem
baskets and do not entitle an individual shareholder to redeem any shares in an
amount less than a Redemption Basket, or to redeem baskets other than through an
Authorized Participant.
By placing a redemption order, an Authorized Participant
agrees to deliver the baskets to be redeemed through DTC’s book-entry system to
UNL, as described below. Prior to the delivery of the redemption distribution
for a redemption order, the Authorized Participant must also have wired to UNL’s
account at the Custodian the non-refundable transaction fee due for the
redemption order. An Authorized Participant may not withdraw a redemption order,
except as otherwise set forth in the procedures in the Authorized Participant
Agreement.
The manner by which redemptions are made is dictated by
the terms of the Authorized Participant Agreement. By placing a redemption
order, an Authorized Participant agrees to (1) deliver the Redemption Basket to
be redeemed through DTC’s book-entry system to UNL’s account with the Custodian
not later than 3:00 p.m. New York time on the second business day following the
effective date of the redemption order (“Redemption Distribution Date”), and (2)
if required by USCF in its sole discretion, enter into or arrange for a block
trade, an exchange for physical or exchange for swap, or any other OTC energy
transaction (through itself or a designated acceptable broker) with UNL for the
sale of a number and type of futures contracts at the closing settlement price
for such contracts on the Redemption Order Date. If an Authorized Participant
fails to consummate (1) and (2) above, the order shall be cancelled. The number
and type of contracts specified shall be determined by USCF, in its sole
discretion, to meet UNL’s investment objective and shall be sold as a result of
the Authorized Participant’s sale of shares.
Determination of Redemption
Distribution
The redemption distribution from UNL consists of a
transfer to the redeeming Authorized Participant of an amount of Treasuries
and/or cash that is in the same proportion to the total assets of UNL (net of
estimated accrued but unpaid fees, expenses and other liabilities) on the date
the order to redeem is properly received as the number of shares to be redeemed
under the redemption order is in proportion to the total number of shares
outstanding on the date the order is received. USCF, directly or in consultation
with the Administrator, determines the requirements for Treasuries and the
amounts of cash, including the maximum permitted remaining maturity of a
Treasury, and the proportions of Treasuries and cash that may be included in
distributions to redeem baskets. The Marketing Agent will publish an estimate of
the redemption distribution per basket as of the beginning of each business
day.
Delivery of Redemption
Distribution
The redemption distribution due from UNL will be
delivered to the Authorized Participant by 3:00 p.m. New York time on the second
business day following the redemption order date if, by 3:00 p.m. New York time
on such second business day, UNL’s DTC account has been credited with the
baskets to be redeemed. If UNL’s DTC account has not been credited with all of
the baskets to be redeemed by such time, the redemption distribution will be
delivered to the extent of whole baskets received. Any remainder of the
redemption distribution will be delivered on the next business day to the extent
of remaining whole baskets received if UNL receives the fee applicable to the
extension of the redemption distribution date which USCF may, from time to time,
determine and the remaining baskets to be redeemed are credited to UNL’s DTC
account by 3:00 p.m. New York time on such next business day. Any further
outstanding amount of the redemption order shall be cancelled. Pursuant to
information from USCF, the Custodian will also be authorized to deliver the
redemption distribution notwithstanding that the baskets to be redeemed are not
credited to UNL’s DTC account by 3:00 p.m. New York time on the second business
day following the redemption order date if the Authorized Participant has
collateralized its obligation to deliver the baskets through DTC’s book
entry-system on such terms as USCF may from time to time determine.
Suspension or Rejection of Redemption
Orders
USCF may, in its discretion, suspend the right of
redemption, or postpone the redemption settlement date, (1) for any period
during which the NYSE Arca or the NYMEX is closed other than customary weekend
or holiday closings, or trading on the NYSE Arca or the NYMEX is suspended or
restricted, (2) for any period during which an emergency exists as a result of
which delivery, disposal or evaluation of Treasuries is not reasonably
practicable, or (3) for such other period as USCF determines to be necessary for
the protection of the limited partners or shareholders. For example, USCF may
determine that it is necessary to suspend redemptions to allow for the orderly
liquidation of UNL’s assets at an appropriate value to fund a redemption. If
USCF has difficulty liquidating its positions, e.g., because of a market
disruption event in the futures markets, a suspension of trading by the exchange
where the futures contracts are listed or an unanticipated delay in the
liquidation of a position in an OTC contract, it may be appropriate to suspend
redemptions until such time as such circumstances are rectified. None of USCF,
the Marketing Agent, the Administrator, or the Custodian will be liable to any
person or in any way for any loss or damages that may result from any such
suspension or postponement.
