United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund, LP 10-K for FY2021
United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund, LP (UNL)
About this 10-K
United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund, LP filed this 10-K on March 4, 2022, covering the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 (FY2021).
Headline figures
Fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, as reported in this filing, compared with the same period a year earlier where the filing states it.
- Revenue
- $3.26M
- compared with -$171.78K a year earlier
- Net income
- $3.16M
- compared with a net loss of $214.88K a year earlier
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM
Annual report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for the fiscal year ended |
or
Transition report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for the transition period from to . |
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Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act.
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If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided in Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
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DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE:
None.
United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund, LP
Table of Contents
Part I
Item 1. Business
What is UNL?
The United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund, LP (“UNL”) is a Delaware limited partnership organized on June 27, 2007. UNL maintains its main business office at 1850 Mt. Diablo Boulevard, Suite 640, Walnut Creek, California 94596. UNL is a commodity pool that issues limited partnership interests (“shares”) traded on the NYSE Arca, Inc. (the “NYSE Arca”). 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 to its general partner, United States Commodity Funds LLC (“USCF”).
The investment objective of UNL 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 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 or in view of market conditions, other natural gas 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 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 annual report on Form 10-K.
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 closely 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 continue to 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. USCF believes that it is not practical to manage the portfolio to achieve such an investment goal when investing in Futures Contracts (as defined below) and Other Natural Gas-Related Investments (as defined below). 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 so 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.)
UNL’s shares began trading on November 18, 2009.
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Who is USCF?
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 Wainwright Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Wainwright”), which is an intermediate holding company that owns USCF and another advisor of exchange traded funds. Wainwright is a wholly owned subsidiary of Concierge Technologies, Inc. (publicly traded under the ticker CNCG) (“Concierge”), 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 Concierge. Wainwright 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”), USCF Midstream Energy Income Fund (“UMI”) and USCF Gold Strategy Plus Income Fund (“GLDX”), each a series of the USCF ETF Trust. USCF Advisers was also the investment adviser for the USCF Commodity Strategy Fund (the “Mutual Fund”), a series of the USCF Mutual Funds Trust, until March 2019, when the Mutual Fund liquidated all of its assets and distributed cash pro rata to all remaining shareholders. It was also the investment adviser for two series of the USCF ETF Trust that liquidated all of their assets and distributed cash pro rata to all remaining shareholders: the USCF SummerHaven SHPEI Index Fund (“BUY”), until October 2020, and the USCF SummerHaven SHPEN Index Fund (“BUYN”), until May 2020. USCF ETF Trust and USCF Mutual Funds Trust are registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). The Board of Trustees for the USCF ETF Trust and USCF Mutual Funds Trust consist of different independent trustees than those independent directors who serve on the Board of Directors of USCF. USCF is a member of the National Futures Association (the “NFA”) and registered as a commodity pool operator (“CPO”) with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (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”) and the United States Gasoline Fund, LP (“UGA”), which listed their limited partnership shares on the American Stock Exchange (the “AMEX”) under the ticker symbols “USO” on April 10, 2006, “UNG” on April 18, 2007, “USL” on December 6, 2007 and “UGA” on February 26, 2008, respectively. As a result of the acquisition of the AMEX by NYSE Euronext, each of USO’s, UNG’s, USL’s and UGA’s shares commenced trading on the NYSE Arca on November 25, 2008. USCF is also the general partner of the United States Brent Oil Fund, LP (“BNO”), which listed its limited partnership shares on the NYSE Arca under the ticker symbol “BNO” on June 2, 2010.
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”). USCI and CPER listed their shares on the NYSE Arca under the ticker symbols “USCI” on August 10, 2010 and “CPER” on November 15, 2011, respectively.
USO, UNG, UGA, USL, BNO, USCI and CPER are referred to collectively herein as the “Related Public Funds.”
The Related Public Funds are subject to reporting requirements under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange 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 website of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) at www.sec.gov.
USCF is required to evaluate the credit risk of UNL to the futures commission merchants (“FCMs”), oversee the purchase and sale of UNL’s shares by certain authorized purchasers (“Authorized Participants”), review daily positions and margin requirements of UNL and manage UNL’s investments. USCF also pays the fees of ALPS Distributors, Inc. (“ALPS Distributors”), 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. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. (“BBH&Co.”) served as the administrator and custodian for UNL prior to BNY Mellon. Certain fund accounting and fund administration services rendered by BBH&Co. to UNL and the Related Public Funds terminated on May 31, 2020 to allow for the transition to BNY Mellon.
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The limited partners take no part in the management or control of, and have a minimal voice in UNL’s operations or business. Limited partners have no right to elect USCF as the general partner on an annual or any other continuing basis. If USCF voluntarily withdraws as general partner, however, the holders of a majority of UNL’s outstanding shares (excluding for purposes of such determination shares owned, if any, by the withdrawing USCF 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 and 2/3 percent of UNL’s outstanding shares (excluding shares owned, if any, 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 a board of directors (the “Board”), which is comprised of four management directors (the “Management Directors”), each of whom are also executive officers or 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 Sixth Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement of USCF, dated as of May 15, 2015 (as amended from time to time, 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). For additional information relating to the audit committee, please see “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance – Audit Committee” in this annual report on Form 10-K.
UNL has no executive officers or employees. Pursuant to the terms of the LP Agreement, UNL’s affairs are managed by USCF.
How Does UNL Operate?
An investment in the shares provides a means for diversifying an investor’s portfolio or hedging exposure to changes in natural gas prices. An investment in the shares allows both retail and institutional investors to easily gain this exposure to the natural gas market in a transparent, cost-effective manner.
The net assets of UNL consist primarily of investments in Futures Contracts and, to a lesser extent, in order to comply with regulatory 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. For convenience and unless otherwise specified, Futures Contracts and Other Natural Gas-Related Investments collectively are referred to as “Natural Gas Interests” in this annual report on Form 10-K. 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 may invest in interests other than the Benchmark Futures Contracts to comply with accountability levels and position limits. For a detailed discussion of accountability levels and position limits, see “Item 1. Business – What are Futures Contracts?” below in this annual report on Form 10-K.
UNL seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing in a mix of Futures Contracts and Other-Natural-Gas Related Investments such that the changes in its NAV will closely track the changes in the price of the NYMEX Futures Contracts for natural gas delivered to Henry Hub Louisiana. USCF believes changes in the price of the Benchmark Futures Contracts have historically exhibited a close correlation with the changes in the spot price of natural gas. On any valuation day (a valuation day is any NYSE Arca trading day as of which UNL calculates its NAV as described herein), the Benchmark Futures Contracts are the near month contract to expire for natural gas traded on the NYMEX, 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 for natural gas on the NYMEX 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.
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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.
USCF employs a “neutral” investment strategy in order to track changes in the average of the prices of the Benchmark Futures Contracts regardless of whether the price goes up or goes 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 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.
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 anticipates it will “roll” UNL’s positions by closing, or selling, its natural gas interests and reinvests the proceeds from closing these positions in new natural gas interests.
The anticipated monthly dates on which UNL will “roll” its positions are posted on UNL’s website at www.uscfinvestments.com, and are subject to change without notice.
UNL’s total portfolio composition is disclosed on its website each business day that the NYSE Arca is open for trading. The website disclosure of portfolio holdings is made daily and includes, as applicable, the name and value of each Natural Gas Interest, the specific types of Natural Gas Interests and characteristics of such Other Natural Gas Interests, the name and value of each Treasury and cash equivalent, and the amount of cash held in UNL’s portfolio. UNL’s website is publicly accessible at no charge. UNL’s assets used for margin and collateral are held in segregated accounts pursuant to the Commodity Exchange Act (the “CEA”) and CFTC regulations.
The shares issued by UNL may only be purchased by Authorized Participants and only in blocks of 50,000 shares, called “Creation Baskets”. The amount of the purchase payment for a Creation Basket is equal to the aggregate NAV of shares in the Creation Basket. Similarly, only Authorized Participants may redeem shares and only in blocks of 50,000 shares, called “Redemption Baskets”. The amount of the redemption proceeds for a Redemption Basket is equal to the aggregate NAV of the shares in the Redemption Basket. The purchase price for Creation Baskets, and the redemption price for Redemption Baskets are the actual NAV calculated at the end of the business day when a request for a purchase or redemption is received by UNL. The NYSE Arca publishes an approximate per share NAV intra-day based on the prior day’s per share NAV and the current price of the Benchmark Futures Contracts, but the price of Creation Baskets and Redemption Baskets is determined based on the actual per share NAV calculated at the end of the day.
While UNL issues shares only in Creation Baskets, shares are listed on the NYSE Arca and investors may purchase and sell shares at market prices like any listed security.
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What is UNL’s Investment Strategy?
In managing UNL’s assets, USCF does not use a technical trading system that issues buy and sell orders. USCF instead employs a quantitative methodology whereby each time a Creation Basket is sold, USCF purchases Futures Contracts and Other Natural Gas-Related Investments, 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.
UNL intends to continue to pursue its investment objective as described above. By remaining invested as fully as possible in Futures Contracts or Other Natural Gas-Related Investments, USCF believes that the daily changes in percentage terms of UNL’s 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 as 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 and will continue to closely track on a daily basis, the daily changes in the spot price of natural gas, on a percentage basis. For performance data relating to UNL’s ability to track its benchmark, see “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Tracking UNL’s Benchmark” in this annual report on Form 10-K.
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 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, on a percentage basis. USCF further believes that the net effect of these two expected relationships and the relationships described above between UNL’s per share NAV and the Benchmark Futures Contracts 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 changes in the spot price of a barrel of natural gas on a percentage basis, plus interest earned on UNL’s collateral holdings, less UNL’s expenses. For performance data relating to UNL’s ability to track its benchmark, see “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Tracking UNL’s Benchmark” in this annual report on Form 10-K.
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. 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 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 Benchmark Futures Contract 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 “Item 1. Business – Commodities Regulation” in this annual report on Form 10-K for a discussion of the potential impact of regulation on UNL’s ability to invest in OTC transactions and cleared swaps.
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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 Benchmark 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 Futures Contracts and Other Natural Gas-Related Investments 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 Futures Contracts or Other Natural Gas-Related Investments. Positions may also be closed out to meet orders for Redemption Baskets and in such case proceeds for such baskets will not be reinvested.
What is the Natural Gas Market and the Petroleum-Based Fuel Market?
Natural Gas. Natural gas accounts for almost a quarter of U.S. energy consumption. The price of natural gas is established by the supply and demand conditions in the North American market, and more particularly, in the main refining center of the U.S. Gulf Coast. The natural gas market essentially constitutes an auction, where the highest bidder wins the supply. When markets are “strong” (i.e., when demand is high and/or supply is low), the bidder must be willing to pay a higher premium to capture the supply. When markets are “weak” (i.e., when demand is low and/or supply is high), a bidder may choose not to outbid competitors, waiting instead for later, possibly lower priced, supplies. Demand for natural gas by consumers, as well as agricultural, manufacturing and transportation industries, determines overall demand for natural gas. Since the precursors of product demand are linked to economic activity, natural gas demand will tend to reflect economic conditions. However, other factors such as weather significantly influence natural gas demand.
The NYMEX is the world’s largest physical commodity futures exchange and the dominant market for the trading of energy and precious metals. The Benchmark Futures Contracts trade in units of 10,000 million British thermal units (“MMBtu”) and is based on delivery at the Henry Hub in Louisiana, the nexus of 16 intra- and interstate natural gas pipeline systems that draw supplies from the region’s prolific gas deposits. The pipelines serve markets throughout the U.S. East Coast, the Gulf Coast, the Midwest, and up to the Canadian border. Because of the volatility of natural gas prices, a vigorous basis market has developed in the pricing relationships between the Henry Hub and other important natural gas market centers in the continental United States and Canada. The NYMEX makes available for trading a series of basis swap futures contracts that are quoted as price differentials between approximately 30 natural gas pricing points and the Henry Hub. The basis contracts trade in units of 2,500 MMBtu on the New York Mercantile Exchange ClearPort® trading platform. The New York Mercantile Exchange ClearPort® is an electronic trading platform through which a slate of energy futures contracts are available for competitive trading. Transactions can also be consummated off-NYMEX and submitted to the NYMEX for clearing via the NYMEX ClearPort® clearing website as an exchange of futures for physicals or an exchange of futures for swaps transactions.
Light, Sweet Crude Oil. Light, sweet crudes are preferred by refiners because of their low sulfur content and relatively high yields of high-value products such as gasoline, diesel fuel, diesel-heating oil, and jet fuel. The price of light, sweet crude oil has historically exhibited periods of significant volatility.
Demand for petroleum products by consumers, as well as agricultural, manufacturing and transportation industries, determines demand for crude oil by refiners. Since the precursors of product demand are linked to economic activity, crude oil demand will tend to reflect economic conditions. However, other factors such as weather also influence product and crude oil demand.
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Crude oil supply is determined by both economic and political factors. Oil prices (along with drilling costs, availability of attractive prospects for drilling, taxes and technology, among other factors) determine exploration and development spending, which influence output capacity with a lag. In the short run, production decisions by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (“OPEC”) also affect supply and prices. Oil export embargoes and the current conflicts in the Middle East represent other routes through which political developments move the market. It is not possible to predict the aggregate effect of all or any combination of these factors.
Diesel-Heating Oil. Diesel-heating oil, also known as No. 2 fuel oil, accounts for 25% of the yield of a barrel of crude oil, the second largest “cut” from oil after gasoline. The diesel- heating Oil Futures Contract listed and traded on the NYMEX trades in units of 42,000 gallons (1,000 barrels) and is based on delivery in the New York harbor, the principal cash market center. The ICE Futures also offers a diesel-heating Oil Futures Contract which trades in units of 42,000 U.S. gallons (1,000 barrels). The diesel-heating Oil Futures Contract is cash-settled against the prevailing market price for heating oil delivered to the New York Harbor.
Gasoline. Gasoline is the largest single volume refined product sold in the U.S. and accounts for almost half of national oil consumption. The gasoline futures contract listed and traded on the NYMEX trades in units of 42,000 gallons (1,000 barrels) and is based on delivery at petroleum products terminals in the New York harbor, the major East Coast trading center for imports and domestic shipments from refineries in the New York harbor area or from the Gulf Coast refining centers. The price of gasoline has historically been volatile.
What are Futures Contracts?
Futures contracts are agreements between two parties. One party agrees to buy a commodity such as natural gas from the other party at a later date at a price and quantity agreed upon when the contract is made. Futures Contracts are traded on futures exchanges, including the NYMEX. For example, the Benchmark Futures Contracts are traded on the NYMEX in units of 10,000 MMBtu. Futures Contracts traded on the NYMEX are priced by floor brokers and other exchange members both through an “open outcry” of offers to purchase or sell the contracts and through an electronic, screen-based system that determines the price by matching electronically offers to purchase and sell. Additional risks of investing in Futures Contracts are included in “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in this annual report on Form 10-K.
Accountability Levels, Position Limits and Price Fluctuation Limits. Designated contract markets (“DCMs”), 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 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 a Benchmark Futures Contract 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, the ICE Futures maintains the same accountability levels, position limits and monitoring authority for its natural gas contract as the NYMEX. 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 its Natural Gas NG Futures Contracts to below the 6,000 single month and/or 12,000 all month accountability level. As of December 31, 2021, UNL held 441 Natural Gas NG Futures Contracts traded on the NYMEX and did not hold any Futures Contracts traded on ICE Futures. [For the year ended December 31, 2021, UNL did not exceed accountability levels imposed by the NYMEX and ICE Futures, however, the aggregated total of the Related Public Funds did exceed the accountability levels.
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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 allow such limits to 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 to the next month contracts during a one-day period beginning two weeks from expiration of the contracts. For the year ended December 31, 2021, UNL did not exceed any position limits imposed by the NYMEX and ICE Futures.
On October 15, 2020, the CFTC approved a final rule that amends the existing federal position limits regime set forth in Part 150 of the CFTC’s regulations as well as the framework for exchange-set position limits and exemptions (such final rule, the “Position Limits Rule”). The 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.
The Benchmark Futures Contract will be 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.
Price Volatility. The price volatility of Futures Contracts generally has been historically greater than that for traditional securities such as stocks and bonds. Price volatility often is greater day-to-day as opposed to intra-day. Futures Contracts tend to be more volatile than stocks and bonds because price movements for natural gas are more currently and directly influenced by economic factors for which current data is available and are traded by natural gas futures traders throughout the day. Because UNL invests a significant portion of its assets in Futures Contracts, the assets of UNL, and therefore the prices of UNL shares, may be subject to greater volatility than traditional securities.
Marking-to-Market Futures Positions. Futures Contracts are marked to market at the end of each trading day and the margin required with respect to such contracts is adjusted accordingly. This process of marking-to-market is designed to prevent losses from accumulating in any futures account. Therefore, if UNL’s futures positions have declined in value, UNL may be required to post “variation margin” to cover this decline. Alternatively, if UNL’s futures positions have increased in value, this increase will be credited to UNL’s account.
Why Does UNL Purchase and Sell Futures Contracts?
UNL’s investment objective is for the daily changes in percentage terms of its shares’ per share 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.
In connection with investing in Futures Contracts and Other Natural Gas-Related Investments, UNL holds Treasuries, cash and/or cash equivalents that serve as segregated assets supporting UNL’s positions in Futures Contracts and Other Natural Gas-Related Investments. For example, the purchase of a Futures Contract with a stated value of $10 million would not require UNL to pay $10 million upon entering into the contract; rather, only a margin deposit, generally of 5% to 30% of the stated value of the Futures Contract, would be required. To secure its Futures Contract obligations, UNL would deposit the required margin with the FCMs and would separately hold, through its Custodian or FCMs, Treasuries, cash and/or cash equivalents in an amount equal to the balance of the current market value of the contract, which at the contract’s inception would be $10 million minus the amount of the margin deposit, or $9.5 million (assuming a 5% margin).
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As a result of the foregoing, typically 5% to 30% of UNL’s assets are held as margin in segregated accounts with an FCM. In addition to the Treasuries and cash it posts with the FCM for the Futures Contracts it owns, UNL may hold, through the Custodian, Treasuries, cash and/or cash equivalents that can be posted as additional margin or as other collateral to support its OTC contracts. UNL earns income from the Treasuries and/or cash equivalents that it purchases, and on the cash it holds through the Custodian or FCM. UNL anticipates that the earned income will increase the NAV and limited partners’ capital contribution accounts. UNL reinvests the earned income, holds it in cash, or uses it to pay its expenses. If UNL reinvests the earned income, it makes investments that are consistent with its investment objective.
What are the Trading Policies of UNL?
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 the 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 under 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 the LP Agreement, UNL has not and does not intend to leverage its assets and makes its investments accordingly. 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 causing the net asset value of the fund 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.
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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 reporting period of this annual report on Form 10-K, UNL has limited its derivatives activities to futures contracts in natural gas 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.
Who are the Service Providers?
Custodian, Registrar, Transfer Agent, and Administrator
USCF engaged The Bank of New York Mellon (“BNY Mellon”), a New York corporation authorized to do a banking business (“BNY Mellon”), to provide UNL and each of the Related Public Funds with certain custodial, administrative and accounting, and transfer agency services, pursuant to the following agreements with BNY Mellon dated as of March 20, 2020 (together, the “BNY Mellon Agreements”), which were effective as of April 1, 2020: (i) a Custody Agreement; (ii) a Fund Administration and Accounting Agreement; and (iii) a Transfer Agency and Service Agreement. USCF pays the fees of BNY Mellon for its services under the BNY Mellon Agreements and such fees are determined by the parties from time to time.
Brown Brothers Harriman and Co. (“BBH&Co.”) previously served as the Administrator, Custodian, Transfer Agent and Fund Accounting Agent for UNL and the Related Public Funds prior to BNY Mellon commencing such services on April 1, 2020. Certain fund accounting and fund administration services rendered by BBH&Co. to UNL and the Related Public Funds terminated on May 31, 2020 to allow for the transition to BNY Mellon.
Marketing Agent
UNL also employs ALPS Distributors as its marketing agent. 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.
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ALPS Distributors’ principal business address is 1290 Broadway, Suite 1100, 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 3 World Financial Center, 200 Vesey St., New York, NY 10281. 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
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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.
On June 18, 2015, in connection with the Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation initiative of the SEC, the SEC commenced and settled an administrative proceeding against RBC Capital for willful violations of Sections 17(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (“1933 Act”) after the firm self-reported instances in which it conducted inadequate due diligence in certain municipal securities offerings and as a result, failed to form a reasonable basis for believing the truthfulness of certain material representations in official statements issued in connection with those offerings. RBC Capital paid a fine of $500,000.
RBC Capital and certain affiliates were named as defendants in a lawsuit relating to their role in transactions involving investments made by a number of Wisconsin school districts in certain collateralized debt obligations. These transactions were also the subject of a regulatory investigation, which was resolved in 2011. RBC Capital reached a final settlement with all parties in the civil litigation, and the civil action against RBC Capital was dismissed with prejudice on December 6, 2016.
Beginning in 2015, putative class actions were brought against RBC Capital and/or Royal Bank of Canada in the U.S., Canada and Israel. These actions were each brought against multiple foreign exchange dealers and allege, among other things, collusive behavior in foreign exchange trading. Various regulators are also conducting inquiries regarding potential violations of law by a number of banks and other entities, including RBC Capital, regarding foreign exchange trading. In August 2018, the U.S. District Court entered a final order approving RBC Capital’s pending settlement with class plaintiffs. Certain institutional plaintiffs opted out of participating in the settlement and have brought their own claims. The Canadian class actions, one other U.S. action that is purportedly brought on behalf of different classes of plaintiffs, and an action filed in Israel remain pending. Based on the facts currently known, it is not possible at this time for us to predict the ultimate outcome of these investigations or proceedings or the timing of their resolution.
On July 31, 2015, RBC Capital was added as a new defendant in a pending putative class action initially filed in November 2013 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The action is brought against multiple foreign exchange dealers and alleges collusive behavior, among other allegations, in foreign exchange trading. Based on the facts currently known, the ultimate resolution of these collective matters is not expected to have a material adverse effect on RBC.
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. The acquittals are being appealed.
Various regulators and competition and enforcement authorities around the world, including in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the U.S., are conducting investigations related to certain past submissions made by panel banks in connection with the setting of the U.S. dollar London interbank offered rate (“LIBOR”). These investigations focus on allegations of collusion between the banks that were on the panel to make submissions for certain LIBOR rates. Royal Bank of Canada, RBC Capital’s indirect parent, is a member of certain LIBOR panels, including the U.S. dollar LIBOR panel, and has in the past been the subject of regulatory requests for information. In addition, Royal Bank of Canada and other U.S. dollar panel banks have been named as defendants in private lawsuits filed in the U.S. with respect to the setting of 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. The complaints in those private lawsuits assert claims against us and other panel banks under various U.S. laws, including U.S. antitrust laws, the CEA, and state law. On February 28, 2018, the motion by the plaintiffs in the class action lawsuits to have the class certified was denied in relation to Royal Bank of Canada. As such, unless that ruling is reversed
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on appeal, Royal Bank of Canada is no longer a defendant in any pending class action. Royal Bank of Canada is still a party to the various individual LIBOR actions. Based on the facts currently known, it is not possible at this time for us to predict the ultimate outcome of these investigations or proceedings or the timing of their resolution.
Thornburg Mortgage Inc. (“TMST”) and RBC Capital were parties to a master repurchase agreement executed in September 2003 whereby TMST financed its purchase of residential mortgage-backed securities. Upon TMST’s default during the financial crisis, RBC Capital valued TMST’s collateral at allegedly deflated prices. After TMST’s bankruptcy filing, TMST’s trustee brought suit against RBC Capital in 2011 for breach of contract. In 2015, TMST was awarded more than $45 million in damages. RBC Capital has appealed. The appeals court set a briefing schedule and simultaneously ordered the parties to participate in a mediation. The parties subsequently reached an agreement to settle the matter; a motion to approve the settlement was filed with the bankruptcy court on January 10, 2016 and granted on February 27, 2017.
On October 14, 2014, the Delaware Court of Chancery (the “Court of Chancery”) in a class action brought by former shareholders of Rural/Metro Corporation, held RBC Capital liable for aiding and abetting a breach of fiduciary duty by three Rural/Metro directors, but did not make an additional award for attorney’s fees. A final judgment was entered on February 19, 2015 in the amount of US$93 million plus post judgment interest. RBC Capital appealed the Court of Chancery’s determination of liability and quantum of damages, and the plaintiffs cross-appealed the ruling on additional attorneys’ fees. On November 30, 2015, the Delaware Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Chancery with respect to both the appeal and cross-appeal. RBC Capital is cooperating with an investigation by the SEC relating to this matter. In particular, the SEC contended that RBC Capital caused materially false and misleading information to be included in the proxy statement that Rural filed to solicit shareholder approval for the sale in violation of section 14(A) of the Exchange Act and Rule 14A-9 thereunder. On August 31, 2016, RBC Capital was ordered by the SEC to cease and desist and paid $500,000 in disgorgement, plus interest of $77,759 and a civil penalty of $2 million.
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 annual report on Form 10-K. 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.
RCG Division of Marex Spectron
On May 28, 2020, UNL entered into a Commodity Futures Customer Agreement with RCG Division of Marex Spectron (“RCG”) to serve as a FCM for UNL. This agreement requires RCG 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 RCG for UNL’s account. Under this agreement, UNL pays RCG commissions for executing and clearing trades on behalf of UNL.
RCG’s primary address is 360 Madison Avenue, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10017. RCG is registered in the United States with FINRA as a broker-dealer and with the CFTC as an FCM. RCG is a member of various U.S. futures and securities exchanges.
RCG is a large broker dealer subject to many different complex legal and regulatory requirements. As a result, certain of RCG’s regulators may from time to time conduct investigations, initiate enforcement proceedings and/or enter into settlements with RCG with respect to issues raised in various investigations. RCG complies fully with its regulators in all investigations which may be conducted and in all settlements it may reach. As of the date hereof, RCG has no material litigation to disclose as that term is defined under the CEA and the regulations promulgated thereunder.
RCG will act only as clearing broker for UNL and as such will be paid commissions for executing and clearing trades on behalf of UNL. RCG has not passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of this annual report on Form 10-K. RCG will not act in any supervisory capacity with respect to USCF or participate in the management of USCF or UNL.
RCG is not affiliated with UNL or USCF. Therefore, neither USCF nor UNL believes that there are any conflicts of interest with RCG or its trading principals arising from its acting as UNL’s FCM.
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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 annual report on Form 10-K. 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 futures commission merchant 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 in 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 annual report on Form 10-K. 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 trading advisor for USCI and CPER. If, in the future, USCF does employ 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.
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Summary of Risk Factors
Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the information in “Item 1A. Risk Factors”, including, but not limited to, the following risks:
| ● | The NAV of UNL’s shares relates directly to the value 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 futures results; all or substantially all of an investment in UNL could be lost. |
| ● | COVID-19 and other infectious disease outbreaks could negatively affect the valuation and performance of UNL’s investments. |
| ● | 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. |
| ● | Historical performance of UNL and the Benchmark Futures Contracts is not indicative of future performance. |
| ● | 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 price 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 Contract. |
| ● | Risk mitigation measures imposed by UNL’s 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. |
| ● | 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, 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 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 U.S. tax reform on UNL is uncertain. |
| ● | 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. |
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[Fees of UNL
Fees and Compensation Arrangements with USCF and Non-Affiliated Service Providers
Service Provider |
| Compensation Paid by USCF(1) |
BBH&Co., Custodian and Administrator(3) | | Minimum amount of $75,000 annually for its custody, fund accounting and fund administration services rendered to all funds, as well as a $20,000 annual fee for its transfer agency services. In addition, an asset-based charge of (a) 0.06% for the first $500 million of UNL’s and the Related Public Funds’ combined net assets, (b) 0.0465% for UNL’s and the Related Public Funds’ combined net assets greater than $500 million but less than $1 billion, and (c) 0.035% once UNL’s and the Related Public Funds’ combined net assets exceed $1 billion.(2) |
BNY Mellon, Custodian and Administrator(4) | | Provides custody, fund accounting fund administration and transfer agency services to UNL and the Related Public Funds’ based on average AUM. The annual fees for UNL and the combined Related Public Funds’ may range from $0.4 million to $2.4 million depending on average AUM for any given year. |
ALPS Distributors - Marketing Agent(4) | | 0.06% on UNL’s assets up to $3 billion and 0.04% on UNL’s assets in excess of $3 billion. |
(1)USCF pays this compensation.
(2)The annual minimum amount will not apply if the asset-based charge for all accounts in the aggregate exceeds $75,000. USCF also will pay transaction charge fees to BBH&Co., ranging from $7 to $15 per transaction for the funds.
(3)BBH&Co. provided certain fund accounting and fund administration services to UNL through May 31, 2020.
(4)BNY Mellon has served as the Custodian and Administrator of UNL since April 1, 2020.]*
*USCF to confirm.
Compensation to USCF
UNL is contractually obligated to pay USCF a management fee based on 0.75% per annum on its average daily total net assets. Fees are calculated on a daily basis (accrued at 1/365 of the applicable percentage of total net assets on that day) and paid on a monthly basis. Total net assets are calculated by taking the current market value of UNL’s total assets and subtracting any liabilities.
Fees and Compensation Arrangements between UNL and Non-Affiliated Service Providers (5)
Service Provider |
| Compensation Paid by UNL |
RBC Capital Futures Commission Merchant | | Approximately $3.50 per buy or sell; charges may vary |
RCG Division of Marex Spectron, Futures Commission Merchant | | |
E D & F Man Capital Markets Inc., Futures Commission Merchant | | |
MFUSA, Futures Commission Merchant | | |
(5) | UNL pays this compensation. |
New York Mercantile Exchange Licensing Fee(6) – 0.015% on all net assets.
(6) | Fees are calculated on a daily basis (accrued at 1/365 of the applicable percentage of NAV on that day) and paid on a monthly basis. UNL is responsible for its pro rata share of the assets held by UNL and the Related Public Funds, other than BNO, USCI and CPER. |
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Expenses Paid or Accrued by UNL from Inception through December 31, 2021 in dollar terms:
Expenses: |
| Amount in Dollar Terms | |
Amount Paid or Accrued to USCF: | | $ | 1,684,977 |
Amount Paid or Accrued in Portfolio Brokerage Commissions: | | $ | 74,967 |
Other Amounts Paid or Accrued(7): | | $ | 1,642,420 |
Total Expenses Paid or Accrued: | | $ | 3,402,364 |
Expenses Waived(8): | | $ | (1,275,993) |
Total Expenses Paid or Accrued Excluding Expenses Waived(8) : | | $ | 2,126,371 |
(7) | Includes expenses relating to legal fees, auditing fees, printing expenses, licensing fees, tax reporting fees, prepaid insurance expenses and miscellaneous expenses and fees and expenses paid to the independent directors of USCF. |
(8) | USCF has voluntarily agreed to pay certain expenses typically borne by UNL, to the extent that such expenses exceed 0.15% (15 basis points) of UNL’s NAV, on an annualized basis. USCF has no obligation to continue such payments into subsequent periods. |
Expenses Paid or Accrued by UNL from Inception through December 31, 2021 as a Percentage of Average Daily Net Assets:
| | Amount as a Percentage of | |
Expenses: |
| Average Daily Net Assets | |
Amount Paid or Accrued to USCF: |
| | 0.74% annualized |
Amount Paid or Accrued in Portfolio Brokerage Commissions: |
| | 0.03% annualized |
Other Amounts Paid or Accrued(9): |
| | 0.66% annualized |
Total Expenses Paid or Accrued: |
| | 1.43% annualized |
Expenses Waived(10): |
| | (0.50)% annualized |
Total Expenses Paid or Accrued Excluding Expenses Waived(10) : |
| | 0.93% annualized |
(9) | Includes expenses relating to legal fees, auditing fees, printing expenses, licensing fees, tax reporting fees, prepaid insurance expenses and miscellaneous expenses and fees and expenses paid to the independent directors of USCF. |
(10) | USCF has voluntarily agreed to pay certain expenses typically borne by UNL, to the extent that such expenses exceed 0.15% (15 basis points) of UNL’s NAV, on an annualized basis. USCF has no obligation to continue such payments into subsequent periods. |
Other Fees. UNL also pays the fees and expenses associated with its audit, professional fees, and tax accounting and reporting requirements. These fees were approximately $128,200 for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021. In addition, UNL is responsible for paying its portion of the directors’ and officers’ liability insurance for UNL and the Related Public Funds and the fees and expenses of the independent directors who also serve as audit committee members of UNL and the Related Public Funds organized as limited partnerships and, as of July 8, 2011, those Related Public Funds organized as a series of a Delaware statutory trust. UNL shares the fees and expenses on a pro rata basis with each Related Public Fund, as described above, based on the relative assets of each Related Public Fund computed on a daily basis. These fees and expenses for the year ended December 31, 2021 were $1,082,000 for UNL and the Related Public Funds. UNL’s portion of such fees and expenses for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $12,755.
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. 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”).
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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: It 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 Exchange 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.
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 Natural Gas 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 the active Futures Contract month 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 that contract 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.
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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 Natural Gas Interests 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 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 Natural Gas 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 net asset value 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 UNL, 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 placed 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 UNL or USCF to effect any sale or resale of shares. As of December 31, 2021, 10 Authorized Participants had entered into agreements with USCF on behalf of UNL. During the year ended December 31, 2021, UNL issued 15 Creation Baskets and redeemed (6) Redemption Baskets.
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 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.
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Each Authorized Participant is required to be registered as a broker-dealer under the Exchange 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 annual report on Form 10-K.
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 Basket 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, 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 dates. 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.
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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 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.
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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, unless USCF has reason to believe that the placer of the redemption order does in fact possess all the outstanding shares and can deliver them.
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.
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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 NAV of UNL at the time the Authorized Participant purchased the Creation Baskets and the NAV of the shares 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. The prices of shares offered by Authorized Participants are expected to fall between UNL’s NAV and the trading price of the shares on the NYSE Arca at the time of sale. 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 NAV per share 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 and the liquidity of the Futures Contracts market and the market for Other Natural Gas-Related Investments. While the 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 traded on the NYMEX may be reduced after the close of the NYMEX at 2:30 p.m. New York time. 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 Natural Gas Interests 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. |
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Approximately 5% to 30% of UNL’s assets have normally been committed to margin for commodity futures contracts. However, from time to time, the percentage of assets committed as margin may be substantially more, or less than, such range. An FCM, counterparty, government agency or commodity exchange could increase margin or collateral requirements applicable to USO 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 a 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. USCF invests the balance of UNL’s assets not invested in Natural Gas Interests or held in margin as reserves to be available for changes in margin. All interest income is 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 counterparties. 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.
The Commodity Interest Markets
General
The CEA governs the regulation of commodity interest transactions, markets and intermediaries. The CEA provides for varying degrees of regulation of commodity interest transactions depending upon: (1) the type of instrument being traded (e.g., contracts for future delivery, forwards, options, swaps or spot contracts), (2) the type of commodity underlying the instrument (distinctions are made between instruments based on agricultural commodities, energy and metals commodities and financial commodities), (3) the nature of the parties to the transaction (e.g., retail or eligible contract participant), (4) whether the transaction is entered into on a principal-to-principal or intermediated basis, (5) the type of market on which the transaction occurs, and (6) whether the transaction is subject to clearing through a clearing organization.
The offer and sale of shares of UNL, as well as shares of each Related Public Fund, is registered under the 1933 Act. UNL and the Related Public Funds are subject to the requirements of the 1933 Act, the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations adopted thereunder as administered by the SEC. Firms’ participation in the distribution of shares is regulated as described above, as well as by the self-regulatory association, FINRA.
Futures Contracts
A futures contract is a standardized contract traded on, or subject to the rules of, an exchange that calls for the future delivery of a specified quantity and type of a commodity at a specified time and place. Futures contracts are traded on a wide variety of commodities, including agricultural products, bonds, stock indices, interest rates, currencies, energy and metals. The size and terms of futures contracts on a particular commodity are identical and are not subject to any negotiation, other than with respect to price and the number of contracts traded between the buyer and seller.
The contractual obligations of a buyer or seller may generally be satisfied by taking or making physical delivery of the underlying commodity or by making an offsetting sale or purchase of an identical futures contract on the same or linked exchange before the designated date of delivery. The difference between the price at which the futures contract is purchased or sold and the price paid for the offsetting sale or purchase, after allowance for brokerage commissions, constitutes the profit or loss to the trader. Some futures contracts, such as stock index contracts, settle in cash (reflecting the difference between the contract purchase/sale price and the contract settlement price) rather than by delivery of the underlying commodity.
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In market terminology, a trader who purchases a futures contract is long in the market and a trader who sells a futures contract is short in the market. Before a trader closes out his long or short position by an offsetting sale or purchase, his outstanding contracts are known as open trades or open positions. The aggregate amount of open positions held by traders in a particular contract is referred to as the open interest in such contract.
Forward Contracts
A forward contract is a contractual obligation to purchase or sell a specified quantity of a commodity at or before a specified date in the future at a specified price and, therefore, is economically similar to a futures contract. Unlike futures contracts, however, forward contracts are typically traded in the OTC markets and are not standardized contracts. Forward contracts for a given commodity are generally available for various amounts and maturities and are subject to individual negotiation between the parties involved. Moreover, generally there is no direct means of offsetting or closing out a forward contract by taking an offsetting position as one would a futures contract on a U.S. exchange. If a trader desires to close out a forward contract position, he generally will establish an opposite position in the contract but will settle and recognize the profit or loss on both positions simultaneously on the delivery date. Thus, unlike in the futures contract market where a trader who has offset positions will recognize profit or loss immediately, in the forward market a trader with a position that has been offset at a profit will generally not receive such profit until the delivery date, and likewise a trader with a position that has been offset at a loss will generally not have to pay money until the delivery date. Nevertheless, in some instances forward contracts now provide a right of offset or cash settlement as an alternative to making or taking delivery of the underlying commodity.
In general, the CFTC does not regulate the interbank and forward foreign currency markets with respect to transactions in contracts between certain sophisticated counterparties such as UNL or between certain regulated institutions and retail investors. Although U.S. banks are regulated in various ways by the Federal Reserve Board, the Comptroller of the Currency and other U.S. federal and state banking officials, banking authorities do not regulate the forward markets to the same extent that the swap markets are regulated by the CFTC and SEC.
Regulation exempts both foreign exchange swaps and foreign exchange forwards from the definition of “swap” and, by extension, certain regulatory requirements applicable to swaps (such as clearing and margin). The final exemption does not extend to other foreign exchange derivatives, such as foreign exchange options, currency swaps, and non-deliverable forwards.
While the U.S. government does not currently impose any restrictions on the movements of currencies, it could choose to do so. The imposition or relaxation of exchange controls in various jurisdictions could significantly affect the market for that and other jurisdictions’ currencies. Trading in the interbank market also exposes UNL to a risk of default since failure of a bank with which UNL had entered into a forward contract would likely result in a default and thus possibly substantial losses to UNL.
Options on Futures Contracts
Options on futures contracts are standardized contracts traded on an exchange. An option on a futures contract gives the buyer of the option the right, but not the obligation, to take a position at a specified price (the striking, strike, or exercise price) in the underlying futures contract or underlying interest. The buyer of a call option acquires the right, but not the obligation, to purchase or take a long position in the underlying interest, and the buyer of a put option acquires the right, but not the obligation, to sell or take a short position in the underlying interest.
The seller, or writer, of an option is obligated to take a position in the underlying interest at a specified price opposite to the option buyer if the option is exercised. The seller of a call option must stand ready to take a short position in the underlying interest at the strike price if the buyer should exercise the option. The seller of a put option, on the other hand, must stand ready to take a long position in the underlying interest at the strike price.
A call option is said to be in-the-money if the strike price is below current market levels and out-of-the-money if the strike price is above current market levels. Conversely, a put option is said to be in-the-money if the strike price is above the current market levels and out-of- the-money if the strike price is below current market levels.
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Options have limited life spans, usually tied to the delivery or settlement date of the underlying interest. Some options, however, expire significantly in advance of such date. The purchase price of an option is referred to as its premium, which consists of its intrinsic value (which is related to the underlying market value) plus its time value. As an option nears its expiration date, the time value shrinks and the market and intrinsic values move into parity. An option that is out-of-the-money and not offset by the time it expires becomes worthless. On certain exchanges, in-the-money options are automatically exercised on their expiration date, but on others unexercised options simply become worthless after their expiration date.
Regardless of how much the market swings, the most an option buyer can lose is the option premium. The option buyer deposits his premium with his broker, and the money goes to the option seller. Option sellers, on the other hand, face risks similar to participants in the futures markets. For example, since the seller of a call option is assigned a short futures position if the option is exercised, his risk is the same as someone who initially sold a futures contract. Because no one can predict exactly how the market will move, the option seller typically posts margin to demonstrate his ability to meet any potential contractual obligations.
Options on Forward Contracts or Commodities
Options on forward contracts or commodities operate in a manner similar to options on futures contracts. An option on a forward contract or commodity gives the buyer of the option the right, but not the obligation, to take a position at a specified price in the underlying forward contract or commodity. However, unlike options on futures contracts, options on forward contracts or on commodities are individually negotiated contracts between counterparties and are typically traded in the OTC market. Therefore, options on forward contracts and physical commodities possess many of the same characteristics of forward contracts with respect to offsetting positions and credit risk that are described above.
Swap Contracts
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. Swap contracts are principally traded off-exchange, although certain swap contracts are also being traded in electronic trading facilities and cleared through clearing organizations.