Redemption orders must be made in whole baskets. USCF
will reject a redemption order if the order is not in proper form as described
in the Authorized Participant Agreement or if the fulfillment of the order, in
the opinion of its counsel, might be unlawful. USCF may also reject a redemption
order if the number of shares being redeemed would reduce the remaining
outstanding shares to 100,000 shares (i.e., two baskets) or
less.
Creation and Redemption Transaction
Fee
To compensate UNL for its expenses in connection with
the creation and redemption of baskets, an Authorized Participant is required to
pay a transaction fee to UNL of $350 per order to create or redeem baskets,
regardless of the number of baskets in such order. An order may include multiple
baskets. The transaction fee may be reduced, increased or otherwise changed by
USCF. USCF shall notify DTC of any change in the transaction fee and will not
implement any increase in the fee for the redemption of baskets until thirty
(30) days after the date of the notice.
Tax Responsibility
Authorized Participants are responsible for any transfer
tax, sales or use tax, stamp tax, recording tax, value added tax or similar tax
or governmental charge applicable to the creation or redemption of baskets,
regardless of whether or not such tax or charge is imposed directly on the
Authorized Participant, and agree to indemnify USCF and UNL if they are required
by law to pay any such tax, together with any applicable penalties, additions to
tax and interest thereon.
Secondary Market Transactions
As noted, UNL creates and redeems shares from time to
time, but only in one or more Creation Baskets or Redemption Baskets. The
creation and redemption of baskets are only made in exchange for delivery to UNL
or the distribution by UNL of the amount of Treasuries and cash represented by
the baskets being created or redeemed, the amount of which will be based on the
aggregate NAV of the number of shares included in the baskets being created or
redeemed determined on the day the order to create or redeem baskets is properly
received.
As discussed above, Authorized Participants are the only
persons that may place orders to create and redeem baskets. Authorized
Participants must be registered broker-dealers or other securities market
participants, such as banks and other financial institutions that are not
required to register as broker-dealers to engage in securities transactions. An
Authorized Participant is under no obligation to create or redeem baskets, and
an Authorized Participant is under no obligation to offer to the public shares
of any baskets it does create. Authorized Participants that do offer to the
public shares from the baskets they create will do so at per-share offering
prices that are expected to reflect, among other factors, the trading price of
the shares on the NYSE Arca, the per share NAV of UNL at the time the Authorized
Participant purchased the Creation Baskets and the per share NAV at the time of
the offer of the shares to the public, the supply of and demand for shares at
the time of sale, and the liquidity of the Futures Contract market and the
market for Other Natural Gas-Related Investments.
Shares initially comprising the same basket but offered
by Authorized Participants to the public at different times may have different
offering prices. An order for one or more baskets may be placed by an Authorized
Participant on behalf of multiple clients. Authorized Participants who make
deposits with UNL in exchange for baskets receive no fees, commissions or other
forms of compensation or inducement of any kind from either UNL or USCF, and no
such person has any obligation or responsibility to USCF or UNL to effect any
sale or resale of shares. Shares trade in the secondary market on the NYSE Arca.
Shares may trade in the secondary market at prices that are lower or higher
relative to their NAV per share.
The amount of the discount or premium in the trading
price relative to the per share NAV may be influenced by various factors,
including, among other things, the number of investors who seek to purchase or
sell shares in the secondary market, availability of Creation Baskets, the
liquidity of the Futures Contracts market and the market for Other Natural
Gas-Related Investments. In addition, while UNL’s shares trade during the core
trading session on the NYSE Arca until 4:00 p.m. New York time, liquidity in the
market for Futures Contracts and Other Natural Gas-Related Investments may be
reduced after the close of the NYMEX at 2:30 p.m. New York time. UNL’s NAV is
calculated based on the settlement price of the Benchmark Futures Contracts at
2:30 p.m. New York time and the closing share price of UNL on the NYSE Arca
takes into account changes in the price of the Benchmark Futures Contracts that
occur after the settlement price is determined. As a result, during this time,
particularly if UNL has invested in Futures Contracts and Other Natural
Gas-Related Investments traded on the NYMEX, trading spreads, and the resulting
premium or discount, on the shares may widen.
Use of
Proceeds
USCF causes UNL to transfer the proceeds from the sale
of Creation Baskets to the Custodian or other custodian for trading activities.
USCF will invest UNL’s assets in Natural Gas-Interests and investments in
Treasuries, cash and/or cash equivalents. When UNL purchases a Futures Contract
and certain exchange-traded Other Natural Gas-Related Investments, UNL is
required to deposit typically 5% to 30% with the selling FCMs on behalf of the
exchange a portion of the value of the contract or other interest as security to
ensure payment for the obligation under Natural Gas Interests at maturity. This
deposit is known as initial margin. Counterparties in transactions in OTC
contracts will generally impose similar collateral requirements on UNL. USCF
will invest the assets that remain after margin and collateral are posted in
Treasuries, cash and/or cash equivalents subject to these margin and collateral
requirements. USCF has sole authority to determine the percentage of assets that
are:
|
· |
held on deposit with the FCMs or other
custodian, |
|
· |
used for other investments,
and |
|
· |
held in bank accounts to pay current obligations
and as reserves. |
An FCM, counterparty, government agency or commodity
exchange could increase margin or collateral requirements applicable to UNL to
hold trading positions at any time. Ongoing margin and collateral payments will
generally be required for both exchange-traded and OTC contracts based on
changes in the value of the Natural Gas Interests. Furthermore, ongoing
collateral requirements with respect to OTC contracts are negotiated by the
parties, and may be affected by overall market volatility, volatility of the
underlying commodity or index, the ability of the counterparty to hedge its
exposure under the Natural Gas Interests, and each party’s creditworthiness.
Margin is merely a security deposit and has no bearing on the profit or loss
potential for any positions held. In light of the differing requirements for
initial payments under exchange-traded and OTC contracts and the fluctuating
nature of ongoing margin and collateral payments, it is not possible to estimate
what portion of UNL’s assets will be posted as margin or collateral at any given
time. The Treasuries, cash and cash equivalents held by UNL will constitute
reserves that will be available to meet ongoing margin and collateral
requirements. All interest income will be used for UNL’s benefit.
The assets of UNL posted as margin for Futures Contracts
are held in segregated accounts pursuant to the CEA and CFTC
regulations.
If UNL enters into a swap agreement, UNL must post both
collateral and independent amounts to its swap counterparty(ies). The amount of
collateral UNL posts changes according to the amounts owed by UNL to its
counterparty on a given swap transaction, while independent amounts are fixed
amounts posted by UNL at the start of a swap transaction. Collateral and
independent amounts posted to swap counterparties will be held by a third-party
custodian.
INFORMATION YOU SHOULD
KNOW
This prospectus contains information you should consider
when making an investment decision about the shares. You may rely on the
information contained in this prospectus. Neither UNL nor USCF has authorized
any person to provide you with different information and, if anyone provides you
with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. This
prospectus is not an offer to sell the shares in any jurisdiction where the
offer or sale of the shares is not permitted.
The information contained in this prospectus was
obtained from us and other sources believed by us to be reliable.
You should rely only on the information contained in
this prospectus or any applicable prospectus supplement or any information
incorporated by reference to this prospectus. We have not authorized anyone to
provide you with any information that is different. If you receive any
unauthorized information, you must not rely on it. You should disregard anything
we said in an earlier document that is inconsistent with what is included in
this prospectus or any applicable prospectus supplement or any information
incorporated by reference to this prospectus. Where the context requires, when
we refer to this “prospectus,” we are referring to this prospectus and (if
applicable) the relevant prospectus supplement.
You should not assume that the information in this
prospectus or any applicable prospectus supplement is current as of any date
other than the date on the front page of this prospectus or the date on the
front page of any applicable prospectus supplement.
We include cross references in this prospectus to
captions in these materials where you can find further related discussions. The
table of contents tells you where to find these captions.