Swaps are usually entered into on a net basis, that is, the two payment streams are netted out in a cash settlement on the payment date or dates specified in the agreement, with the parties receiving or paying, as the case may be, only the net amount of the two payments. Swaps do not generally involve the delivery of underlying assets or principal. Accordingly, the risk of loss with respect to swaps is generally limited to the net amount of payments that the party is contractually obligated to make. In some swap transactions one or both parties may require collateral deposits from the counterparty to support that counterparty’s obligation under the swap agreement. If the counterparty to such a swap defaults, the risk of loss consists of the net amount of payments that the party is contractually entitled to receive less any collateral deposits it is holding.
Some swap transactions are cleared through central counterparties. “Clearing” refers to the process by which a trade that is bilaterally executed by two parties is submitted to a central clearing counterparty, via a clearing member (i.e., an FCM), and replaced by two mirror swaps, with the central clearing counterparty becoming the counterparty to both of the initial parties to the swap. 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. Once accepted by the clearing house, the original swap transaction is terminated and replaced by two mirror trades for which the central counterparty becomes the counterparty to each of the original parties based upon the trade terms determined in the original transaction. In this manner each individual swap counterparty reduces its risk of loss due to counterparty nonperformance because the clearing house acts as the counterparty to each transaction.
Commodities Regulation
Futures exchanges in the United States are subject to varying degrees of regulation under the CEA depending on whether such exchange is a designated contract market, exempt board of trade or electronic trading facility. Clearing organizations are also subject to the CEA and the rules and regulations adopted thereunder and administered by the CFTC. The CFTC is the governmental agency charged with responsibility for regulation of futures exchanges and commodity interest trading. The CFTC’s function is to implement the CEA’s objectives of preventing price manipulation and excessive speculation and promoting orderly and efficient commodity interest markets. In addition, the various exchanges and clearing organizations themselves exercise regulatory and supervisory authority over their member firms.
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The CFTC also regulates the activities of “commodity trading advisors” and “commodity pool operators” and the CFTC has adopted regulations with respect to certain of such persons’ activities. Pursuant to its authority, the CFTC requires a CPO, such as USCF, to keep accurate, current and orderly records with respect to each pool it operates. The CFTC may suspend, modify or terminate the registration of any registrant for failure to comply with CFTC rules or regulations. Suspension, restriction or termination of USCF’s registration as a CPO would prevent it, until such time (if any) as such registration were to be reinstated, from managing, and might result in the termination of, UNL or the Related Public Funds.
Under certain circumstances, the CEA grants shareholders the right to institute a reparations proceeding before the CFTC against USCF (as a registered commodity pool operator), as well as those of their respective employees who are required to be registered under the CEA. Shareholders may also be able to maintain a private right of action for certain violations of the CEA.
Pursuant to authority in the CEA, the NFA has been formed and registered with the CFTC as a registered futures association. The NFA is the only self-regulatory association for commodities professionals other than the exchanges. As such, the NFA promulgates rules governing the conduct of commodity professionals and disciplines those professionals that do not comply with such standards. The CFTC has delegated to the NFA responsibility for the registration of commodity pool operators. USCF is a member of the NFA. As a member of the NFA, USCF is subject to NFA standards relating to fair trade practices, financial condition, and consumer protection.
The CEA requires all FCMs, i.e., UNL’s clearing brokers, to meet and maintain specified fitness and financial requirements, to segregate customer funds from proprietary funds and account separately for all customers’ funds and positions, and to maintain specified books and records open to inspection by the staff of the CFTC. The CFTC has similar authority over introducing brokers, or persons who solicit or accept orders for commodity interest trades but who do not accept margin deposits for the execution of trades. The CEA authorizes the CFTC to regulate trading by FCMs and by their officers and directors, permits the CFTC to require action by exchanges in the event of market emergencies, and establishes an administrative procedure under which customers may institute complaints for damages arising from alleged violations of the CEA.
The regulations of the CFTC and the NFA prohibit any representation by a person registered with the CFTC or by any member of the NFA, that registration with the CFTC, or membership in the NFA, in any respect indicates that the CFTC or the NFA, as the case may be, has approved or endorsed that person or that person’s trading program or objectives. The registrations and memberships of the parties described in this summary must not be considered as constituting any such approval or endorsement. Likewise, no futures exchange has given or will give any similar approval or endorsement.
CFTC regulations require enhanced customer protections, risk management programs, internal monitoring and controls, capital and liquidity standards, customer disclosures and auditing and examination programs for FCMs. These regulations are intended to afford greater assurances to market participants that customer segregated funds and secured amounts are protected, customers are provided with appropriate notice of the risks of futures trading and of the FCMs with which they may choose to do business, FCMs are monitoring and managing risks in a robust manner, the capital and liquidity of FCMs are strengthened to safeguard the continued operations, and the auditing and examination programs of the CFTC and the self-regulatory organizations are monitoring the activities of FCMs in a thorough manner.
UNL’s investors are afforded prescribed rights for reparations under the CEA against USCF (as a registered commodity pool operator), as well as its respective employees who are required to be registered under the CEA. Investors may also be able to maintain a private right of action for violations of the CEA. The CFTC has adopted rules implementing the reparation provisions of the CEA, which provide that any person may file a complaint for a reparations award with the CFTC for violation of the CEA against a floor broker or an FCM, introducing broker, commodity trading advisor, CPO, and their respective associated persons.
The regulation of commodity interest trading in the United States and other countries is an evolving area of the law. Below are discussed several key regulatory items that are relevant to UNL. The various statements made in this summary are subject to modification by legislative action and changes in the rules and regulations of the CFTC, the NFA, the futures exchanges, clearing organizations and other regulatory bodies. In addition, with regard to any other rules that the CFTC or SEC may adopt in the future, the effect of any such regulatory changes on UNL is impossible to predict, but it could be substantial and adverse.
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Futures Contracts and Position Limits
On October 15, 2020, the CFTC approved the Position Limits Rule. The 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.
The Benchmark Futures Contract will be 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.
Margin Requirements
Futures and Cleared Swaps
Original or initial margin is the minimum amount of funds that must be deposited by a commodity interest trader with the trader’s broker to initiate and maintain an open position in futures contracts. Maintenance margin is the amount (generally less than the original margin) to which a trader’s account may decline before he must deliver additional margin. A margin deposit is like a cash performance bond. It helps assure the trader’s performance of the futures contracts that he or she purchases or sells.
Futures contracts are customarily bought and sold on initial margin that represents a very small percentage (ranging upward from 5%) of the aggregate purchase or sales price of the contract. Because of such low margin requirements, price fluctuations occurring in the futures markets may create profits and losses that, in relation to the amount invested, are greater than are customary in other forms of investment or speculation. As discussed below, adverse price changes in the futures contract may result in margin requirements that greatly exceed the initial margin. In addition, the amount of margin required in connection with a particular futures contract is set from time to time by the exchange on which the contract is traded and may be modified from time to time by the exchange during the term of the contract.
Brokerage firms, such as UNL’s clearing brokers, carrying accounts for traders in commodity interest contracts may not accept lower, and generally require higher, amounts of margin as a matter of policy to further protect themselves. The clearing brokers require UNL to make margin deposits equal to exchange minimum levels for all commodity interest contracts. This requirement may be altered from time to time in the clearing brokers’ discretion.
Margin requirements are computed each day by the relevant clearing organization and a trader’s clearing broker. When the market value of a particular open commodity interest position changes to a point where the margin on deposit does not satisfy maintenance margin requirements, a margin call is made by the broker. With respect to trading by UNL, UNL (and not its investors personally) is subject to margin calls.
Finally, many major U.S. exchanges have passed certain cross margining arrangements involving procedures pursuant to which the futures and options positions held in an account would, in the case of some accounts, be aggregated and margin requirements would be assessed on a portfolio basis, measuring the total risk of the combined positions.
Options
When a trader purchases an option, there is no margin requirement; however, the option premium must be paid in full. When a trader sells an option, on the other hand, he or she may be required to deposit margin in an amount determined by the margin requirements established for the underlying interest and, in addition, an amount substantially equal to the current premium for the option. The margin requirements imposed on the selling of options, although adjusted to reflect the probability that out-of-the-money options will not be exercised, can in fact be higher than those imposed in dealing in the futures markets directly. Complicated margin requirements apply to spreads and conversions, which are complex trading strategies in which a trader acquires a mixture of options positions and positions in the underlying interest.
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OTC Swaps
In October 2015, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the FDIC, the Farm Credit Administration, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (each an “Agency” and, collectively, the “Agencies”) jointly adopted final rules to establish minimum margin and capital requirements for registered swap dealers, major swap participants, security-based swap dealers, and major security-based swap participants (“Swap Entities”) that are subject to the jurisdiction of one of the Agencies (such entities, “Covered Swap Entities”, and the joint final rules, the “Final Margin Rules”).
The Final Margin Rules will subject non-cleared swaps and non-cleared security-based swaps between Covered Swap Entities and Swap Entities, and between Covered Swap Entities and financial end users that have material swaps exposure (i.e., an average daily aggregate notional of $8 billion or more in non-cleared swaps calculated in accordance with the Final Margin Rules), to a mandatory two-way minimum initial margin requirement. The minimum amount of the initial margin required to be posted or collected would be either the amount calculated by the Covered Swap Entity using a standardized schedule set forth as an appendix to the Final Margin Rules, which provides the gross initial margin (as a percentage of total notional exposure) for certain asset classes, or an internal margin model of the Covered Swap Entity conforming to the requirements of the Final Margin Rules that is approved by the Agency having jurisdiction over the particular Covered Swap Entity. The Final Margin Rules specify the types of collateral that may be posted or collected as initial margin for non-cleared swaps and non-cleared security-based swaps with financial end users (generally cash, certain government, government- sponsored enterprise securities, certain liquid debt, certain equity securities, certain eligible publicly traded debt, and gold); and sets forth haircuts for certain collateral asset classes.
The Final Margin Rules require minimum variation margin to be exchanged daily for non-cleared swaps and non-cleared security-based swaps between Covered Swap Entities and Swap Entities and between Covered Swap Entities and all financial end-users (without regard to the swaps exposure of the particular financial end-user). The minimum variation margin amount is the daily mark-to-market change in the value of the swap to the Covered Swap Entity, taking into account variation margin previously posted or collected. For non-cleared swaps and security-based swaps between Covered Swap Entities and financial end-users, variation margin may be posted or collected in cash or non-cash collateral that is considered eligible for initial margin purposes. Variation margin is not subject to segregation with an independent, third-party custodian, and may, if permitted by contract, be rehypothecated.
The initial margin requirements of the Final Margin Rules are being phased in over time, and the variation margin requirements of the Final Margin Rules are currently in effect. UNL is not a Covered Swap Entity under the Final Margin Rules but it is a financial end-user. Accordingly, UNL is currently subject to the variation margin requirements of the Final Margin Rules. However, UNL does not have material swaps exposure and, accordingly, UNL will not be subject to the initial margin requirements of the Final Margin Rules.
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) required the CFTC and the SEC to adopt their own margin rules to apply to a limited number of registered swap dealers, security-based swap dealers, major swap participants, and major security-based swap participants that are not subject to the jurisdiction of one of the Agencies. On December 16, 2015 the CFTC finalized its margin rules, which are substantially the same as the Final Margin Rules and have the same implementation timeline. The SEC adopted margin rules for security-based swap dealers and major security-based swap participants on June 21, 2019. The SEC’s margin rules are generally aligned with the Final Margin Rules and the CFTC’s margin rules, but they differ in a few key respects relating to timing for compliance and the manner in which initial margin must be segregated. UNL does not currently engage in security-based swap transactions and, therefore, the SEC’s margin rules are not expected to apply to UNL.
Mandatory Trading and Clearing of Swaps
CFTC regulations require that certain swap transactions be executed on organized exchanges or “swap execution facilities” and cleared through regulated clearing organizations (“derivative clearing organizations” (“DCOs”)), if the CFTC mandates the central clearing of a particular class of swap and such swap is “made available to trade” on a swap execution facility. Currently, swap dealers, major swap participants, commodity pools, certain private funds and entities predominantly engaged in activities that are financial in nature are required to execute on a swap execution facility, and clear, certain interest rate swaps and index-based credit default swaps. As a result, if UNL enters into an interest rate or index-based credit default swap that is subject to these requirements, such swap will be required to be executed on a swap execution facility and centrally cleared. Mandatory clearing and “made available to trade” determinations with respect to additional types of swaps are expected in the future, and, when finalized, could require UNL to electronically execute and centrally clear certain OTC instruments presently entered into and settled on a bi-lateral basis. If a swap is required to be cleared, initial
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and variation margin requirements are set by the relevant clearing organization, subject to certain regulatory requirements and guidelines. Additional margin may be required and held by UNL’s FCMs.
Other Requirements for Swaps
In addition to the margin requirements described above, swaps that are not required to be cleared and executed on a SEF but that are executed bilaterally are also subject to various requirements pursuant to CFTC regulations, including, among other things, reporting and recordkeeping requirements and, depending on the status of the counterparties, trading documentation requirements and dispute resolution requirements.
Derivatives Regulations in Non-U.S. Jurisdictions
In addition to U.S. laws and regulations, UNL may be subject to non-U.S. derivatives laws and regulations if it engages in futures and/or swap transactions with non-U.S. persons. For example, UNL may be impacted by European laws and regulations to the extent that it engages in futures transactions on European exchanges or derivatives transactions with European entities. Other jurisdictions impose requirements applicable to futures and derivatives that are similar to those imposed by the U.S., including position limits, margin, clearing and trade execution requirements.
The CFTC is generally prohibited by statute from regulating trading on non-U.S. futures exchanges and markets. The CFTC, however, has adopted regulations relating to the marketing of non-U.S. futures contracts in the United States. These regulations permit certain contracts on non-U.S. exchanges to be offered and sold in the United States.
SEC Reports
UNL makes available, free of charge, on its website, its annual reports on Form 10-K, its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, its current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to these reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act as soon as reasonably practicable after these forms are filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. These reports are also available from the SEC through its website at: www.sec.gov.
CFTC Reports
UNL also makes available its monthly reports and its annual reports required to be prepared and filed with the NFA under the CFTC regulations.
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
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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.
Item 1A. Risk Factors.
The following risk factors should be read in connection with the other information included in this annual report on Form 10-K, including Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and UNL’s financial statements and the related notes.
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 percentage changes in the price of 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. 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.
UNL’s investment strategy is designed to provide investors with a means of investing 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, and 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 UNL involves tax risks, OTC and other risks.
Investment Risk
The daily changes in percentage terms of UNL’s shares per share NAV relates directly to daily changes in the average of the prices of the price 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 futures 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, 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 or electric transportation and broad-based changes in personal income level.
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Other natural gas supply-related factors. Natural gas prices also vary depending on a number of factors affecting supply. 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 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.
COVID-19 and other infectious disease outbreak 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 has 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 ongoing spread of COVID-19 has had, and is expected to continue to have, 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 are impacted by the outbreak and government and other measures seeking to contain its spread. The impact of COVID-19, and other infectious disease outbreaks that may arise in the future, 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 the COVID-19 outbreak, including 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 the COVID-19 outbreak may exacerbate other pre-existing political, social and economic risks in certain countries or globally. The duration of the COVID-19 outbreak and its ultimate impact on UNL and, on the global economy, cannot be determined with certainty. The COVID-19 pandemic and its effects may last for an extended period of time, and could result in significant and continued market volatility, exchange trading suspensions and closures, declines in global financial markets, higher default rates, and a substantial economic downturn or recession. The foregoing could impair UNL’s ability to maintain operational standards (such as with respect to satisfying redemption requests), disrupt the operations of UNL’s service providers, adversely affect the value and liquidity of UNL’s investments, and negatively impact UNL’s performance and your investment in UNL. The extent to which COVID-19 continues to affect UNL and UNL’s service providers and portfolio investments will depend on future developments. There continues to be uncertainty around the COVID-19 pandemic as the Delta variant of COVID-19, which appears to be the most transmissible and contagious variant to date, has caused an increase in COVID-19 cases globally. The full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business will depend on factors such as the length of time of the pandemic; how federal, state and local governments are responding, the impact of the Delta variant, the Omicron variant, and other variants that may emerge; vaccination rates among the population; the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines against the Delta variant, Omicron variant, and other variants that may emerge; and the longer-term impact of the pandemic on the economy and consumer behavior. Given the significant economic and financial market disruptions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the valuation and performance of UNL’s investments could be impacted adversely.
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.
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.
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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, 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.
Historical performance of UNL and the Benchmark Futures Contracts is not indicative of future performance.
Past performance of UNL or the Benchmark Futures Contract is not necessarily indicative of future results. Therefore, past performance of UNL or the Benchmark Futures Contract should not be relied upon in deciding whether to buy shares of UNL.
Correlation Risk
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 involves 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 natural gas. |
As of the date of this annual report on Form 10-K, significant market volatility has occurred in the oil markets and the oil futures markets. Such volatility is attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic, related supply chain disruptions and continuing disputes among oil-producing countries. Although the volatility has abated in recent months, future volatility cannot be predicted. 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. However, the COVID-19 pandemic could cause increased volatility in the future, 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.
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
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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. See the risk factor, An unanticipated number of Creation Basket requests during a short period of time could result in a shortage of shares, below.
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. 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 begin investing in Other Natural Gas-Related Investments.
In addition, UNL is not able to replicate exactly the changes in the price of the Benchmark Futures Contracts because the total return generated by UNL is reduced by expenses and transaction costs, including those incurred in connection with UNL’s trading activities, and increased by interest income from UNL’s holdings of Treasuries (defined below). Tracking the Benchmark Futures Contracts requires trading of UNL’s portfolio with a view to tracking the Benchmark Futures Contracts over time and is dependent upon the skills of USCF and its trading principals, among other factors.
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 the 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
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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. When compared to 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.
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 oversupply 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. However, the COVID-19 pandemic could cause increased volatility in the future, the impact of which could limit UNL's ability to have a substantial portion of its assets invested in the Benchmark Futures Contract. In addition, it is possible that the Benchmark Futures Contract may experience periods of super contango negative prices in the future. In any 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. See “Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in this annual report on Form 10-K 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, 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 price of the Benchmark Futures Contracts.
Designated contract markets, such as the NYMEX, 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 also set daily price fluctuation limits on futures contracts. The daily price 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 a Benchmark Futures Contract 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, the ICE Futures maintains the same accountability levels, position limits and monitoring authority for its natural gas contract as the NYMEX. 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 its Natural Gas NG Futures Contracts to below the 6,000 single month and/or 12,000 all month accountability level. As of December 31, 2021, UNL held 273 Natural Gas NG Futures Contracts traded on the NYMEX and did not hold any Futures Contracts traded on ICE Futures. For the year ended December 31, 2021, UNL did not exceed accountability levels imposed by the NYMEX and ICE Futures, however, the aggregated total of the Related Public Funds did exceed the accountability levels.
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 the 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 to the next month contracts during a one day
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period beginning two weeks from expiration of the contracts. For the year ended December 31, 2021, UNL did not exceed any position limits imposed by the NYMEX and ICE Futures.
On October 15, 2020, the CFTC approved the Position Limits Rule. The 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.
The Benchmark Futures Contract will be 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.
Risk mitigation measures that could be imposed by UNL’s 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 Oil Futures Contract as well as certain other months. 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.
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, 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. 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. These assumptions and conventions may not fully comply with all aspects of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”) and
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applicable Treasury Regulations, however, and it is possible that the IRS will successfully challenge UNL’s allocation methods and 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” of tax 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 gains to any investor and decreases in allocations of items of deduction, loss, or credit to any investor 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 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 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 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 of its taxable years, that result cannot be assured. UNL has not requested and will not request any ruling from the IRS with respect to 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 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 shares, any distributions 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. 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 Schedule K-1 (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 and deduction of UNL.
This 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
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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 U.S. tax reform on UNL is uncertain.
Legislative or other actions relating to 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. The Biden Administration has proposed significant changes to the existing U.S. tax rules, and there are a number of proposals in Congress that would similarly modify the existing U.S. tax rules. The likelihood of any such legislation being enacted is uncertain, and we cannot predict with certainty how any changes in the tax laws might affect UNL, our investors or our 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 securities.
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 the counterparties to the 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, discussed in “Item 1. Business – Commodities Regulation,” 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.
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.
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.
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
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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 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 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.
UNL’s shares are listed for trading on the NYSE Arca under the market symbol “UNL.” 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.
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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 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.
UNL could become leveraged if it had insufficient assets to completely meet its margin or collateral requirements relating to its investments.
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 Limited Partnership 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.
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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.
The 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 Concierge, 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 Wainwright Holdings, Inc. (“Wainwright”), which is the sole member of USCF. The sole shareholder of Wainwright is Concierge Technologies, Inc., a company publicly traded under the ticker symbol “CNCG” (“Concierge”). Mr. Nicholas D. Gerber, along with certain of his family members and certain other shareholders, owns the majority of the shares in Concierge, which is the sole shareholder of Wainwright, 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 Wainwright 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 0.03% of average total net assets based on brokerage fees of $3.50 per buy or sell, management fees of 0.04% 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.