SUMMARY OF PROMOTIONAL AND
SALES MATERIAL
UNL uses the following promotional or sales
material:
|
· |
UNL’s website, www.uscfinvestments.com;
and |
|
· |
UNL fact sheet found on UNL’s
website. |
The materials described above are not a part of this
prospectus or the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part and
have been submitted to the staff of the SEC for their review pursuant to
Industry Guide 5.
This section is provided here as a convenience to
you.
INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY
USCF owns trademark registrations for the UNITED STATES
12 MONTH NATURAL GAS FUND (U.S. Reg. No. 3783071) for “Financial investment
services in the field of natural gas futures contracts, cash-settled options on
natural gas futures contracts, forward contracts for natural gas,
over-the-counter transactions based on the price of natural gas, and indices
based on the foregoing,” in use since November 18, 2009, and UNL UNITED
STATES 12 MONTH NATURAL GAS FUND, LP (and 12 and Flame Design) (U.S. Reg.
No. 4440925) for “financial investment services in the field of natural gas
futures contracts, cash-settled options on natural gas futures contracts,
forward contracts for natural gas, over-the-counter transactions based on the
price of natural gas, and indices based on the foregoing,” in use since
September 30, 2012. USCF relies upon these trademarks through which it
markets its services and strives to build and maintain brand recognition in the
market and among current and potential investors. So long as USCF continues to
use these trademarks to identify its services, without challenge from any third
party, and properly maintains and renews the trademark registrations under
applicable laws, rules and regulations, it will continue to have indefinite
protection for these trademarks under current laws, rules and
regulations.
USCF owns trademark registrations for USCF (and Design)
(U.S. Reg. No. 5127374) for “fund investment services,” in use since
April 10, 2016, USCF (U.S. Reg. No. 5040755) for “fund investment
services,” in use since June 24, 2008, and INVEST IN WHAT’S REAL (U.S. Reg.
No. 5450808) for “fund investment services,” in use since April 2016.
USCF relies upon these trademarks and service mark through which it markets its
services and strives to build and maintain brand recognition in the market and
among current and potential investors. So long as USCF continues to use these
trademarks to identify its services, without challenge from any third party, and
properly maintains and renews the trademark registrations under applicable laws,
rules and regulations; it will continue to have indefinite protection for
these trademarks under current laws, rules and regulations. USCF has been
granted two patents Nos. 7,739,186 and 8,019,675, for systems and methods for an
exchange traded fund (ETF) that tracks the price of one or more
commodities.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE
INFORMATION
USCF has filed on behalf of UNL a registration statement
on Form S-1 with the SEC under the 1933 Act. This prospectus does not contain
all of the information set forth in the registration statement (including the
exhibits to the registration statement), parts of which have been omitted in
accordance with the rules and regulations of the SEC. For further information
about UNL or the shares, please refer to the registration statement, which you
may access online at www.sec.gov. Information about UNL and the shares
can also be obtained from UNL’s website, http://www.uscfinvestments.com.
UNL’s website address is only provided here as a convenience to you and the
information contained on or connected to the website is not part of this
prospectus or the registration statement of which this prospectus is part. UNL
is subject to the informational requirements of the 1934 Act and USCF, on behalf
of UNL, will file certain reports and other information with the SEC under the
1934 Act. USCF will file an updated prospectus annually for UNL pursuant to the
1933 Act. The reports and other information can be accessed online at
www.sec.gov.
STATEMENT REGARDING
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus includes “forward-looking statements”
which generally relate to future events or future performance. In some cases,
you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,”
“will,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,”
“predict,” “potential,” or the negative of these terms or other comparable
terminology. All statements (other than statements of historical fact) included
in this prospectus that address activities, events or developments that will or
may occur in the future, including such matters as changes in inflation in the
United States, movements in the stock market, movements in U.S. and foreign
currencies, and movements in the commodities markets and indexes that track such
movements, UNL’s operations, USCF’s plans and references to UNL’s future success
and other similar matters, are forward-looking statements. These statements are
only predictions. Actual events or results may differ materially. These
statements are based upon certain assumptions and analyses USCF has made based
on its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future
developments, as well as other factors appropriate in the circumstances. Whether
or not actual results and developments will conform to USCF’s expectations and
predictions, however, is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties,
including the special considerations discussed in this prospectus, general
economic, market and business conditions, changes in laws or regulations,
including those concerning taxes, made by governmental authorities or regulatory
bodies, and other world economic and political developments. See “Risk Factors
Involved with an Investment in UNL’’ Consequently, all the forward-looking
statements made in this prospectus are qualified by these cautionary statements,
and there can be no assurance that the actual results or developments USCF
anticipates will be realized or, even if substantially realized, that they will
result in the expected consequences to, or have the expected effects on, UNL’s
operations or the value of the shares.