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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 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. For a more detailed discussion of the regulations to be imposed by the CFTC and the SEC and the potential impacts thereof on UNL, please see “Item 1. Business – Commodities Regulation” in this annual report on Form 10-K.
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.
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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 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 Contracts.
UNL may also be subject to certain conflicts with respect to its FCMs, including, but not limited to, conflicts that result from 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 business 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.
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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.
An unanticipated number of Creation Basket requests during a short period of time could result in a shortage of shares.
USCF makes every effort to predict and maintain an adequate amount of shares outstanding. However, if a substantial number of requests for Creation Baskets are received by UNL during a relatively short period of time that substantially differ from past creation volumes, due to market volatility or otherwise, could result in circumstances where, because of high demand for its shares, UNL may not have sufficient shares available for sale to satisfy demand and Authorized Participants may, therefore, be unable to purchase additional Creation Baskets.
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 in 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 that UNL will 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, An unanticipated number of Creation Basket requests during a short period of time could result in a shortage of shares, could also occur as a result of UNL determining to limit the offering of creation baskets.
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The value of Treasury Bills and Money Market securities held by UNL will fluctuate in value with changes in interest rates.
Interest rate risk is generally lower for shorter term investments and higher for longer term investments. UNL may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates than would normally be the case due to the current period of historically low rates and the effect of potential fiscal policy initiatives and resulting market reaction 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 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 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 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 FCMs or an exchange’s clearing house if the customer property held by the FCMs or the exchange’s clearing house is insufficient to satisfy all customer claims.
Bankruptcy of a clearing FCMs 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.
Third parties may infringe upon or otherwise violate intellectual property rights or assert that USCF has infringed or otherwise violated their intellectual property rights, which may result in significant costs and diverted attention.
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It is possible that third parties might utilize UNL’s intellectual property or technology, including the use of its business methods, trademarks and trading program software, without permission. USCF has a patent for UNL’s business method and has registered its trademarks. UNL does not currently have any proprietary software. However, if it obtains proprietary software in the future, any unauthorized use of UNL’s proprietary software and other technology could also adversely affect its competitive advantage. UNL may not have adequate resources to implement procedures for monitoring unauthorized uses of its patents, trademarks, proprietary software and other technology. Also, third parties may independently develop business methods, trademarks or proprietary software and other technology similar to that of USCF or claim that USCF has violated their intellectual property rights, including their copyrights, trademark rights, trade names, trade secrets and patent rights. As a result, USCF may have to litigate in the future to protect its trade secrets, determine the validity and scope of other parties’ proprietary rights, defend itself against claims that it has infringed or otherwise violated other parties’ rights, or defend itself against claims that its rights are invalid. Any litigation of this type, even if USCF is successful and regardless of the merits, may result in significant costs, divert its resources from UNL, or require it to change its proprietary software and other technology or enter into royalty or licensing agreements.
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.
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USCF is the subject of class action 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 class action 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. For more information, see “Item 3. Legal Proceedings” in this annual report on Form 10-K.
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.
Not applicable.
Item 2. Properties.
Not applicable.
Item 3. Legal Proceedings.
From time to time, UNL may be involved in legal proceedings arising primarily from the ordinary course of its business. In addition, USCF, as the general partner of UNL and the Related Public Funds may, from time to time, be involved in litigation arising out of its operations in the ordinary course of business. Except as described herein, UNL and USCF are not currently party to any material legal proceedings.
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 Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (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.
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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.
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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.
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Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.
Not applicable.
Part II
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities. Price Range of Shares
UNL’s shares have traded on the NYSE Arca under the symbol “UNL” since November 18, 2009 As of December 31, 2021, UNL had approximately 4,735 holders of shares.
Dividends
UNL has not made and does not currently intend to make cash distributions to its shareholders.
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
UNL does not purchase shares directly from its shareholders. In connection with its redemption of baskets held by Authorized Participants, UNL did not have any shares redeemed during the fourth quarter of the year ending December 31, 2021. There were no monthly redemptions for the last three months as indicated below.
| | Total Number of | | Average Price Per | |
Period |
| Shares Redeemed |
| Share | |
10/1/21 to 10/31/21 | | — | | $ | — |
11/1/21 to 11/30/21 | | — | | | — |
12/1/21 to 12/31/21 |
| — | |
| — |
Total |
| — | |
|
|
Item 6. [Reserved].
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
The following discussion should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and the notes thereto of the United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund, LP (“UNL”) included elsewhere in this annual report on Form 10-K.
Forward-Looking Information
This annual report on Form 10-K, including this “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” contains forward-looking statements regarding the plans and objectives of management for future operations. This information may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause UNL’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements. UNL believes these factors include, but are not limited to, the following: changes in inflation in the United States; movements in U.S. and foreign currencies; market volatility in the crude oil markets and futures markets, in part attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic, related supply chain disruptions, ongoing disputes among oil-producing countries, uncertainties associated with the impact from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, including: its impact on the global and U.S. capital markets and the global and U.S. economy, the length and duration of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States as well as worldwide and the magnitude of the economic impact of that outbreak, the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on USO’s business prospects, including its ability to achieve its objectives, and the effect of the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on our ability to continue to effectively manage our business. Forward-looking statements, which involve assumptions and describe UNL’s future plans, strategies and expectations, are generally identifiable by use of the words “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “believe,” “intend” or “project,” the negative of these words, other variations on these words or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions that may be incorrect, and UNL cannot assure investors that the projections included in these forward-looking statements
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will come to pass. UNL’s actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors.
UNL has based the forward-looking statements included in this annual report on Form 10-K on information available to it on the date of this annual report on Form 10-K, and UNL assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Although UNL undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, investors are advised to consult any additional disclosures that UNL may make directly to them or through reports that UNL files in the future with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K.
Introduction
UNL, a Delaware limited partnership, is a commodity pool that issues shares that may be purchased and sold on the NYSE Arca. The investment objective of UNL is for the daily changes in percentage terms of its shares’ per share 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 12 futures contracts for 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. “Near month contract” means the next contract traded on the NYMEX due to expire. “Next month contract” means the first contract traded on the NYMEX due to expire after the near month contract. 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.
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. The general partner of UNL, United States Commodity Funds LLC (“USCF”), believes that it is not practical to manage the portfolio to achieve such an investment goal when investing in Natural Gas Futures Contracts (as defined below) and Other Natural Gas-Related Investments (as defined below).
UNL invests primarily in natural gas futures contracts that are traded on the NYMEX, ICE Futures Exchange (“ICE Futures”) or other U.S. and foreign exchanges (collectively, “Natural Gas Futures Contracts”) and to a lesser extent, in order to comply with regulatory requirements or in view of market conditions, other natural gas-related investments such as cash-settled options on Natural Gas Futures Contracts, forward contracts for natural gas, cleared swap contracts and non-exchange traded over-the-counter (“OTC”) swaps that are based on the price of natural gas, crude oil and other petroleum-based fuels 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 those allowing UNL to obtain greater liquidity or to execute transactions with more favorable pricing. For convenience and unless otherwise specified, Natural Gas Futures Contracts and Other Natural Gas-Related Investments collectively are referred to as “Natural Gas Interests” in this annual report on Form 10-K.
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 daily changes in prices of the Benchmark Futures Contracts have historically closely tracked the daily changes in spot price of natural gas. USCF believes that the net effect of these 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 a MMBtu of natural gas on a percentage basis, plus interest earned on UNL’s collateral holdings, less UNL’s expenses.
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.
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Regulatory Disclosure
Accountability Levels, Position Limits and Price Fluctuation Limits. Designated contract markets (“DCMs”), 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 also set daily price fluctuation 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 Natural Gas 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 net contracts. In addition, the NYMEX imposes an accountability levels for all months of 12,000 net futures contracts for investments in futures contracts for natural gas. In addition, the ICE Futures maintains the same accountability levels, position limits and monitoring authority for its natural gas contracts as the NYMEX. If UNL and the Related Public Funds exceed these accountability levels for investments in the futures contract for natural gas, the NYMEX and ICE Futures will monitor UNL’s and the Related Public Funds’ 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 and the Related Public Funds could be ordered to reduce their aggregate net futures contracts back to the accountability level. As of December 31, 2021, UNL held - Natural Gas Futures NG contracts traded on the NYMEX and did not hold any ICE Natural Gas Futures contracts. For the year ended December 31, 2021, UNL did not exceed accountability levels imposed by the NYMEX and ICE Futures, however, the aggregated total of certain of the Related Public Funds did exceed the accountability levels. No action was taken by NYMEX and UNL did not reduce the number of Natural Gas Futures Contracts held as a result.
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 allow such limits to 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 contract to expire and the eleven following months to the next month contract to expire and the eleven following months during one day each month. For the year ended December 31, 2021, UNL did not exceed any position limits imposed by the NYMEX and the ICE Futures.
The regulation of commodity interest trading in the United States and other countries is an evolving area of the law. The various statements made in this summary are subject to modification by legislative action and changes in the rules and regulations of the SEC, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”), CFTC, NFA, the futures exchanges, clearing organizations and other regulatory bodies. Pending final resolution of all applicable regulatory requirements, some examples of how new rules and regulations could impact UNL are discussed in “Item 1. Business” and “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in this annual report on Form 10-K.
Futures Contracts and Position Limits
On October 15, 2020, the CFTC approved the Position Limits Rule. The 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.
The Benchmark Futures Contracts will be 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.
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OTC Swaps
In October 2015, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the FDIC, the Farm Credit Administration, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (each an “Agency” and, collectively, the “Agencies”) jointly adopted final rules to establish minimum margin and capital requirements for registered swap dealers, major swap participants, security-based swap dealers, and major security-based swap participants (“Swap Entities”) that are subject to the jurisdiction of one of the Agencies (such entities, “Covered Swap Entities”, and the joint final rules, the “Final Margin Rules”).
The Final Margin Rules will subject non-cleared swaps and non-cleared security-based swaps between Covered Swap Entities and Swap Entities, and between Covered Swap Entities and financial end users that have material swaps exposure (i.e., an average daily aggregate notional of $8 billion or more in non-cleared swaps calculated in accordance with the Final Margin Rules), to a mandatory two-way minimum initial margin requirement. The minimum amount of the initial margin required to be posted or collected would be either the amount calculated by the Covered Swap Entity using a standardized schedule set forth as an appendix to the Final Margin Rules, which provides the gross initial margin (as a percentage of total notional exposure) for certain asset classes, or an internal margin model of the Covered Swap Entity conforming to the requirements of the Final Margin Rules that is approved by the Agency having jurisdiction over the particular Covered Swap Entity. The Final Margin Rules specify the types of collateral that may be posted or collected as initial margin for non-cleared swaps and non-cleared security-based swaps with financial end users (generally cash, certain government, government-sponsored enterprise securities, certain liquid debt, certain equity securities, certain eligible publicly traded debt, and gold); and sets forth haircuts for certain collateral asset classes.
The Final Margin Rules require minimum variation margin to be exchanged daily for non-cleared swaps and non-cleared security- based swaps between Covered Swap Entities and Swap Entities and between Covered Swap Entities and all financial end-users (without regard to the swaps exposure of the particular financial end-user). The minimum variation margin amount is the daily mark- to-market change in the value of the swap to the Covered Swap Entity, taking into account variation margin previously posted or collected. For non-cleared swaps and security-based swaps between Covered Swap Entities and financial end-users, variation margin may be posted or collected in cash or non-cash collateral that is considered eligible for initial margin purposes. Variation margin is not subject to segregation with an independent, third-party custodian, and may, if permitted by contract, be rehypothecated.
The initial margin requirements of the Final Margin Rules are being phased in over time, and the variation margin requirements of the Final Margin Rules are currently in effect. UNL is not a Covered Swap Entity under the Final Margin Rules, but it is a financial end-user. Accordingly, UNL is currently subject to the variation margin requirements of the Final Margin Rules. However, UNL does not have material swaps exposure and, accordingly, UNL will not be subject to the initial margin requirements of the Final Margin Rules.
The Dodd-Frank Act required the CFTC and the SEC to adopt their own margin rules to apply to a limited number of registered swap dealers, security-based swap dealers, major swap participants, and major security-based swap participants that are not subject to the jurisdiction of one of the Agencies. On December 16, 2015 the CFTC finalized its margin rules, which are substantially the same as the Final Margin Rules and have the same implementation timeline. The SEC adopted margin rules for security-based swap dealers and major security-based swap participants on June 21, 2019. The SEC’s margin rules are generally aligned with the Final Margin Rules and the CFTC’s margin rules, but they differ in a few key respects relating to timing for compliance and the manner in which initial margin must be segregated. UNL does not currently engage in security-based swap transactions and, therefore, the SEC’s margin rules are not expected to apply to UNL.
Mandatory Trading and Clearing of Swaps
CFTC regulations require that certain swap transactions be executed on organized exchanges or “swap execution facilities” and cleared through regulated clearing organizations (“derivative clearing organizations” (“DCOs”)), if the CFTC mandates the central clearing of a particular class of swap and such swap is “made available to trade” on a swap execution facility. Currently, swap dealers, major swap participants, commodity pools, certain private funds and entities predominantly engaged in activities that are financial in nature are required to execute on a swap execution facility, and clear, certain interest rate swaps and index-based credit default swaps. As a result, if UNL enters into an interest rate or index-based credit default swap that is subject to these requirements, such swap will be required to be executed on a swap execution facility and centrally cleared. Mandatory clearing and “made available to trade” determinations with respect to additional types of swaps may be issued in the future, and, when finalized, could require UNL to electronically execute and centrally clear certain OTC instruments presently entered into and settled on a bi-lateral basis. If a swap is required to be cleared, initial
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and variation margin requirements are set by the relevant clearing organization, subject to certain regulatory requirements and guidelines. Additional margin may be required and held by UNL’s FCM.
Other Requirements for Swaps
In addition to the margin requirements described above, swaps that are not required to be cleared and executed on a SEF but that are executed bilaterally are also subject to various requirements pursuant to CFTC regulations, including, among other things, reporting and recordkeeping requirements and, depending on the status of the counterparties, trading documentation requirements and dispute resolution requirements.
Derivatives Regulations in Non-U.S. Jurisdictions
In addition to U.S. laws and regulations, UNL may be subject to non-U.S. derivatives laws and regulations if it engages in futures and/or swap transactions with non-U.S. persons. For example, UNL may be impacted by European laws and regulations to the extent that it engages in futures transactions on European exchanges or derivatives transactions with European entities. Other jurisdictions impose requirements applicable to futures and derivatives that are similar to those imposed by the U.S., including position limits, margin, clearing and trade execution requirements.
The CFTC is generally prohibited by statute from regulating trading on non-U.S. futures exchanges and markets. The CFTC, however, has adopted regulations relating to the marketing of non-U.S. futures contracts in the United States. These regulations permit certain contracts on non-U.S. exchanges to be offered and sold in the United States.
Money Market Funds
The SEC adopted amendments to Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (“1940 Act”) which became effective in 2016, to reform money market funds (“MMFs”). While the rule applies only to MMFs, it may indirectly affect institutional investors such as UNL. A portion of UNL’s assets that are not used for margin or collateral in the Futures Contracts currently are invested in government MMFs. UNL does not hold any non-government MMFs and does not anticipate investing in any non- government MMFs. However, if UNL invests in other types of MMFs besides government MMFs in the future, UNL could be negatively impacted by investing in an MMF that does not maintain a stable $1.00 NAV or that has the potential to impose redemption fees and gates (temporary suspension of redemptions).
Although such government MMFs 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 MMF. An investment in a government MMF is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the "FDIC") or any other government agency. The share price of a government MMF can fall below the $1.00 share price. UNL cannot rely on or expect a government MMF’s adviser or its affiliates to enter into support agreements or take other actions to maintain the government MMF’s $1.00 share price. The credit quality of a government MMF’s holdings can change rapidly in certain markets, and the default of a single holding could have an adverse impact on the government MMF’s share price. Due to fluctuations in interest rates, the market value of securities held by a government MMF may vary. A government MMF’s share price can also be negatively affected during periods of high redemption pressures and/or illiquid markets.
Price Movements
Natural gas futures prices were volatile during the year ended December 31, 2021. The average price of the Benchmark Futures Contracts started the year at $2.695 per million British thermal shares (“MMBtu”). The high of the year was on October 5, 2021 when the price of the Benchmark Futures Contracts reached $5.017 per MMBtu. The low of the year was on March 18, 2021 when the price dropped to $2.688 per MMBtu. The year ended with the Benchmark Futures Contracts at $3.698 per MMBtu, an increase of approximately 37.22% over the year. UNL’s per share NAV began the year at $7.74 and ended the year at $11.65 on December 31, 2021, an increase of approximately 50.52% over the year. The Benchmark Futures Contracts prices listed above began with the February 2021 to January 2022 contracts and ended with the February 2022 to January 2023 contracts. The increase of approximately 37.22% on the Benchmark Futures Contracts listed above is a hypothetical return only and could not actually be achieved by an investor holding Futures Contracts. An investment in Futures Contracts would need to be rolled forward during the time period described in order to simulate such a result. Furthermore, the change in the nominal price of these differing Futures Contracts, measured from the start of the year to the end of the
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year, does not represent the actual benchmark results that UNL seeks to track, which are more fully described below in the section titled “Tracking UNL’s Benchmark.”
During the year ended December 31, 2021, the natural gas futures market experienced states of both contango and backwardation. When the market is in a state of contango, the near month natural gas futures contract is lower than the price of the next month natural gas futures contract, or contracts further away from expiration. During periods of backwardation the near month natural gas futures contract is higher than the price of the next month natural gas futures contract, or contracts further away from expiration. For a discussion of the impact of backwardation and contango on total returns, see “Term Structure of Natural Gas Futures Prices and the Impact on Total Returns” below.
Valuation of Futures Contracts and the Computation of the Per Share NAV
The per share NAV of UNL’s shares is calculated once each NYSE Arca trading day. The per share NAV for a particular 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 contracts held on the NYMEX, but calculates or determines the value of all other UNL investments, including cleared swaps, or other futures contracts, as of the earlier of the close of the NYSE Arca or 4:00 p.m. New York time.
Results of Operations and the Natural Gas Market
Results of Operations. On November 18, 2009, UNL listed its shares on the NYSE Arca under the ticker symbol “UNL.” On that day, UNL established its initial offering price at $50.00 per share and issued 200,000 shares to the initial Authorized Participant, Merrill Lynch Professional Clearing Corp., in exchange for $10,000,000 in cash.
As of December 31, 2021, UNL had issued 6,900,000 shares, 1,400,000 of which were outstanding. As of December 31, 2021, there were 23,100,000 shares registered but not yet issued. UNL has registered 30,000,000 shares since inception.
More shares may have been issued by UNL than are outstanding due to the redemption of shares. Unlike funds that are registered under the 1940 Act, shares that have been redeemed by UNL cannot be resold by UNL. As a result, UNL contemplates that additional offerings of its shares will be registered with the SEC in the future in anticipation of additional issuances and redemptions.
As of December 31, 2021, 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.
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For the Year Ended December 31, 2021 Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2020
|
| Year ended |
| Year ended |
| ||
| | December 31, | | December 31, | | ||
|
| 2021 |
| 2020 | | ||
Per share net asset value, end of year | | $ | 11.65 | | $ | 7.74 | |
Average daily total net assets | | $ | 11,436,019 | | $ | 4,790,202 | |
Dividend and interest income earned on Treasuries, cash and/or cash equivalents | | $ | 3,479 | | $ | 21,225 | |
Annualized yield based on average daily total net assets | |
| 0.03 | % |
| 0.44 | % |
Management fee | | $ | 85,770 | | $ | 35,924 | |
Total fees and other expenses excluding management fees | | $ | 145,903 | | $ | 67,715 | |
Total amount of the expense waiver | | $ | 128,748 | | $ | 60,535 | |
Expenses before the allowance of the expense waiver | | $ | 231,673 | | $ | 103,639 | |
Expenses after the allowance of the expense waiver | | $ | 102,925 | | $ | 43,104 | |
Total commissions accrued to brokers | | $ | 3,199 | | $ | 1,633 | |
Total commissions as annualized percentage of average total net assets | |
| 0.03 | % |
| 0.03 | % |
Commissions accrued as a result of rebalancing | | $ | 2,250 | | $ | 1,153 | |
Percentage of commissions accrued as a result of rebalancing | |
| 70.33 | % |
| 70.61 | % |
Commissions accrued as a result of creation and redemption activity | | $ | 949 | | $ | 480 | |
Percentage of commissions accrued as a result of creation and redemption activity | |
| 29.67 | % |
| 29.39 | % |
[Portfolio Expenses. UNL’s expenses consist of investment management fees, brokerage fees and commissions, certain offering costs, licensing fees, registration fees, the fees and expenses of the independent directors of USCF and expenses relating to tax accounting and reporting requirements. The management fee that UNL pays to USCF is calculated as a percentage of the total net assets of UNL. The fee is accrued daily and paid monthly.