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE OF
CERTAIN INFORMATION
We are a reporting company and file annual, quarterly
and current reports and other information with the SEC. The rules of the SEC
allow us to “incorporate by reference” information that we file with them, which
means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to
those documents. The information incorporated by reference is an important part
of this prospectus. Any reports filed by us with the SEC subsequent to the date
of this prospectus and before the date that any offering of any securities by
means of this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement is
terminated will automatically update, and where applicable, supersede any
information contained in this prospectus or incorporated by reference in this
prospectus. We incorporate by reference the documents listed below and any
future filings we will make with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or
15(d) of the 1934 Act after the date of this prospectus until all of the
securities offered by this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement
have been sold or we otherwise terminate the offering of these securities;
provided, however, that information “furnished” under Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 of
Form 8-K, or other information “furnished” to the SEC which is not deemed filed
is not and will not be incorporated by reference. This prospectus incorporates
by reference the documents set forth below that have been previously filed with
the SEC:
|
· |
Annual Report on Form
10-K for the fiscal year ended December
31, 2022, filed with the SEC on February 27,
2023. |
We will provide to each person to whom a prospectus is
delivered, including any beneficial owner, a copy of these filings at no cost,
upon written or oral request at the following address or telephone
number:
United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund,
LP
Attention: Katie Rooney
1850 Mt. Diablo Boulevard, Suite 640
Walnut
Creek, California 94596
(510) 522-9600
Privacy Policy
UNL and USCF may collect or have access to certain
nonpublic personal information about current and former investors. Nonpublic
personal information may include information received from investors, such as an
investor’s name, social security number and address, as well as information
received from brokerage firms about investor holdings and transactions in shares
of UNL.
UNL and USCF do not disclose nonpublic personal
information except as required by law or as described in their Privacy Policy.
In general, UNL and USCF restrict access to the non-public personal information
they collect about investors to those of their and their affiliates’ employees
and service providers who need access to such information to provide products
and services to investors.
UNL and USCF maintain safeguards that comply with
federal and applicable state law to protect investors’ nonpublic personal
information. These safeguards are reasonably designed to (1) ensure the security
and confidentiality of investors’ records and information, (2) protect against
any anticipated threats or hazards to the security or integrity of investors’
records and information, and (3) protect against unauthorized access to or use
of investors’ records or information that could result in substantial harm or
inconvenience to any investor. Third-party service providers with whom UNL and
USCF share nonpublic personal information about investors must agree to follow
appropriate standards of security and confidentiality, which includes
safeguarding such nonpublic personal information physically, electronically and
procedurally.
A copy of USCF’s current Privacy Policy is available at
http://www.uscfinvestments.com.
APPENDIX A
Glossary of Defined
Terms
In this prospectus, each of the following terms has the
meaning set forth after such term:
1933 Act: The Securities Act of 1933.
1934 Act: The Securities Exchange Act of
1934.
1940 Act: Investment Company Act of
1940.
Adjusted K-1: A statement to investors who owned
beneficial interests in the shares in the year to which the adjusted allocations
relate setting forth their proportionate shares of the adjustment.
Administrator: BNY Mellon.
Authorized Participant: A person that purchases
or redeems Creation Baskets or Redemption Baskets, respectively, from or to
UNL.
Authorized Participant Agreement: An agreement
with USCF on behalf of UNL whereby a person becomes an Authorized
Participant.
Backup Withholding: U.S. federal income tax that
is required to be withheld.
Basket: A block of 50,000 shares.
Benchmark Futures Contracts: The near month
contract to expire and the contracts for the following eleven months for a total
of 12 consecutive months’ contracts on natural gas traded on the NYMEX, unless
the near month contract is within two weeks of expiration, in which case the
Benchmark Futures Contracts is the next month contract to expire and the
contracts for the following eleven consecutive months.
BNO: United States Brent Oil Fund, LP.
BNY Mellon: The Bank of New York
Mellon.
Board: USCF’s board of directors.
Business Day: Any day other than a day when any
of the NYSE Arca, the NYMEX or the New York Stock Exchange is closed for regular
trading.
CEA: Commodity Exchange Act.
CFTC: Commodity Futures Trading Commission, an
independent agency with the mandate to regulate commodity futures and options in
the United States.
Cleared Swap Contract: A financial contract,
whose value is designed to track the return on stocks, bonds, currencies,
commodities, or some other benchmark, that is submitted to a central
clearinghouse after it is either traded OTC or on an exchange or other trading
platform.
Code: Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as
amended.
Commodity Pool: An enterprise in which several
individuals contribute funds in order to trade futures contracts or options on
futures contracts collectively.
Commodity Pool Operator or CPO: Any person
engaged in a business which is of the nature of an investment trust, syndicate,
or similar enterprise, and who, in connection therewith, solicits, accepts, or
receives from others, funds, securities, or property, either directly or through
capital contributions, the sale of stock or other forms of securities, or
otherwise, for the purpose of trading in any commodity for future delivery or
commodity option on or subject to the rules of any contract market.
CPER: United States Copper Index Fund.
Creation Basket: A block of 50,000 shares used by
UNL to issue shares.
Creation Basket Deposit: The total deposit
required to create each basket.
Custodian: The Bank of New York
Mellon.
DCM: Designated contract market.
DNO: United States Short Oil Fund, LP.
DTC: The Depository Trust Company. DTC will act
as the securities depository for the shares.
DTC Participant: An entity that has an account
with DTC.
DTEF: A derivatives transaction execution
facility.
ECI: Income that is effectively connected with
the conduct of a U.S. trade or business.
ERISA: Employee Retirement Income Security Act of
1974.
Exchange for Related Position (EFRP): An off
market transaction which involves the swapping (or exchanging) of an
over-the-counter (OTC) position for a futures position. The OTC transaction must
be for the same or similar quantity or amount of a specified commodity, or a
substantially similar commodity or instrument. The OTC side of the EFRP can
include swaps, swap options, or other instruments traded in the OTC market. In
order that an EFRP transaction can take place, the OTC side and futures
components must be “substantially similar” in terms of either value and or
quantity. The net result is that the OTC position (and the inherent counterparty
credit exposure) is transferred from the OTC market to the futures market. EFRPs
can also work in reverse, where a futures position can be reversed and
transferred to the OTC market.
FDAP: Amounts that are fixed, determinable,
annual and periodic income, such as interest, dividends and rent that are not
connected with the operation of a U.S. trade or business.
FCM: Futures Commission Merchant.
FFI: Foreign financial institution.
FINRA: Financial Industry Regulatory
Authority.
Futures Contracts: Futures contracts for natural
gas that are traded on the NYMEX, ICE Futures or other U.S. and foreign
exchanges.
ICE Futures Exchange (ICE Futures): ICE Futures
Europe and ICE Futures U.S., together the leading electronic regulated futures
and options exchange for global energy markets.
IGA: Intergovernmental agreement.
Indirect Participants: Banks, brokers, dealers
and trust companies that clear through or maintain a custodial relationship with
a DTC Participant, either directly or indirectly.
IRA: Individual retirement account.
IRS: U.S. Internal Revenue Service.
ISDA: International Swaps and Derivatives
Association, Inc.
Limited Liability Company (LLC): A type of
business ownership combining several features of corporation and partnership
structures.
LLC Agreement: The Sixth Amended and Restated
Limited Liability Company Agreement of USCF, dated as of May 15, 2015 (as
amended from time to time).
LP Agreement: The Third Amended and Restated
Agreement of Limited Partnership dated as of December 15, 2017.
Management Directors: The four management
directors that make up USCF’s board of directors.
Margin: The amount of equity required for an
investment in futures contracts.
Marketing Agent: ALPS Distributors,
Inc.
Marygold: The Marygold Companies, Inc., formerly
Concierge Technologies Inc., a company publicly traded under the ticker symbol
“MGLD.”