The increase in the per share NAV for the year ended December 31, 2021, compared to the year ended December 31, 2020, was due primarily to higher prices for natural gas and the related increase in the value of the Natural Gas Futures Contracts in which UNL held and traded.
Average interest rates earned on short-term investments held by UNL, including cash, cash equivalents and Treasuries, were lower during the year ended December 31, 2021, compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. As a result, the amount of income earned by UNL as a percentage of average daily total net assets was lower during the year ended December 31, 2021, compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. To the degree that the aggregate yield is lower, the net expense ratio, inclusive of income, will be higher.
The increase in total fees and other expenses excluding management fees for the year ended December 31, 2021, compared to the year ended December 31, 2020 was due primarily to a increase in reporting costs and professional fees.
The increase in total commissions accrued to brokers for the year ended December 31, 2021, compared to the year ended December 31, 2020, was due primarily to a higher number of Natural Gas Futures Contracts being held and traded.
Tracking UNL’s Benchmark
USCF seeks to manage UNL’s portfolio such that changes in its average daily per share NAV, on a percentage basis, closely track the daily changes in the average price of the Benchmark Futures Contracts, also on a percentage basis. Specifically, USCF seeks to manage the portfolio such that over any rolling period of 30-valuation days, the average daily change in UNL’s per share NAV is within a range of 90% to 110% (0.9 to 1.1) of the average daily change in the prices of the Benchmark Futures Contracts. As an example, if the average daily movement of the average of the prices of the Benchmark Futures Contracts for a particular 30-valuation day time period was 0.50% per day, USCF would attempt to manage the portfolio such that the average daily movement of the per share NAV during that same time period fell between 0.45% and 0.55% (i.e., between 0.9 and 1.1 of the benchmark’s results). UNL’s portfolio management goals do not include trying to make the nominal price of UNL’s per share NAV equal to the average of the nominal prices of the current Benchmark Futures Contracts or the spot price for natural gas. USCF believes that it is not practical to manage the portfolio to achieve such an investment goal when investing in Futures Contracts and Other Natural Gas-Related Investments.
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For the 30-valuation days ended December 31, 2021, the average daily change in the average of the prices of the Benchmark Futures Contracts was (0.398)%, while the average daily change in the per share NAV of UNL over the same time period was (0.400)%. The average daily difference was (0.002)% (or (0.2) basis points, where 1 basis point equals 1/100 of 1%), meaning that over this time period UNL’s NAV performed was within the plus or minus 10% range established as its benchmark tracking goal.
Since the commencement of the offering of UNL’s shares to the public on November 18, 2009 to December 31, 2021, the average daily change in the average price of the Benchmark Futures Contracts was (0.032)%, while the average daily change in the per share NAV of UNL over the same time period was (0.033)%. The average daily difference was (0.001)% (or (0.1) basis points, where 1 basis point equals 1/100 of 1%), meaning that over this time period UNL’s NAV performed within the plus or minus 10% range established as its benchmark tracking goal.
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The following two graphs demonstrate the correlation between the changes in UNL’s NAV and the changes in the Benchmark Futures Contracts. The first graph exhibits the daily changes in the last 30 valuation days ended December 31, 2021. The second graph measures monthly changes since December 31, 2016 through December 31, 2021.
*PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS
*PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS
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An alternative tracking measurement of the return performance of UNL versus the return of its 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 its Benchmark Futures Contracts.
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 is 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 Contract of 50.52% was a difference over the time period of 0.00%, which is to say that UNL’s actual total return matched 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, 2020, the actual total return of UNL as measured by changes in its per share NAV was (8.19)%. This was based on an initial per share NAV of $8.43 as of December 31, 2019 and an ending per share NAV as of December 31, 2020 of $7.74. 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 $7.75 as of December 31, 2020, for a total return over the relevant time period of (8.07)%. The difference between the actual per share NAV total return of UNL of (8.19)% and the expected total return based on the Benchmark Futures Contracts of (8.07)% was an error over the time period of (0.12)%, which is to say that UNL’s actual total return underperformed its benchmark by that percentage. UNL incurred 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, tended 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.
There are currently three factors that have impacted or are most likely to impact UNL’s ability to accurately track Benchmark Futures Contracts.
First, UNL may buy or sell its holdings in the then current Benchmark Futures Contracts at a price other than the closing settlement price of that contract on the day during which UNL executes the trade. In that case, UNL may pay a price that is higher, or lower, than that of the Benchmark Futures Contracts, which could cause the changes in the daily per share NAV of UNL to either be too high or too low relative to the daily changes in the average price of the Benchmark Futures Contracts. During the year ended December 31, 2021, USCF attempted to minimize the effect of these transactions by seeking to execute its purchase or sale of the Benchmark Futures Contracts at, or as close as possible to, the end of the day settlement price. However, it may not always be possible for UNL to obtain the closing settlement price and there is no assurance that failure to obtain the closing settlement price in the future will not adversely impact UNL’s attempt to track the Benchmark Futures Contracts.
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Second, 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 tends to cause daily changes in the per share NAV of UNL to track slightly lower than daily changes in the price of the Benchmark Futures Contracts. At the same time, UNL earns dividend and interest income on its cash, cash equivalents and Treasuries. UNL is not required to distribute any portion of its income to its shareholders and did not make any distributions to shareholders during the year ended December 31, 2021. Interest payments, and any other income, were retained within the portfolio and added to UNL’s NAV. When this income exceeds the level of UNL’s expenses for its management fee, brokerage commissions and other expenses (including ongoing registration fees, licensing fees and the fees and expenses of the independent directors of USCF), UNL will realize a net yield that will tend to cause daily changes in the per share NAV of UNL to track slightly higher than daily changes in the average of the prices of the Benchmark Futures Contracts. If short-term interest rates rise above these current levels, the level of deviation created by the yield would increase. Conversely, if short-term interest rates were to decline, the amount of error created by the yield would decrease. When short-term yields drop to a level lower than the combined expenses of the management fee and the brokerage commissions, then the tracking error becomes a negative number and would tend to cause the daily returns of the per share NAV to underperform the daily returns of the Benchmark Futures Contracts. USCF anticipates that interest rates may continue to rise over the from future near historical lows. It is anticipated that fees and expenses paid by UNL may continue to be higher than interest earned by UNL. As such, USCF anticipates that UNL could possibly underperform its benchmark so long as interest earned is lower than the fees and expenses paid by UNL.
Third, UNL may hold Other Natural Gas-Related Investments in its portfolio that may fail to closely track the Benchmark Futures Contracts total return movements. In that case, the error in tracking the Benchmark Futures Contracts could result in daily changes in the per share NAV of UNL that are either too high, or too low, relative to the daily changes in the average price of the Benchmark Futures Contracts. During the year ended December 31, 2021, UNL did not hold any Other Natural Gas-Related Investments. If UNL increases in size, and due to its obligations to comply with regulatory limits, UNL may invest in Other Natural Gas-Related Investments which may have the effect of increasing transaction related expenses and may result in increased tracking error.
Term Structure of Natural Gas Futures Prices and the Impact 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 natural gas 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.
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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).
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*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, 2011 and December 31, 2021. Investors will note that the natural gas market spent time in both backwardation and contango.
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*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 was 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.
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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. However, the natural gas market has primarily been in a state of contango since late 2014.
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 Contract since 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 Contract. 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.
Natural Gas Market. During the year ended December 31, 2021, the average price of the Benchmark Oil Futures Contracts traded in a range between $2.688 and $5.017. The average price of the Benchmark Oil Futures Contracts increased 37.22% from December 31, 2020 through December 31, 2021, finishing the year at $3.698. The number of rigs dedicated to natural gas production rose from 83 at the start of the year to 106 by the end of 2021. Natural Gas stored in the United States stood at 3,195 billion cubic feet as of December 31, 2021, about 4% 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.
Mitigation measures taken in the United States to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic led to a decline in natural gas consumption in the industrial sector and by other commercial users during the early stage of the pandemic. Simultaneously, natural gas production fell as a result of reduced drilling activity and shut-ins of crude oil wells where natural gas is a byproduct.
While natural gas prices declined steadily during the first half of 2020, prices were not as impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic as other energy commodities. Lower prices were at least in part due to the ongoing surplus of natural gas in storage and lower demand resulting from warm weather in the United States. Additionally, crude oil and petroleum products are more sensitive to changes in commuter and air miles as well as manufacturing and industrial production, all of which dropped dramatically during first half of 2020.
The 30-day annualized volatility of natural gas prices rose notably from late February to late May of 2020 and averaged about 69% during the second quarter, considerably higher than five-year average volatility of approximately 44%. However, natural gas price volatility during the rest of 2020 was similar to prior years. Natural gas price volatility in 2020 never reached the extreme level that occurred during the 2018-2019 winter. Likewise, natural gas price volatility remained well below the levels of volatility seen in crude oil markets. While some uncertainty in natural gas prices was likely a result of COVID-19 mitigation efforts, the effects from the COVID-19 pandemic were more muted as compared to the impact on crude oil markets.
The ongoing impact of COVID-19 in the United States could continue to add some pressure to natural gas demand at times. However, supply and demand of natural gas continue to exhibit normal seasonal patterns, whereby both production and end-user demand increase in autumn and winter months and decline in spring and summer months. Peak demand and peak production over the last two pandemic winters fell somewhat below their five year averages, though not dramatically.
Natural Gas Price Movements in Comparison to Other Energy Commodities and Investment Categories. USCF believes that investors frequently measure the degree to which prices or total returns of one investment or asset class move up or down in value in concert with another investment or asset class. Statistically, such a measure is usually done by measuring the correlation of the price movements of the two different investments or asset classes over some period of time. The correlation is scaled between 1 and -1, where 1 indicates that the two investment options move up or down in price or value together, known as “positive correlation,” and -1 indicates that they move in completely opposite directions, known as “negative correlation.” A correlation of 0 would mean that the movements of the two are neither positively nor negatively correlated, known as “non-correlation.” That is, the investment options sometimes move up and down together and other times move in opposite directions.
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For the ten-year time period between December 31, 2011 and December 31, 2021, the table below compares the monthly movements of natural gas prices versus the monthly movements of the prices of several other energy commodities, such as crude oil, diesel-heating oil, and unleaded gasoline, as well as several major non-commodity investment asset classes, such as large cap U.S. equities, U.S. government bonds and global equities. It can be seen that over this particular time period, the movement of natural gas on a monthly basis was neither strongly correlated nor inversely correlated with the movements of large cap U.S. equities, U.S. Government bonds, global equities, crude oil, diesel-heating oil, or unleaded gasoline.
*PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS
Natural Gas - 10 Years
|
| Large Cap US Equities (S&P |
| US Gov’t Bonds (BEUSG4 |
| Global Equities (FTSE World |
| |
| |
| Unleaded |
| Natural |
Correlation Matrix 10 Years | | 500) | | Index) | | Index) | | Crude Oil | | Heating Oil | | Gasoline | | Gas |
Large Cap US Equities (S&P 500) |
| 1.000 |
| 0.895 |
| 0.995 |
| 0.669 |
| 0.717 |
| 0.716 |
| 0.584 |
US Gov’t Bonds (BEUSG4 Index) |
|
|
| 1.000 |
| 0.893 |
| 0.521 |
| 0.616 |
| 0.540 |
| 0.585 |
Global Equities (FTSE World Index) |
|
|
|
|
| 1.000 |
| 0.686 |
| 0.737 |
| 0.729 |
| 0.577 |
Crude Oil |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1.000 |
| 0.867 |
| 0.837 |
| 0.350 |
Heating Oil |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1.000 |
| 0.807 |
| 0.419 |
Unleaded Gasoline |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1.000 |
| 0.403 |
Natural Gas |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1.000 |
Source: Bloomberg, NYMEX
The table below covers a more recent, but much shorter, range of dates than the above table. Over the one year period ended December 31, 2021, the movement of natural gas was strongly correlated with diesel-heating oil, U.S. government bonds oil, large cap U.S. equities, global equities crude oil, and unleaded gasoline.
*PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS
Natural Gas - 1 Year
|
| Large Cap US Equities (S&P |
| US Gov’t Bonds (BEUSG4 |
| Global Equities (FTSE World |
| |
| |
| Unleaded |
| Natural |
Correlation Matrix 1 Year |
| 500) |
| Index) | | Index) | | Crude Oil | | Heating Oil | | Gasoline | | Gas |
Large Cap US Equities (S&P 500) |
| 1.000 |
| 0.993 |
| 1.000 |
| 0.944 |
| 0.956 |
| 0.959 |
| 0.868 |
US Gov’t Bonds (BEUSG4 Index) |
|
|
| 1.000 |
| 0.994 |
| 0.937 |
| 0.953 |
| 0.945 |
| 0.891 |
Global Equities (FTSE World Index) |
|
|
|
|
| 1.000 |
| 0.949 |
| 0.962 |
| 0.963 |
| 0.873 |
Crude Oil |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1.000 |
| 0.995 |
| 0.988 |
| 0.887 |
Heating Oil |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1.000 |
| 0.989 |
| 0.896 |
Unleaded Gasoline |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1.000 |
| 0.857 |
Natural Gas |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1.000 |
Source: Bloomberg, NYMEX
Investors are cautioned that the historical price relationships between natural gas and various other energy commodities, as well as other investment asset classes, as measured by correlation may not be reliable predictors of future price movements and correlation results. The results pictured above would have been different if a different range of dates had been selected. USCF believes that natural gas has historically not demonstrated a strong correlation with equities or bonds over long periods of time. However, USCF also believes that in the future it is possible that natural gas could have long-term correlation results that indicate prices of natural gas more closely track the movements of equities or bonds. In addition, USCF believes that, when measured over time periods shorter than ten years, there will always be some periods where the correlation of natural gas to equities and bonds will be either more strongly positively correlated or more strongly negatively correlated than the long term historical results suggest.
66
The correlations between natural gas, crude oil, diesel-heating oil and gasoline are relevant because USCF endeavors to invest UNL’s assets in natural gas Futures Contracts and Other Natural Gas-Related Investments so that daily changes in percentage terms in UNL’s per share NAV correlate as closely as possible with daily changes in percentage terms in the average of the prices of the Benchmark Futures Contracts. If certain other fuel-based commodity futures contracts do not closely correlate with the natural gas Futures Contracts, then their use could lead to greater tracking error. As noted above, USCF also believes that the changes in percentage terms in the average of the prices of the Benchmark Futures Contracts will closely correlate with changes in percentage terms in the spot price of natural gas.
For the Year Ended December 31, 2020 Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2019
The comparison of the fiscal years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 can be found in UNL’s annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 located within Part II, Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, which is incorporated by reference herein.
Critical Accounting Policies
Preparation of the financial statements and related disclosures in compliance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires the application of appropriate accounting rules and guidance, as well as the use of estimates. UNL’s application of these policies involves judgments and actual results may differ from the estimates used.
USCF has evaluated the nature and types of estimates that it makes in preparing UNL’s financial statements and related disclosures and has determined that the valuation of its investments, which are not traded on a United States or internationally recognized futures exchange (such as forward contracts and OTC swaps) involves a critical accounting policy. The values which are used by UNL for its Futures Contracts are provided by its commodity broker who uses market prices when available, while OTC swaps are valued based on the present value of estimated future cash flows that would be received from or paid to a third party in settlement of these derivative contracts prior to their delivery date and valued on a daily basis. In addition, UNL estimates interest and dividend income on a daily basis using prevailing rates earned on its cash and cash equivalents. These estimates are adjusted to the actual amount received on a monthly basis and the difference, if any, is not considered material.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
UNL has not made, and does not anticipate making, use of borrowings or other lines of credit to meet its obligations. UNL has met, and it is anticipated that UNL will continue to meet, its liquidity needs in the normal course of business from the proceeds of the sale of its investments, or from the Treasuries, cash and/or cash equivalents that it intends to hold at all times. UNL’s liquidity needs include: redeeming shares, providing margin deposits for its existing Futures Contracts or the purchase of additional Futures Contracts and posting collateral for its OTC swaps, if applicable, and payment of its expenses, summarized below under “Contractual Obligations.”
UNL currently generates cash primarily from: (i) the sale of baskets consisting of 50,000 shares (“Creation Baskets”) and (ii) income earned on Treasuries, cash and/or cash equivalents. UNL has allocated substantially all of its net assets to trading in Natural Gas Interests. 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 Futures Contracts and Other Natural Gas-Related Investments. A significant portion of UNL’s NAV is held in cash and cash equivalents that are used as margin and as collateral for its trading in Natural Gas Interests. The balance of the assets is held in UNL’s account at its custodian bank and in investments in money market funds and Treasuries at the FCMs. Income received from UNL’s investments in money market funds and Treasuries is paid to UNL. During the year ended December 31, 2021, UNL’s expenses, pre and post expense waiver, exceeded the income UNL earned and the cash earned from the sale of Creation Baskets and the redemption of Redemption Baskets. During the year ended December 31, 2021 UNL used other assets to pay expenses, post expense waiver. To the extent expenses exceed income, UNL’s NAV will be negatively impacted.
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 investments in its Futures Contracts and Other Natural Gas-Related Investments.
67
Although permitted to do so under its Limited Partnership Agreement, UNL has not and does not intend to leverage its assets and makes its investments accordingly. Consistent with the foregoing, 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. If the market conditions require it, these risk reduction procedures may occur on short notice if they occur other than during a roll or rebalance period.
UNL’s investments in Natural Gas Interests may be subject to periods of illiquidity because of market conditions, regulatory considerations and other reasons. For example, most commodity exchanges limit the fluctuations in futures contracts prices during a single day by regulations referred to as “daily limits.” During a single day, no trades may be executed at prices beyond the daily limit. Once the price of a futures contract has increased or decreased by an amount equal to the daily limit, positions in the contracts can neither be taken nor liquidated unless the traders are willing to effect trades at or within the specified daily limit. Such market conditions could prevent UNL from promptly liquidating its positions in Futures Contracts. During the year ended December 31, 2021, UNL did not purchase or liquidate any of its positions while daily limits were in effect; however, UNL cannot predict whether such an event may occur in the future.
Since the initial offering of shares, UNL has been responsible for expenses relating to: (i) management fees, (ii) brokerage fees and commissions, (iii) licensing fees for the use of intellectual property, (iv) ongoing registration expenses in connection with offers and sales of its shares subsequent to the initial offering, (v) other expenses, including tax reporting costs, (vi) fees and expenses of the independent directors of USCF and (vii) other extraordinary expenses not in the ordinary course of business.
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.
Market Risk
Trading in Futures Contracts and Other Natural Gas-Related Investments, such as forwards, involves UNL entering into contractual commitments to purchase or sell natural gas at a specified date in the future. The aggregate market value of the contracts will significantly exceed UNL’s future cash requirements since UNL intends to close out its open positions prior to settlement. As a result, UNL is generally only subject to the risk of loss arising from the change in value of the contracts. UNL considers the “fair value” of its derivative instruments to be the unrealized gain or loss on the contracts. The market risk associated with UNL’s commitments to purchase natural gas is limited to the aggregate market value of the contracts held. However, should UNL enter into a contractual commitment to sell natural gas, it would be required to make delivery of the natural gas at the contract price, repurchase the contract at prevailing prices or settle in cash. Since there are no limits on the future price of natural gas, the market risk to UNL could be unlimited.
UNL’s exposure to market risk depends on a number of factors, including the markets for natural gas, the volatility of interest rates and foreign exchange rates, the liquidity of the Futures Contracts and Other Natural Gas-Related Investments markets and the relationships among the contracts held by UNL. Drastic market occurrences could ultimately lead to the loss of all or substantially all of an investor’s capital.
Credit Risk
When UNL enters into Futures Contracts and Other Natural Gas-Related Investments, it is exposed to the credit risk that the counterparty will not be able to meet its obligations. The counterparty for the Futures Contracts traded on the NYMEX and on most other futures exchanges is the clearinghouse associated with the particular exchange. In general, in addition to margin required to be posted by the clearinghouse in connection with cleared trades, clearinghouses are backed by their members who may be required to share in the financial burden resulting from the nonperformance of one of their members and, therefore, this additional member support should
68
significantly reduce credit risk. UNL is not currently a member of any clearinghouse. Some foreign exchanges are not backed by their clearinghouse members but may be backed by a consortium of banks or other financial institutions. There can be no assurance that any counterparty, clearinghouse, or their members or their financial backers will satisfy their obligations to UNL in such circumstances.