MMBTU: 10,000 million British thermal
shares.
NAV: Net asset value of UNL.
NFA: National Futures Association.
New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX): The primary
exchange on which futures contracts are traded in the U.S. UNL expects to invest
primarily in futures contracts, and particularly in futures contracts traded on
the NYMEX. UNL expressly disclaims any association with NYMEX or endorsement of
UNL by NYMEX and acknowledges that “NYMEX” and “New York Mercantile Exchange”
are registered trademarks of the NYMEX.
NYSE Arca: NYSE Arca, Inc.
Option: The right, but not the obligation, to buy
or sell a futures contract or forward contract at a specified price on or before
a specified date.
Natural Gas Interests: Futures Contracts and
Other Natural Gas-Related Investments.
Other Natural Gas-Related Investments: Natural
Gas-Related Investments other than Futures Contracts such as cash-settled
options on Futures Contracts, forward contracts for natural gas, and OTC
transactions that are based on the price of natural gas, crude oil, and other
petroleum-based fuels, as well as Futures Contracts and indices based on the
foregoing.
OTC Derivative: A financial contract, whose value
is designed to track the return on stocks, bonds, currencies, commodities, or
some other benchmark, that is traded OTC or off organized exchanges.
Position Limits Rule: Regulatory limits imposed
by the CFTC on speculative positions in certain physical commodity futures and
option contracts and swaps that are economically equivalent to such contracts in
the agriculture, energy and metals markets and rules addressing the
circumstances under which market participants would be required to aggregate
their positions with other persons under common ownership or control.
Prudential Regulators: The CFTC, the SEC and the
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Farm Credit
Administration and the Federal Housing Finance Agency, collectively.
Redemption Basket: A block of 50,000 shares used
by UNL to redeem shares.
Redemption Order Date: The date a redemption
order is received in satisfactory form and approved by the Marketing
Agent.
Register: The record of all Shareholders and
holders of the shares in certificated form kept by the Administrator.
Related Public Funds: United States Brent Oil
Fund, LP (“BNO”); United States 12 Month Oil Fund, LP (“USL”); United States Oil
Fund, LP (“USO”); United States Gasoline Fund, LP (“UGA”); United States Natural
Gas Fund, LP (“UNG”); United States Copper Index Fund (“CPER”); United States
Commodity Index Fund (“USCI”).
SEC: Securities and Exchange
Commission.
SEF: A swap execution facility.
Secondary Market: The stock exchanges and the OTC
market. Securities are first issued as a primary offering to the public. When
the securities are traded from that first holder to another, the issues trade in
these secondary markets.
Shareholders: Holders of shares.
Shares: Common shares representing fractional
undivided beneficial interests in UNL.
Spot Contract: A cash market transaction in which
the buyer and seller agree to the immediate purchase and sale of a commodity,
usually with a two-day settlement.
Swap Contract: Swap transactions generally
involve contracts between two parties to exchange a stream of payments computed
by reference to a notional amount and the price of the asset that is the subject
of the swap. Some swap transactions are cleared through central counterparties.
These transactions, known as cleared swaps, involve two counterparties first
agreeing to the terms of a swap transaction, then submitting the transaction to
a clearing house that acts as the central counterparty. Swap transactions that
are not cleared through central counterparties are called “uncleared” or
“over-the-counter” (“OTC”) swaps.
Tracking Error: Possibility that the daily NAV of
UNL will not track the price of natural gas.
Treasuries: Obligations of the U.S. government
with remaining maturities of 2 years or less.
UBTI: Unrelated business taxable
income.
UGA: United States Gasoline Fund, LP.
UHN: United States Diesel-Heating Oil Fund,
LP.
UNG: United States Natural Gas Fund,
LP.
UNL: United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund,
LP.
USCI: United States Commodity Index
Fund.
USCF: United States Commodity Funds LLC (the
general partner), a Delaware limited liability company, which is registered as a
Commodity Pool Operator, who controls the investments and other decisions of
UNL.
USCF Investments: USCF Investments, Inc.,
formerly Wainwright Holdings, Inc.
USL: United States 12 Month Oil Fund,
LP.
USO: United States Oil Fund, LP.
Valuation Day: Any day as of which UNL calculates
its NAV.
You: The owner or holder of shares.