USCF attempts to manage the credit risk of UNL by following various trading limitations and policies. In particular, UNL generally posts margin and/or holds liquid assets that are approximately equal to the market value of its obligations to counterparties under the Futures Contracts and Other Natural Gas-Related Investments it holds. USCF has implemented procedures that include, but are not limited to, executing and clearing trades only with creditworthy parties and/or requiring the posting of collateral or margin by such parties for the benefit of UNL to limit its credit exposure. An FCM, when acting on behalf of UNL in accepting orders to purchase or sell Futures Contracts on United States exchanges, is required by CFTC regulations to separately account for and segregate as belonging to UNL, all assets of UNL relating to domestic Futures Contracts trading. These FCMs are not allowed to commingle UNL’s assets with their other assets. In addition, the CFTC requires FCMs to hold in a secure account UNL’s assets related to foreign Futures Contracts .
In the future UNL may purchase OTC swaps, see “Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk” in this annual report on Form 10-K for a discussion of OTC swaps.
As of December 31, 2021, UNL held cash deposits and investments in Treasuries and money market funds in the amount of $15,705,957 with the custodian and FCMs. Some or all of these amounts held by a custodian or an FCM, as applicable, may be subject to loss should UNL’s custodian or FCMs, as applicable, cease operations.
Off Balance Sheet Financing
As of December 31, 2021, UNL had no loan guarantee, credit support or other off-balance sheet arrangements of any kind other than agreements entered into in the normal course of business, which may include indemnification provisions relating to certain risks that service providers undertake in performing services which are in the best interests of UNL. While UNL’s exposure under these indemnification provisions cannot be estimated, they are not expected to have a material impact on UNL’s financial position.
Redemption Basket Obligation
In order to meet its investment objective and pay its contractual obligations described below, UNL requires liquidity to redeem shares, which redemptions must be in blocks of 50,000 shares called “Redemption Baskets.” UNL has to date satisfied this obligation by paying from the cash or cash equivalents it holds or through the sale of its Treasuries in an amount proportionate to the number of shares being redeemed.
Contractual Obligations
UNL’s primary contractual obligations are with USCF. In return for its services, USCF is entitled to a management fee calculated daily and paid monthly as a fixed percentage of UNL’s NAV, currently 0.60% for a NAV of $1 billion or less, and thereafter of 0.50% for a NAV above $1 billion.
USCF agreed to pay the start-up costs associated with the formation of UNL, primarily its legal, accounting and other costs in connection with USCF’s registration with the CFTC as a CPO and the registration and listing of UNL and its shares with the SEC, FINRA and NYSE Arca (formerly, AMEX), respectively. However, since UNL’s initial offering of shares, offering costs incurred in connection with registering and listing additional shares of UNL have been directly borne on an ongoing basis by UNL, and not by USCF.
USCF pays the fees of the Marketing Agent as well as BNY Mellon’s fees for performing administrative, custodial, and transfer agency services. BNY Mellon’s fees for performing administrative services include those in connection with the preparation of UNL’s financial statements and its SEC, NFA and CFTC reports. USCF and UNL have also entered into a licensing agreement with the NYMEX pursuant to which UNL and the Related Public Funds, other than BNO, USCI and CPER, pay a licensing fee to the NYMEX. UNL also pays the fees and expenses associated with its tax accounting and reporting requirements.
USCF paid BBH&Co.’s fees for performing administrative services, including those in connection with the preparation of UNL’s financial statements and its SEC, NFA and CFTC reports through May 31, 2020.
69
In addition to USCF’s management fee, UNL pays its brokerage fees (including fees to an FCM), OTC dealer spreads, any licensing fees for the use of intellectual property, and, subsequent to the initial offering, registration and other fees paid to the SEC, FINRA, or other regulatory agencies in connection with the offer and sale of shares, as well as legal, printing, accounting and other expenses associated therewith, and extraordinary expenses. The latter are expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of UNL’s business, including expenses relating to the indemnification of any person against liabilities and obligations to the extent permitted by law and under the LP Agreement, the bringing or defending of actions in law or in equity or otherwise conducting litigation and incurring legal expenses and the settlement of claims and litigation. Commission payments to an FCM are on a contract-by-contract, or round turn, basis. UNL also pays a portion of the fees and expenses of the independent directors of USCF. See Note 3 to the Notes to Financial Statements in Item 8 of this annual report on Form 10-K.
The parties cannot anticipate the amount of payments that will be required under these arrangements for future periods, as UNL’s per share NAVs and trading levels to meet its investment objective will not be known until a future date. These agreements are effective for a specific term agreed upon by the parties with an option to renew, or, in some cases, are in effect for the duration of UNL’s existence. Either party may terminate these agreements earlier for certain reasons described in the agreements.
As of December 31, 2021, UNL’s portfolio consisted of 441 Natural Gas Futures NG contracts traded on the NYMEX. As of December 31, 2021, UNL did not hold any of Futures Contracts traded on the ICE Futures. For a list of current holdings, please see UNL’s website at www.uscfinvestments.com.
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.
Commodity Price Risk.
UNL is exposed to commodity price risk. In particular, UNL is exposed to natural gas price risk through its holdings of Futures Contracts together with any other derivatives in which it may invest, which are discussed below. As a result, fluctuations in the value of the Futures Contracts that UNL holds in its portfolio, as described in “Contractual Obligations” under “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” above, are expected to directly affect the value of UNL’s shares.
OTC Contract Risk
UNL may purchase OTC contracts, such as forward contracts or swap or spot contracts. Unlike most exchange-traded futures contracts or exchange-traded options on such futures, each party to an OTC swap bears the credit risk that the other party may not be able to perform its obligations under its contract.
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 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.
Swap 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 and circumstances of the transaction. In general, however, all swap transactions involve some combination of market risk, credit risk, counterparty credit risk, funding risk, liquidity risk and operational risk.
Highly customized swap 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 USCF to modify, terminate or offset UNL’s obligations or its exposure to the risks associated with a transaction prior to its scheduled termination date.
70
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 that provides for the netting of its overall exposure to its counterparty, if the counterparty is unable to meet its obligations to UNL due to the occurrence of a specified event, such as the insolvency of the counterparty.
USCF assesses or reviews, as appropriate, the creditworthiness of each potential or existing counterparty to an OTC swap pursuant to guidelines approved by the Board. Furthermore, USCF on behalf of UNL only enters into OTC swaps with counterparties who are, or are affiliates of, (a) banks regulated by a United States federal bank regulator, (b) broker-dealers regulated by the SEC, (c) insurance companies domiciled in the United States, or (d) producers, users or traders of energy, whether or not regulated by the CFTC. Any entity acting as a counterparty shall be regulated in either the United States or the United Kingdom unless otherwise approved by the Board after consultation with its legal counsel. Existing counterparties are also reviewed periodically by USCF. UNL will also require that the counterparty be highly rated and/or provide collateral or other credit support. 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.
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 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 swaps, 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.
During the reporting period of this annual report on Form 10-K, UNL limited its OTC activities to EFRP transactions.
UNL anticipates that the use of Other Natural Gas-Related Investments together with its investments in Futures Contracts will produce price and total return results that closely track the investment goals of UNL. However, there can be no assurance of this. OTC swaps may result in higher transaction-related expenses than the brokerage commissions paid in connection with the purchase of Futures Contracts, which may impact UNL’s ability to successfully track the Benchmark Futures Contracts.
71
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.
United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund, LP
Index to Financial Statements
72
Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting.
USCF assessed the effectiveness of UNL’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021. In making this assessment, it used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission in Internal Control Integrated Framework (2013). Based on the assessment, USCF believes that, as of December 31, 2021, UNL’s internal control over financial reporting is effective.
73
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Partners of
United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund, LP
Opinions on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying statements of financial condition of United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund, LP (the “Fund”) as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, including the schedule of investments as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, and the related statements of operations, changes in partners’ capital and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2021, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund, LP as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2021, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Fund’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Fund’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Fund in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Fund is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Fund’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinions.
Critical Audit Matters
Critical audit matters are matters arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. We determined that there are no critical audit matters.
/s/
We have served as the Fund’s auditor since 2008.
March 4, 2022
74
United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund, LP
Statements of Financial Condition
At December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020
| | | | | | |
|
| December 31, 2021 |
| December 31, 2020 | ||
Assets | | | | | | |
Cash and cash equivalents (at cost $ | | $ | | | $ | |
Equity in trading accounts: | |
|
| |
| |
Cash and cash equivalents (at cost $ | |
| | |
| |
Unrealized gain (loss) on open commodity futures contracts | |
| | |
| ( |
Receivable from General Partner (Note 3) | |
| | |
| |
Dividends receivable | |
| | |
| |
Interest receivable | |
| | |
| |
Prepaid license fees | | | | | | |
Prepaid insurance* | |
| | |
| |
| | | | | | |
Total Assets | | $ | | | $ | |
| | | | | | |
Liabilities and Partners’ Capital | |
|
| |
|
|
General Partner management fees payable (Note 3) | | $ | | | $ | |
Professional fees payable | |
| | |
| |
Brokerage commissions payable | |
| | |
| |
Directors’ fees payable* | |
| | |
| |
| | | | | | |
Total Liabilities | |
| | |
| |
| | | | | | |
Commitments and Contingencies (Notes 3, 4 & 5) | |
|
| |
|
|
| | | | | | |
Partners’ Capital | |
|
| |
|
|
General Partners | |
| | |
| |
Limited Partners | |
| | |
| |
Total Partners’ Capital | |
| | |
| |
| | | | | | |
Total Liabilities and Partners’ Capital | | $ | | | $ | |
| | | | | | |
Limited Partners’ shares outstanding | |
| | |
| |
Net asset value per share | | $ | | | $ | |
Market value per share | | $ | | | $ | |
*
See accompanying notes to financial statements.
75
United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund, LP
Schedule of Investments
At December 31, 2021
| | | | | | | Fair | | | |
| | | | | | | Value/Unrealized | | | |
| | | | | | | Gain (Loss) on | | | |
| | | | | | Open | | | ||
| | | | | Number of | | Commodity | | % of Partners’ | |
|
| Notional Amount |
| Contracts |
| Contracts |
| Capital | ||
Open Commodity Futures Contracts - Long |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
United States Contracts |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
NYMEX Natural Gas Futures NG February 2022 contracts, expiring January 2022 | | $ | |
| | | $ | ( |
| ( |
NYMEX Natural Gas Futures NG March 2022 contracts, expiring February 2022 | |
| |
| | |
| ( |
| ( |
NYMEX Natural Gas Futures NG April 2022 contracts, expiring March 2022 | |
| |
| | |
| |
| |
NYMEX Natural Gas Futures NG May 2022 contracts, expiring April 2022 | |
| |
| | |
| |
| |
NYMEX Natural Gas Futures NG June 2022 contracts, expiring May 2022 | |
| |
| | |
| |
| |
NYMEX Natural Gas Futures NG July 2022 contracts, expiring June 2022 | |
| |
| | |
| |
| |
NYMEX Natural Gas Futures NG August 2022 contracts, expiring July 2022 | |
| |
| | |
| |
| |
NYMEX Natural Gas Futures NG September 2022 contracts, expiring August 2022 | |
| |
| | |
| |
| |
NYMEX Natural Gas Futures NG October 2022 contracts, expiring September 2022 | |
| |
| | |
| ( |
| ( |
NYMEX Natural Gas Futures NG November 2022 contracts, expiring October 2022 | |
| |
| | |
| ( |
| ( |
NYMEX Natural Gas Futures NG December 2022 contracts, expiring November 2022 | |
| |
| | |
| ( |
| ( |
NYMEX Natural Gas Futures NG January 2023 contracts, expiring December 2022 | |
| |
| | |
| ( |
| ( |
Total Open Futures Contracts* | | $ | |
| | | $ | |
| |
| | | | | | | | % of |
| | Shares/Principal | | Market | | Partners’ | ||
|
| Amount |
| Value |
| Capital | ||
Cash Equivalents |
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
United States Money Market Funds | |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
Goldman Sachs Financial Square Government Fund - Institutional Shares, | |
| | | $ | |
| |
RBC U.S. Government Money Market Fund - Institutional Shares, | |
| | |
| |
| |
Total United States Money Market Funds | | | | | $ | |
| |
#Reflects the 7-day yield at
*Collateral amounted to $
See accompanying notes to financial statements.
76
United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund, LP
Schedule of Investments
At December 31, 2020
| | | | | | | Fair | | | |
| | | | | | | Value/Unrealized | | | |
| | | | | | | Gain (Loss) on | | | |
| | | | | | Open | | | ||
| | | | | Number of | | Commodity | | % of Partners’ | |
|
| Notional Amount |
| Contracts |
| Contracts |
| Capital | ||
Open Commodity Futures Contracts - Long |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
United States Contracts |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
NYMEX Natural Gas Futures NG February 2021 contracts, expiring January 2021 | | $ | |
| | | $ | ( |
| ( |
NYMEX Natural Gas Futures NG March 2021 contracts, expiring February 2021 | |
| |
| | |
| ( |
| ( |
NYMEX Natural Gas Futures NG April 2021 contracts, expiring March 2021 | |
| |
| | |
| |
| |
NYMEX Natural Gas Futures NG May 2021 contracts, expiring April 2021 | |
| |
| | |
| |
| |
NYMEX Natural Gas Futures NG June 2021 contracts, expiring May 2021 | |
| |
| | |
| |
| |
NYMEX Natural Gas Futures NG July 2021 contracts, expiring June 2021 | |
| |
| | |
| |
| |
NYMEX Natural Gas Futures NG August 2021 contracts, expiring July 2021 | |
| |
| | |
| |
| |
NYMEX Natural Gas Futures NG September 2021 contracts, expiring August 2021 | |
| |
| | |
| |
| |
NYMEX Natural Gas Futures NG October 2021 contracts, expiring September 2021 | |
| |
| | |
| ( |
| ( |
NYMEX Natural Gas Fututes NG November 2021 contracts, expiring October 2021 | |
| |
| | |
| ( |
| ( |
NYMEX Natrual Gas Futures NG December 2021 contracts, expiring November 2021 | |
| |
| | |
| ( |
| ( |
NYMEX Natural Gas Futures NG January 2022 contracts, expiring December 2021 | |
| |
| | |
| ( |
| ( |
Total Open Futures Contracts* | | $ | |
| | | $ | ( |
| ( |
| | | | | | | | |
|
| Shares/Principal |
| |
| % of Partners’ | ||
Cash Equivalents | | Amount | | Market Value | | Capital | ||
United States Money Market Funds | | | | | | | | |
RBC U.S. Government Money Market Fund - Institutional Share Class, | | | | | $ | |
| |
Total United States Money Market Funds | | | | | $ | | | |
#
*
See accompanying notes to financial statements.
77
United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund, LP
Statements of Operations
For the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019
| | Year ended | | Year ended | | Year ended | |||
|
| December 31, 2021 |
| December 31, 2020 |
| December 31, 2019 | |||
Income | | | | | | | | | |
Gain (loss) on trading of commodity futures contracts: |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
Realized gain (loss) on closed commodity futures contracts | | $ | | | $ | ( | | $ | ( |
Change in unrealized gain (loss) on open commodity futures contracts | |
| | |
| | |
| ( |
Dividend income | |
| | |
| | |
| |
Interest income* | |
| | |
| | |
| |
ETF transaction fees | |
| | |
| | |
| |
Total Income (Loss) | | $ | | | $ | ( | | $ | ( |
| | | | | | | | | |
Expenses | |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
General Partner management fees (Note 3) | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | |
Professional fees | |
| | |
| | |
| |
Brokerage commissions | |
| | |
| | |
| |
Directors’ fees and insurance | |
| | |
| | |
| |
License fees | |
| | |
| | |
| |
Total Expenses | | | | | | | | | |
Expense waiver (Note 4) | |
| ( | |
| ( | |
| ( |
Net Expenses | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | |
Net Income (Loss) | | $ | | | $ | ( | | $ | ( |
Net Income (Loss) per limited partner share | | $ | | | $ | ( | | $ | ( |
Net Income (Loss) per weighted average limited partner share | | $ | | | $ | ( | | $ | ( |
Weighted average limited partner shares outstanding | |
| | |
| | |
| |
* |
See accompanying notes to financial statements.
78
United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund, LP
Statement of Changes in Partners’ Capital
For the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019
|
| Limited Partners* | |||||||
| | Year ended | | Year ended | | Year ended | |||
| | | December 31, | | | December 31, | | | December 31, |
|
| 2021 |
| 2020 |
| 2019 | |||
Balances at beginning of year | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | |
Addition of | |
| | |
| | |
| |
Redemption of ( | |
| ( | |
| | |
| ( |
Net income (loss) | |
| | |
| ( | |
| ( |
| | | | | | | | | |
Balances at end of year | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | |
*
See accompanying notes to financial statements.
79
United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund, LP
Statements of Cash Flows
For the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019
| | Year ended | | Year ended | | Year ended | |||
|
| December 31, |
| December 31, |
| December 31, | |||
| | 2021 | | 2020 | | 2019 | |||
Cash Flows from Operating Activities: |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
Net income (loss) | | $ | | | $ | ( | | $ | ( |
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities: | |
| | |
| | |
| |
Change in unrealized (gain) loss on open commodity futures contracts | |
| ( | |
| ( | |
| |
(Increase) decrease in receivable from General Partner | |
| ( | |
| | |
| ( |
(Increase) decrease in dividends receivable | |
| ( | |
| | |
| |
(Increase) decrease in interest receivable | |
| | |
| | |
| |
(Increase) decrease in prepaid insurance* | |
| ( | |
| | |
| ( |
(Increase) decrease in other assets | |
| — | |
| | |
| |
Increase (decrease) in payable due to Broker | |
| — | |
| | |
| ( |
Increase (decrease) in General Partner management fees payable | |
| | |
| | |
| ( |
Increase (decrease) in professional fees payable | |
| | |
| ( | |
| |
Increase (decrease) in brokerage commissions payable | |
| — | |
| ( | |
| |
Increase (decrease) in directors’ fees payable* | |
| | |
| | |
| ( |
Increase (decrease) in insurance payable | | | ( | | | ( | | | ( |
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities | |
| | |
| ( | |
| ( |
| | | | | | | | | |
Cash Flows from Financing Activities: | |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
Addition of partnership shares | |
| | |
| | |
| |
Redemption of partnership shares | |
| ( | |
| | |
| ( |
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities | |
| | |
| | |
| ( |
| | | | | | | | | |
Net Increase (Decrease) in Cash and Cash Equivalents | |
| | |
| | |
| ( |
| | | | | | | | | |
Total Cash, Cash Equivalents and Equity in Trading Accounts, beginning of year | |
| | |
| | |
| |
Total Cash, Cash Equivalents and Equity in Trading Accounts, end of year | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | |
| | | | | | | | | |
Components of Cash and Cash Equivalents: | |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
Cash and cash equivalents | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | |
Equity in Trading Accounts: | |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
Cash and cash equivalents | |
| | |
| | |
| |
Total Cash, Cash Equivalents and Equity in Trading Accounts | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | |
*Certain prior year amounts have been reclassified for consistency with the current presentation.
See accompanying notes to financial statements.
80
United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund, LP
Notes to Financial Statements
For the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019
NOTE 1 — ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS
The United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund, LP (“UNL”) was organized as a limited partnership under the laws of the state of Delaware on June 27, 2007. UNL is a commodity pool that issues limited partnership shares (“shares”) that may be purchased and sold on the NYSE Arca, Inc. (the “NYSE Arca”). UNL will continue in perpetuity, unless terminated sooner upon the occurrence of one or more events as described in its Third Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership dated as of December 15, 2017 (the “LP Agreement”).
The investment objective of UNL 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 12 futures contracts for 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 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 or in view of market conditions, other natural gas 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 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 the notes to the financial statements.
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 closely 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 continue to 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 so 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).
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United States Commodity Funds LLC (“USCF”), the general partner of UNL, believes that it is not practical to manage the portfolio to achieve such an investment goal when investing in Futures Contracts (as defined below) and Other Natural Gas-Related Investments (as defined below).
As of December 31, 2021, UNL held 441 Futures Contracts for natural gas traded on the NYMEX and did not hold any Futures Contracts traded on ICE Futures US.
UNL commenced investment operations on
USCF is also the sponsor of the United States Commodity Index Funds Trust (“USCIFT”), a Delaware statutory trust and each of its series: the United States Commodity Index Fund (“USCI”) and the United States Copper Index Fund (“CPER”). USCI and CPER listed their shares on the NYSE Arca under the ticker symbols “USCI” on August 10, 2010 and “CPER” on November 15, 2011, respectively.
USO, UNG, UGA, USL, BNO, USCI and CPER are referred to collectively herein as the “Related Public Funds.”
UNL issues shares to certain authorized purchasers (“Authorized Participants”) by offering baskets consisting of
Authorized Participants pay a transaction fee of $
In November 2009, UNL initially registered
NOTE 2 — SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of Presentation
The financial statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S. GAAP as detailed in the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification. UNL is an investment company for accounting purposes and follows the accounting and reporting guidance in FASB Topic 946.
Revenue Recognition
Commodity futures contracts, forward contracts, physical commodities and related options are recorded on the trade date. All such transactions are recorded on the identified cost basis and marked to market daily. Unrealized gains or losses on open contracts are
82
reflected in the statements of financial condition and represent the difference between the original contract amount and the market value (as determined by exchange settlement prices for futures contracts and related options and cash dealer prices at a predetermined time for forward contracts, physical commodities, and their related options) as of the last business day of the year or as of the last date of the financial statements. Changes in the unrealized gains or losses between periods are reflected in the statements of operations. UNL earns income on funds held at the custodian or futures commission merchants (“FCMs”) at prevailing market rates earned on such investments.
Brokerage Commissions
Brokerage commissions on all open commodity futures contracts are accrued on a full-turn basis.
Income Taxes
UNL is not subject to federal income taxes; each partner reports his/her allocable share of income, gain, loss deductions or credits on his/her own income tax return.
In accordance with U.S. GAAP, UNL is required to determine whether a tax position is more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by the applicable taxing authority, including resolution of any tax related appeals or litigation processes, based on the technical merits of the position. UNL files an income tax return in the U.S. federal jurisdiction and may file income tax returns in various U.S. states. UNL is not subject to income tax return examinations by major taxing authorities for years before 2018. The tax benefit recognized is measured as the largest amount of benefit that has a greater than fifty percent likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement. De-recognition of a tax benefit previously recognized results in UNL recording a tax liability that reduces net assets. However, UNL’s conclusions regarding this policy may be subject to review and adjustment at a later date based on factors including, but not limited to, on-going analysis of and changes to tax laws, regulations and interpretations thereof. UNL recognizes interest accrued related to unrecognized tax benefits and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits in income tax fees payable, if assessed.
Creations and Redemptions
Authorized Participants may purchase Creation Baskets or redeem Redemption Baskets only in blocks of
UNL receives or pays the proceeds from shares sold or redeemed within two business days after the trade date of the purchase or redemption. The amounts due from Authorized Participants are reflected in UNL’s statements of financial condition as receivable for shares sold and amounts payable to Authorized Participants upon redemption are reflected as payable for shares redeemed.
Authorized Participants pay UNL a $
Partnership Capital and Allocation of Partnership Income and Losses
Profit or loss shall be allocated among the partners of UNL in proportion to the number of shares each partner holds as of the close of each month. USCF may revise, alter or otherwise modify this method of allocation as described in the LP Agreement.
Calculation of Per Share NAV
UNL’s per share NAV is calculated on each NYSE Arca trading day by taking the current market value of its total assets, subtracting any liabilities and dividing that amount by the total number of shares outstanding. UNL uses the closing price for the contracts on the relevant exchange on that day to determine the value of contracts held on such exchange.
Net Income (Loss) Per Share
Net income (loss) per share is the difference between the per share NAV at the beginning of each period and at the end of each period. The weighted average number of shares outstanding was computed for purposes of disclosing net income (loss) per weighted average share. The weighted average shares are equal to the number of shares outstanding at the end of the period, adjusted proportionately for
83
shares added and redeemed based on the amount of time the shares were outstanding during such period. There were no shares held by USCF at December 31, 2021.
Offering Costs
Offering costs incurred in connection with the registration of additional shares after the initial registration of shares are borne by UNL. These costs include registration fees paid to regulatory agencies and all legal, accounting, printing and other expenses associated with such offerings. These costs are accounted for as a deferred charge and thereafter amortized to expense over twelve months on a straight-line basis or a shorter period if warranted.
Cash Equivalents
Cash equivalents include money market funds and overnight deposits or time deposits with original maturity dates of six months or less.
Reclassification
Certain amounts in the accompanying financial statements were reclassified to conform to the current presentation.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires USCF to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amount of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of the revenue and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results may differ from those estimates and assumptions.
NOTE 3 — FEES PAID BY THE FUND AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
USCF Management Fee
Under the LP Agreement, USCF is responsible for investing the assets of UNL in accordance with the objectives and policies of UNL. In addition, USCF has arranged for one or more third parties to provide administrative, custody, accounting, transfer agency and other necessary services to UNL. For these services, UNL is contractually obligated to pay USCF a fee, which is paid monthly, equal to
Ongoing Registration Fees and Other Offering Expenses
UNL pays all costs and expenses associated with the ongoing registration of its shares subsequent to the initial offering. These costs include registration or other fees paid to regulatory agencies in connection with the offer and sale of shares, and all legal, accounting, printing and other expenses associated with such offer and sale. For the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, UNL did not incur registration fees and other offering expenses.
84
Independent Directors’ and Officers’ Expenses
UNL is responsible for paying its portion of the directors’ and officers’ liability insurance for UNL and the Related Public Funds and the fees and expenses of the independent directors who also serve as audit committee members of UNL and the Related Public Funds. UNL shares the fees and expenses on a pro rata basis with each Related Public Fund, as described above, based on the relative assets of each Related Public Fund computed on a daily basis. These fees and expenses for the year ending December 31, 2021 totaled of $
Licensing Fees
As discussed in Note 4 below, UNL entered into a licensing agreement with the NYMEX on December 4, 2007, as amended on October 20, 2011. Pursuant to the agreement, UNL and the Related Public Funds, other than BNO, USCI and CPER, pay a licensing fee that is equal to
Investor Tax Reporting Cost
The fees and expenses associated with UNL’s audit expenses and tax accounting and reporting requirements are paid by UNL. These costs are estimated to be $
Other Expenses and Fees and Expense Waivers
In addition to the fees described above, UNL pays all brokerage fees and other expenses in connection with the operation of UNL, excluding costs and expenses paid by USCF as outlined in Note 4 - Contracts and Agreements below. USCF paid certain expenses on a discretionary basis typically borne by UNL, where expenses exceed 0.15% (15 basis points) of UNL's NAV, on an annualized basis. USCF has no obligation to continue such payments into subsequent periods. For the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019 USCF waived $
NOTE 4 — CONTRACTS AND AGREEMENTS
Marketing Agent Agreement
UNL is party to a marketing agent agreement, dated as of October 30, 2009, as amended from time to time, with the Marketing Agent and USCF, whereby the Marketing Agent provides certain marketing services for UNL as outlined in the agreement. The fee of the Marketing Agent, which is borne by USCF, is equal to
The above fee does not include website construction and development, which are also borne by USCF.
Custody, Transfer Agency and Fund Administration and Accounting Services Agreements
USCF engaged The Bank of New York Mellon, a New York corporation authorized to do a banking business (“BNY Mellon”), to provide UNL and each of the Related Public Funds with certain custodial, administrative and accounting, and transfer agency services, pursuant to the following agreements with BNY Mellon dated as of March 20, 2020 (together, the “BNY Mellon Agreements”), which were effective as of April 1, 2020: (i) a Custody Agreement; (ii) a Fund Administration and Accounting Agreement; and (iii) a Transfer Agency and Service Agreement. USCF pays the fees of BNY Mellon for its services under the BNY Mellon Agreements and such fees are determined by the parties from time to time.
85
Brown Brothers Harriman and Co. (“BBH&Co.”) previously served as the Administrator, Custodian, Transfer Agent and Fund Accounting Agent for UNL and the Related Public Funds prior to BNY Mellon commencing such services on April 1, 2020. Certain fund accounting and fund administration services rendered by BBH&Co. to UNL and the Related Public Funds terminated on May 31, 2020 to allow for the transition to BNY Mellon.
Brokerage and Futures Commission Merchant Agreements
UNL entered into a brokerage agreement with RBC Capital Markets LLC (“RBC”) to serve as UNL’s FCM effective October 10, 2013. UNL has engaged each of RCG Division of Marex Spectron (“RCG”), E D & F Man Capital Markets Inc. (“MCM”) and Macquarie Futures USA LLC (“MFUSA”) to serve as an additional FCM to UNL effective on May 28, 2020, June 5, 2020, and December 3, 2020, respectively. The agreements with UNL’s FCMs require the FCMs to provide services to UNL in connection with the purchase and sale of Natural Gas Futures Contracts and Other Natural Gas-Related Investments that may be purchased and sold by or through the applicable FCM for UNL’s account. In accordance with the FCM agreements, UNL pays each FCM commissions of approximately $
| | Year ended | | Year ended | | Year ended |
| |||
| | December 31, | | December 31, | | December 31, | | |||
|
| 2021 |
| 2020 |
| 2019 |
| |||
Total commissions accrued to brokers | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | |
Total commissions as annualized percentage of average total net assets | |
| | % |
| | % |
| | % |
Commissions accrued as a result of rebalancing | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | |
Percentage of commissions accrued as a result of rebalancing | |
| | % |
| | % |
| | % |
Commissions accrued as a result of creation and redemption activity | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | |
Percentage of commissions accrued as a result of creation and redemption activity | |
| | % |
| | % |
| | % |
The increase in total commissions accrued to brokers for the year ended December 31, 2021, compared to the year ended December 31, 2020, was due primarily to a higher number of natural gas futures contracts being held and traded.
NYMEX Licensing Agreement
UNL and NYMEX entered into a licensing agreement on December 4, 2007, as amended on October 20, 2011, whereby UNL was granted a non-exclusive license to use certain of the NYMEX’s settlement prices and service marks. Under the licensing agreement, UNL and the Related Public Funds, other than BNO, USCI, and CPER, pay the NYMEX an asset-based fee for the license, the terms of which are described in Note 3. UNL expressly disclaims any association with the NYMEX or endorsement of UNL by the NYMEX and acknowledges that “NYMEX” and “New York Mercantile Exchange” are registered trademarks of the NYMEX.
NOTE 5 — FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS, OFF-BALANCE SHEET RISKS AND CONTINGENCIES
UNL may engage in the trading of futures contracts, options on futures contracts, cleared swaps and OTC swaps (collectively, “derivatives”). UNL is exposed to both market risk, which is the risk arising from changes in the market value of the contracts, and credit risk, which is the risk of failure by another party to perform according to the terms of a contract.
86
UNL may enter into futures contracts, options on futures contracts, cleared swaps, and OTC-swaps to gain exposure to changes in the value of an underlying commodity. A futures contract obligates the seller to deliver (and the purchaser to accept) the future delivery of a specified quantity and type of a commodity at a specified time and place. Some futures contracts may call for physical delivery of the asset, while others are settled in cash. The contractual obligations of a buyer or seller may generally be satisfied by taking or making physical delivery of the underlying commodity or by making an offsetting sale or purchase of an identical futures contract on the same or linked exchange before the designated date of delivery. Cleared swaps are agreements that are eligible to be cleared by a clearinghouse, e.g., ICE Clear Europe, and provide the efficiencies and benefits that centralized clearing on an exchange offers to traders of futures contracts, including credit risk intermediation and the ability to offset positions initiated with different counterparties. OTC swaps are entered into between two parties in private contracts. In an OTC swap, each party bears credit risk to the other party, i.e., the risk that the other party may not be able to perform its obligations under the OTC swap.
The purchase and sale of futures contracts, options on futures contracts and cleared swaps require margin deposits with an FCM. Additional deposits may be necessary for any loss on contract value. The Commodity Exchange Act requires FCMs to segregate all customer transactions and assets from the FCM’s proprietary transactions and assets. To reduce the credit risk that arises in connection with OTC swaps, UNL will generally enter into an agreement with each counterparty based on the Master Agreement published by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc., which provides for the netting of its overall exposure to its counterparty. The Master Agreement is negotiated as between the parties and would address, among other things, the exchange of margin between the parties.
Futures contracts, options on futures contracts and cleared swaps involve, to varying degrees, elements of market risk (specifically commodity price risk) and exposure to loss in excess of the amount of variation margin. The face or contract amounts reflect the extent of the total exposure UNL has in the particular classes of instruments. Additional risks associated with the use of futures contracts are an imperfect correlation between movements in the price of the futures contracts and the market value of the underlying securities and the possibility of an illiquid market for a futures contract. Buying and selling options on futures contracts exposes investors to the risks of purchasing or selling futures contracts.
As to OTC swaps, valuing OTC derivatives is less certain than valuing actively traded financial instruments such as exchange-traded futures contracts and securities or cleared swaps, because 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.
A novel strain of coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020. The situation is evolving with various cities and countries around the world responding in different ways to address the outbreak. There are direct and indirect economic effects developing for various industries and individual companies throughout the world. Management will continue to monitor the impact COVID-19 has on UNL and reflect the consequences as appropriate in UNL’s accounting and financial reporting. The pandemic spread of the novel coronavirus and related geopolitical events could lead to increased market volatility, disruption to U.S. and world economies and markets and may have significant adverse effects on UNL and its investments.
All of the futures contracts held by UNL through December 31, 2021 were exchange-traded. The risks associated with exchange-traded contracts are generally perceived to be less than those associated with OTC swaps since, in OTC swaps, a party must rely solely on the credit of its respective individual counterparties. However, in the future, if UNL were to enter into non-exchange traded contracts, it would be subject to the credit risk associated with counterparty non-performance. The credit risk from counterparty non-performance associated with such instruments is the net unrealized gain, if any, on the transaction. UNL has credit risk under its futures contracts since the sole counterparty to all domestic and foreign futures contracts is the clearinghouse for the exchange on which the relevant contracts are traded. In addition, UNL bears the risk of financial failure by the clearing broker.
UNL’s cash and other property, such as Treasuries, deposited with its FCMs are considered commingled with all other customer funds, subject to such FCM’s segregation requirements. In the event of an FCM’s insolvency, recovery may be limited to a pro rata share of segregated funds available. It is possible that the recovered amount could be less than the total of cash and other property deposited. The insolvency of an FCM could result in the complete loss of UNL’s assets posted with that FCM; however, the majority of UNL’s assets are held in investments in Treasuries, cash and/or cash equivalents with UNL’s custodian and would not be impacted by the insolvency of an FCM. The failure or insolvency of UNL’s custodian, however, could result in a substantial loss of UNL’s assets.
87
USCF invests a portion of UNL’s cash in money market funds that seek to maintain a stable per share NAV. UNL is exposed to any risk of loss associated with an investment in such money market funds. As of December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, UNL held investments in money market funds in the amounts of $
For derivatives, risks arise from changes in the market value of the contracts. Theoretically, UNL is exposed to market risk equal to the value of futures contracts purchased and unlimited liability on such contracts sold short or that the value of the futures contract could fall below zero. As both a buyer and a seller of options, UNL pays or receives a premium at the outset and then bears the risk of unfavorable changes in the price of the contract underlying the option.
UNL’s policy is to continuously monitor its exposure to market and counterparty risk through the use of a variety of financial, position and credit exposure reporting controls and procedures. In addition, UNL has a policy of requiring review of the credit standing of each broker or counterparty with which it conducts business.
The financial instruments held by UNL are reported in its statements of financial condition at market or fair value, or at carrying amounts that approximate fair value, because of their highly liquid nature and short-term maturity.
NOTE 6 — FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
The following table presents per share performance data and other supplemental financial data for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019 for the shareholders. This information has been derived from information presented in the financial statements.
| | Year ended | | Year ended | | Year ended |
| |||
| | December 31, | | December 31, | | December 31, | | |||
|
| 2021 |
| 2020 |
| 2019 |
| |||
Per Share Operating Performance: | | | | | | | | | | |
Net asset value, beginning of year | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | |
Total income (loss) | |
| | |
| ( | |
| ( | |
Total expenses | |
| ( | |
| ( | |
| ( | |
Net increase (decrease) in net asset value | |
| | |
| ( | |
| ( | |
Net asset value, end of year | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | |
| | | | | | | | | | |
Total Return | |
| | % |
| ( | % |
| ( | % |
| | | | | | | | | | |
Ratios to Average Net Assets | |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
Total income (loss) | |
| | % |
| ( | % |
| ( | % |
Management fees | |
| | % |
| | % |
| | % |
Total expenses excluding management fees | |
| | % |
| | % |
| | % |
Expense waived | |
| ( | % |
| ( | % |
| ( | % |
Net expense excluding management fees | |
| | % |
| | % |
| | % |
Net income (loss) | |
| | % |
| ( | % |
| ( | % |
Total returns are calculated based on the change in value during the period. An individual shareholder’s total return and ratio may vary from the above total returns and ratios based on the timing of contributions to and withdrawals from UNL.
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NOTE 7 — QUARTERLY FINANCIAL DATA (Unaudited)
The following summarized (unaudited) quarterly financial information presents the results of operations and other data for the three-month periods ended March 31, June 30, September 30 and December 31, 2021 and 2020.
| | First | | Second | | Third | | Fourth | ||||
| | Quarter | | Quarter | | Quarter | | Quarter | ||||
|
| 2021 |
| 2021 |
| 2021 |
| 2021 | ||||
Total Income (Loss) | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | ( |
Total Expenses | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| |
Expense Waivers | |
| ( | |
| ( | |
| ( | |
| ( |
Net Expense | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| |
Net Income (Loss) | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | ( |
Net Income (Loss) per Share | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | ( |
| | First | | Second | | Third | | Fourth | ||||
| | Quarter | | Quarter | | Quarter | | Quarter | ||||
|
| 2020 |
| 2020 |
| 2020 |
| 2020 | ||||
Total Income (Loss) | | $ | ( | | $ | ( | | $ | | | $ | ( |
Total Expenses | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| |
Expense Waivers | |
| ( | |
| ( | |
| ( | |
| ( |
Net Expense | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| |
Net Income (Loss) | | $ | ( | | $ | ( | | $ | | | $ | ( |
Net Income (Loss) per Share | | $ | ( | | $ | ( | | $ | | | $ | ( |
The following summarized (unaudited) quarterly financial information presents the results of operations and other data for the three-month periods ended March 31, June 30, September 30 and December 31, 2021 and 2020.
NOTE 8 — FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS
UNL values its investments in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification 820 – Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures (“ASC 820”). ASC 820 defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value in generally accepted accounting principles, and expands disclosures about fair value measurement. The changes to past practice resulting from the application of ASC 820 relate to the definition of fair value, the methods used to measure fair value, and the expanded disclosures about fair value measurement. ASC 820 establishes a fair value hierarchy that distinguishes between: (1) market participant assumptions developed based on market data obtained from sources independent of UNL (observable inputs) and (2) UNL’s own assumptions about market participant assumptions developed based on the best information available under the circumstances (unobservable inputs). The three levels defined by the ASC 820 hierarchy are as follows:
Level I – Quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the reporting entity has the ability to access at the measurement date.
Level II – Inputs other than quoted prices included within Level I that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly. Level II assets include the following: quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets, quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active, inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability, and inputs that are derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data by correlation or other means (market-corroborated inputs).
Level III – Unobservable pricing input at the measurement date for the asset or liability. Unobservable inputs shall be used to measure fair value to the extent that observable inputs are not available.
In some instances, the inputs used to measure fair value might fall within different levels of the fair value hierarchy. The level in the fair value hierarchy within which the fair value measurement in its entirety falls shall be determined based on the lowest input level that is significant to the fair value measurement in its entirety.
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The following table summarizes the valuation of UNL’s securities at December 31, 2021 using the fair value hierarchy:
At December 31, 2021 |
| Total |
| Level I |
| Level II |
| Level III | ||||
Short-Term Investments | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | — | | $ | — |
Exchange-Traded Futures Contracts | |
|
| |
|
| |
| | |
|
|
United States Contracts | |
| | |
| | |
| — | |
| — |
The following table summarizes the valuation of UNL’s securities at December 31, 2020 using the fair value hierarchy:
At December 31, 2020 |
| Total |
| Level I |
| Level II |
| Level III | ||||
Short-Term Investments | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | — | | $ | — |
Exchange-Traded Futures Contracts | |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
United States Contracts | |
| ( | |
| ( | |
| — | |
| — |
Effective January 1, 2009, UNL adopted the provisions of Accounting Standards Codification 815 — Derivatives and Hedging, which require presentation of qualitative disclosures about objectives and strategies for using derivatives, quantitative disclosures about fair value amounts and gains and losses on derivatives.
Fair Value of Derivative Instruments
| | Statements of | | | | | | |
| | Financial | | Fair Value at | | Fair Value at | ||
|
| Condition |
| December 31, |
| December 31, | ||
Derivatives not Accounted for as Hedging Instruments |
| Location |
| 2021 |
| 2020 | ||
Futures - Commodity Contracts |
| Assets | | $ | | | $ | ( |
The Effect of Derivative Instruments on the Statements of Operations
|
| |
| For the year ended |
| For the year ended |
| For the year ended | ||||||||||||
| | | | December 31, | | December 31, | | December 31, | ||||||||||||
| | | | 2021 | | 2020 | | 2019 | ||||||||||||
| | | | | | Change in | | | | Change in | | | | Change in | ||||||
|
| |
| |
| Unrealized |
| Realized |
| Unrealized |
| Realized |
| Unrealized | ||||||
Derivatives | | Location of | | Realized | | Gain | | Gain | | Gain | | Gain | | Gain | ||||||
not | | Gain (Loss) | | gain (Loss) on | | (Loss) on | | (Loss) in | | (Loss) on | | (Loss) in | | (Loss) on | ||||||
Accounted | | on | | Derivatives | | Derivatives | | Derivatives | | Derivatives | | Derivatives | | Derivatives | ||||||
for as | | Derivatives | | Recognized | | Recognized | | Recognized | | Recognized | | Recognized | | Recognized | ||||||
Hedging | | Recognized | | in | | in | | in | | in | | in | | in | ||||||
Instruments |
| in Income |
| Income |
| Income |
| Income |
| Income |
| Income |
| Income | ||||||
Futures - Commodity Contracts |
| Realized gain (loss) on closed positions | | $ | | | | | | $ | ( |
| |
| | $ | ( |
| |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|
| Change in unrealized gain (loss) on open positions | | | | | $ | | | | | | $ | | | | | | $ | ( |
NOTE 9 — RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS
In August 2018, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2018-13, which changes certain fair value measurement disclosure requirements. The new ASU, in addition to other modifications and additions, removes the requirement to disclose the amount and reasons for transfers between Level 1 and Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy, and UNL’s policy for the timing of transfers between levels. The amendments are effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, and interim
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periods within those fiscal years. UNL has evaluated the implications of certain provisions of the ASU and has determined that there will be no material impacts to the financial statements.
NOTE 10 — SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
UNL has performed an evaluation of subsequent events through the date the financial statements were issued. This evaluation did not result in any subsequent events that necessitated disclosures and/or adjustments.
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Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure.
Not applicable.
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures.
Disclosure Controls and Procedures
UNL maintains disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in UNL’s periodic reports filed or submitted under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time period specified in the SEC’s rules and forms.
The duly appointed officers of USCF, including its chief executive officer and chief financial officer, who perform functions equivalent to those of a principal executive officer and principal financial officer of UNL if UNL had any officers, have evaluated the effectiveness of UNL’s disclosure controls and procedures and have concluded that the disclosure controls and procedures of UNL have been effective as of the end of the period covered by this annual report on Form 10-K.
Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
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 USCF and the Board of USCF 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 can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to financial statement preparation and presentation. USCF’s report on internal control over financial reporting is set forth above under the heading, “Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting” in Item 8 of this annual report on Form 10-K.
Change in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
There were no changes in UNL’s internal control over financial reporting during UNL’s last fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, UNL’s internal control over financial reporting.
Item 9B. Other Information.
Monthly Account Statements
Pursuant to the requirement under Rule 4.22 under the CEA, each month UNL publishes an account statement for its shareholders, which includes a Statement of Income (Loss) and a Statement of Changes in Net Asset Value. The account statement is furnished to the SEC on a current report on Form 8-K pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act and posted each month on UNL’s website at www.uscfinvestments.com.
Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections.
Not applicable.
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Part III
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.
Principals and Key Personnel of USCF. UNL has no executive officers. Pursuant to the terms of the LP Agreement, UNL’s affairs are managed by USCF. The following principals of USCF serve in the below mentioned capacities:
Name |
| Age |
| Capacity |
Nicholas D. Gerber |
| 59 |
| Management Director, Vice President |
Andrew F Ngim |
| 61 |
| Chief Operating Officer, Management Director and Portfolio Manager |
Robert L. Nguyen |
| 62 |
| Management Director |
John P. Love |
| 50 |
| Management Director, Chairman of the Board of Directors, President and Chief Executive Officer |
Stuart P. Crumbaugh |
| 58 |
| Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Treasurer |
Carolyn M. Yu |
| 63 |
| Chief Compliance Officer |
Ray W. Allen |
| 65 |
| Portfolio Manager |
Kevin A. Baum |
| 51 |
| Chief Investment Officer |
Gordon L. Ellis |
| 75 |
| Independent Director |
Malcolm R. Fobes III |
| 57 |
| Independent Director |
Peter M. Robinson |
| 64 |
| Independent Director |
Ray W. Allen, 65, 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, (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, 51, 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, a branch manager since January 2017, and a swap associated person since November 2020. He also is an associated person and branch manager 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.
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Stuart P. Crumbaugh, 58, Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Treasurer of USCF since May 2015 and also the Chief Financial Officer of Concierge Technologies, Inc. (“Concierge”), the parent of Wainwright Holdings, Inc. (“Wainwright”) since December 2017. He is also the Treasurer and a member of the Board of Directors of Marygold & Co., a subsidiary of Concierge, since November 2019. In addition, Mr. Crumbaugh has served as a director of Wainwright, 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 (1) 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).
Nicholas D. Gerber, 59, Vice President since May 15, 2015 and Management Director since June 2005. Mr. Gerber served as President and Chief Executive Officer of USCF from June 2005 through May 15, 2015 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 26, 2015, Mr. Gerber also has served as the Chief Executive Officer, President, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Concierge Technologies, Inc. (“Concierge”), which is a company publicly traded under the ticker symbol “CNCG.” Concierge is the sole shareholder of Wainwright. He is also the CEO and a member of the Board of Directors of Marygold & Co., a subsidiary of Concierge, since November 2019. Mr. Gerber serves as CEO of a newly formed Concierge subsidiary, Marygold & Co. (UK) Limited in London, England, since August 2021. Mr. Gerber also is the President and a director of Wainwright, 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. On January 11, 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 18, 2015, and as Vice President from June 18, 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 and a Branch Manager of USCF since May 2009. Additionally, effective as of January 2017, he is a principal of USCF Advisers and, effective as of February 2017, he is an associated person, swap associated person, and branch manager 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.
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John P. Love, 50, 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 Wainwright, 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. Mr. Love has also been registered as a branch manager of USCF since March 2016. 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, swap associated person, and branch manager 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, 61, 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 as the portfolio manager of 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 USCF SummerHaven Dynamic Commodity Strategy No K-1 Fund, a series of the USCF ETF Trust, from May 2018 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, 62, Management Director and principal since July 2015. Mr. Nguyen served on the Board of Wainwright 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.
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Carolyn M. Yu, 63, Chief Compliance Officer of USCF since February 2013. In addition, she served USCF as the General Counsel from May 2015 through April 2018 and the Assistant General Counsel from August 2011 through April 2015. Ms. Yu also served as the General Counsel of Concierge, the parent of Wainwright from November 2017 through December 2018. Ms. Yu has served as (1) Chief Compliance Officer of USCF Advisers and USCF ETF Trust since May 2015 and of USCF Mutual Funds Trust since October 2016, (2) Chief AML Officer of USCF ETF Trust since May 2015 and of USCF Mutual Funds Trust since October 2016, and (3) Chief Legal Officer of USCF Advisers and USCF ETF Trust from May 2015 through April 2018 and of USCF Mutual Funds Trust from October 2016 through April 2018. Prior to May 2015, Ms. Yu was the Assistant Chief Compliance Officer and AML Officer of the USCF ETF Trust. Since August 2013, in the case of USCF, and January 2017, in the case of USCF Advisers LLC, Ms. Yu has been a principal listed with the CFTC and NFA. USCF Advisers LLC, 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. Ms. Yu earned her JD from Golden Gate University School of Law and a B.S. in business administration from San Francisco State University.
Gordon L. Ellis, 75, 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, 57, Independent Director of USCF and Chairman of USCF’s audit committee since September 2005. He founded and is the Chairman and Chief Executive 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, 64, 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.
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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, Carolyn M. Yu and Wainwright Holdings, 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 Carolyn M. Yu. In addition, Wainwright 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 and Andrew F Ngim make trading and investment decisions for, and 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.
Audit Committee
The Board of USCF 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. Any shareholder of UNL may also obtain a printed copy of the audit committee charter, free of charge, by calling 1-800-920-0259. 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.
Other Committees
Since the individuals who perform work on behalf of UNL are not compensated by UNL, but instead by USCF, UNL does not have a compensation committee. Similarly, since the directors noted above serve on the Board of USCF, there is no nominating committee of the Board that acts on behalf of UNL. USCF believes that it is necessary for each member of the Board to possess many qualities and skills. USCF further believes that all directors should possess a considerable amount of business management and educational experience. When vacancies in USCF’s Board occur, the members of the Board consider a candidate’s management experience as well as his/her background, stature, conflicts of interest, integrity and ethics. In connection with this, the Board also considers issues of diversity, such as diversity of gender, race and national origin, education, professional experience and differences in viewpoints and skills. The Board does not have a formal policy with respect to diversity; however, the Board believes that it is essential that the Board members represent diverse viewpoints.
Corporate Governance Policy
The Board of USCF has adopted a Corporate Governance Policy that applies to UNL and the Related Public Funds. UNL has posted the text of the Corporate Governance Policy on its website at www.uscfinvestments.com. Any shareholder of UNL may also obtain a printed copy of the Corporate Governance Policy, free of charge, by calling 1-800-920-0259.
Code of Ethics
USCF has adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics (the “Code of Ethics”) that applies to its principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller, or persons performing similar functions, and also to UNL. UNL has posted the text of the Code of Ethics on its website at www.uscfinvestments.com. Any shareholder of UNL may also obtain a printed copy of the Code of Ethics, free of charge, by calling 1-800-920-0259. UNL intends to disclose any amendments or waivers to the Code of Ethics applicable to USCF’s principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller, or persons performing similar functions, on its website.
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Executive Sessions of the Non-Management Directors
In accordance with the Corporate Governance Policy of USCF, the non-management directors of the Board (who are the same as the independent directors of the Board) meet separately from the other directors in regularly scheduled executive sessions, without the presence of Management Directors or executive officers of USCF. The non-management directors have designated Gordon L. Ellis to preside over each such executive session. Interested parties who wish to make their concerns known to the non-management directors may communicate directly with Mr. Ellis by writing to 475 Milan Drive, No. 103, San Jose, CA 95134-2453 or by e-mail at uscf.director@gmail.com.
Board Leadership Structure and Role in Risk Oversight
The Board of USCF is led by a Chairman, Mr. John P. Love, who also serves as USCF’s President and Chief Executive Officer. The Board’s responsibilities include: (i) the selection, evaluation, retention and succession of the Chief Executive Officer and the oversight of the selection and performance of other executive officers, (ii) understanding, reviewing and monitoring the implementation of strategic plans, annual operating plans and budgets, (iii) the selection and oversight of UNL’s independent auditors and the oversight of UNL’s financial statements, (iv) advising management on significant issues, (v) the review and approval of significant company actions and certain other matters, (vi) nominating directors and committee members and overseeing effective corporate governance and (vii) the consideration of other constituencies, such as USCF’s and UNL’s customers, employees, suppliers and the communities impacted by UNL. The non- management directors have designated Gordon L. Ellis as the presiding independent director. Mr. Ellis’ role as the presiding independent director includes presiding over each executive session of the non-management directors, facilitating communications by shareholders and employees with the non-management directors and may also include representing the non-management directors with respect to certain matters as to which the views of the non-management directors are sought pursuant to UNL’s Corporate Governance Policy.
The Board believes that Mr. Love is best situated to serve as Chairman of USCF because he is the director most familiar with the business of USCF as the President and CEO of USCF. Because of his background, he is most capable of effectively leading discussions and execution of new strategic objectives while facilitating information flow between USCF and the full Board, including the independent directors, which is essential to effective governance. The independent directors of USCF are actively involved in the oversight of USCF and, because of their varied backgrounds, provide different perspectives in connection with the oversight of USCF, UNL and the Related Public Funds. USCF’s independent directors bring expertise from outside USCF and the commodities industry, while Mr. Love brings company-specific and industry-specific experience and expertise.
Risk Management
The full Board is actively involved in overseeing the management and operation of USCF, including oversight of the risks that face UNL and the Related Public Funds. For example, the Board has adopted an Investment Policy and a Policy for Use of Derivatives. The policies are intended to ensure that USCF takes prudent and careful action while entering into and managing investments taken by UNL, including Futures Contracts and Other Natural Gas-Related Investments such as OTC swap contracts. Additionally, the policies are intended to provide assurance that there is sufficient flexibility in controlling risks and returns associated with the use of investments by UNL. The policies, among other things, limit UNL’s ability to have too high of a concentration of its assets in non-exchange traded futures contracts or cleared swap contracts or concentrating its investments in too few counterparties, absent prior approval from the Board. Existing counterparties are reviewed periodically by the Board to ensure that they continue to meet the criteria outlined in the policies. The Board tasks USCF with assessing risks, including market risk, credit risk, liquidity risk, cash flow risk, basis risk, legal and tax risk, settlement risk, and operational risk.
There are certain risks that may arise as a result of a growth in assets under management. For example, if position limits are imposed on UNL and the assets under management continue to increase, then UNL may not be able to invest solely in the Benchmark Futures Contracts and may have to invest in OTC swap contracts or Other Natural Gas-Related Investments as it seeks to track its benchmark. Other Futures Contracts in which UNL may invest may not track changes in the price of the Benchmark Futures Contracts. Other Natural Gas-Related Investments, including OTC swap contracts, may also expose UNL to increased counterparty credit risk and may be less liquid and more difficult to value than Futures Contracts. UNL and the Related Public Funds ameliorate the potential credit, liquidity and valuation risks by fully collateralizing any OTC swap contracts or other investments.
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Other Information
In addition to the certifications of the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of USCF filed or furnished with this annual report on Form 10-K regarding the quality of UNL’s public disclosure, UNL will submit, within 30 days after filing this annual report on Form 10-K, to the NYSE Arca a certification of the Chief Executive Officer of USCF certifying that he is not aware of any violation by UNL of NYSE Arca corporate governance listing standards.
Item 11. Executive Compensation.
Compensation to USCF and Other Compensation
UNL does not directly compensate any of the executive officers noted above. The executive officers noted above are compensated by USCF for the work they perform on behalf of UNL and other entities controlled by USCF. UNL does not reimburse USCF for, nor does it set the amount or form of any portion of, the compensation paid to the executive officers by USCF. UNL pays fees to USCF pursuant to the LP Agreement under which it is obligated to pay USCF an annualized fee of 0.75% of average daily total net assets. For 2021, UNL accrued aggregate management fees of $-.
Director Compensation
The following table sets forth compensation earned during the year ended December 31, 2021, by the directors of USCF. UNL’s portion of the aggregate fees paid for director’s fees and insurance for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $12,755.
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| | | |
| |
| |
| Change in |
| |
| | | |||
| | | | | | | | | | Pension Value | | | | | | | ||
| | Fees | | | | | | | | and | | | | | | | ||
| | Earned | | | | | | | | Nonqualified | | | | | | | ||
| | or Paid | | | | | | Non-Equity | | Deferred | | | | | | | ||
| | in | | Stock | | Option | | Incentive Plan | | Compensation | | All Other | | | | |||
Name |
| Cash |
| Awards |
| Awards |
| Compensation |
| Plan |
| Compensation |
| Total | ||||
Management Directors | |
| | |
| |
| |
| |
| | |
| | |
| |
Nicholas D. Gerber | | $ | — | | NA | | NA | | NA | | $ | — | | $ | — | | $ | — |
John P. Love | | $ | — | | NA | | NA | | NA | | $ | — | | $ | — | | $ | — |
Andrew F Ngim | | $ | — | | NA | | NA | | NA | | $ | — | | $ | — | | $ | — |
Robert L. Nguyen | | $ | — |
| NA |
| NA |
| NA | | $ | — | | $ | — | | $ | — |
Independent Directors | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
Peter M. Robinson | | $ | 3,238 |
| NA |
| NA |
| NA | | $ | — | | $ | — | | $ | 3,238 |
Gordon L. Ellis | | $ | 3,238 |
| NA |
| NA |
| NA | | $ | — | | $ | — | | $ | 3,238 |
Malcolm R. Fobes III(1) | | $ | 3,886 |
| NA |
| NA |
| NA | | $ | — | | $ | — | | $ | 3,886 |
(1) | Mr. Fobes serves as chairman of the audit committee of USCF and receives additional compensation from USCF, in recognition of the additional responsibilities he has undertaken in this role. |
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.
None of the directors or executive officers of USCF own any shares of UNL. In addition, UNL is not aware of any 5% holder of its shares.
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Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.
Certain Relationships and Related Transactions
UNL has and will continue to have certain relationships with USCF and its affiliates. However, there have been no direct financial transactions between UNL and the directors or officers of USCF that have not been disclosed herein. See “Item 11. Executive Compensation” and “Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.” Any transaction with a related person that must be disclosed in accordance with SEC Regulation S-K item 404(a), including financial transactions by UNL with directors or executive officers of USCF or holders of beneficial interests in USCF or UNL of more than 5%, will be subject to the provisions regarding “Resolutions of Conflicts of Interest; Standard of Care” as set forth in Section 7.7 of the LP Agreement and will be reviewed and approved by the audit committee of the Board of USCF.
Director Independence
In February 2017, the Board undertook a review of the independence of the directors of USCF and considered whether any director has a material relationship or other arrangement with USCF, UNL or the Related Public Funds that could compromise his ability to exercise independent judgment in carrying out his responsibilities. As a result of this review, the Board determined that each of Messrs. Fobes, Ellis and Robinson is an “independent director,” as defined under the rules of NYSE Arca.
Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services.
The fees for services billed to UNL by its independent auditors for the last two fiscal years are as follows:
|
| 2021 |
| 2020 | ||
Audit fees | | $ | 25,000 | | $ | 25,000 |
Audit-related fees | |
| — | |
| — |
Tax fees | |
| — | |
| — |
All other fees | |
| — | |
| — |
| | $ | 25,000 | | $ | 25,000 |
Audit fees consist of fees paid to Spicer Jeffries LLP for (i) the audit of UNL’s annual financial statements included in the annual report on Form 10-K, and review of financial statements included in the quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and certain of UNL’s current reports on Form 8-K; (ii) the audit of UNL’s internal control over financial reporting included in the annual report on Form 10-K; and (iii) services that are normally provided by the Independent Registered Public Accountants in connection with statutory and regulatory filings of registration statements.
Tax fees consist of fees paid to Spicer Jeffries LLP for professional services rendered in connection with tax compliance and partnership income tax return filings.
The audit committee has established policies and procedures which are intended to control the services provided by UNL’s independent auditors and to monitor their continuing independence. Under these policies and procedures, no audit or permitted non-audit services (including fees and terms thereof), except for the de minimis exceptions for non-audit services described in Section 10A(i)(1)(B) of the Exchange Act, may be undertaken by UNL’s independent auditors unless the engagement is specifically pre-approved by the audit committee. The audit committee may form and delegate authority to subcommittees consisting of one or more members when appropriate, including the authority to grant pre-approvals of audit and permitted non-audit services, provided that decisions of such subcommittee to grant pre-approvals must be presented to the full audit committee at its next scheduled meeting.
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Part IV
Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules.
1. | See Index to Financial Statements on page 72. |
2. | No financial statement schedules are filed herewith because (i) such schedules are not required or (ii) the information required has been presented in the aforementioned financial statements. |
3. | Exhibits required to be filed by Item 601 of Regulation S-K. |
Exhibit Index
Listed below are the exhibits which are filed or furnished as part of this annual report on Form 10-K (according to the number assigned to them in Item 601 of Regulation S-K):
Exhibit |
| Description of Document |
| | |
3.1(1) | | |
3.2(6) | | Third Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership. |
3.3(8) | | Sixth Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement of USCF. |
4.1(14) | | |
10.1(3) | | |
10.2(4) | | |
10.3(5) | | |
10.4(2) | | Second Amendment Agreement to the Marketing Agent Agreement. |
10.5(7) | | |
10.6(9) | | |
10.7(9) | | Form of Transfer Agency and Service Agreement with The Bank of New York Mellon. |
10.8(9) | | |
10.9(10) | | |
10.10(11) | | Form of Commodity Futures Customer Agreement with RCG Division of Marex Spectron. |
10.11(12) | | Form of Customer Agreement with E D & F Man Capital Markets Inc. |
10.12(13) | | |
23.1(15) | | |
31.1(15) | | |
31.2(15) | | |
32.1(15) | | |
32.2(15) | | |
101.INS | | XBRL Instance Document. |
101.SCH | | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema. |
101.CAL | | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase. |
101.DEF | | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase. |
101.LAB | | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase. |
101.PRE | | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase. |
| (1) | Incorporated by reference to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-144409) filed on July 6, 2007. |
| (2) | Incorporated by reference to Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the Year ended December 31, 2012, filed on March 26, 2013. |
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| (3) | Incorporated by reference to Registrant’s Pre-Effective Amendment No. 3 to the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-144409) filed on November 2, 2009. |
| (4) | Incorporated by reference to Registrant’s Pre-Effective Amendment No. 2 to the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-144409) filed on September 24, 2009. |
| (5) | Incorporated by reference to Registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the Quarter ended June 30, 2012, filed on August 14, 2012. |
| (6) | Incorporated by reference to Registrant’s report on Form 8-K filed on December 15, 2017. |
| (7) | Incorporated by reference to Registrant’s report on Form 8-K filed on October 24, 2011. |
| (8) | Incorporated by reference to Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the Year ended December 31, 2015, filed on March 24, 2016. |
| (9) | Incorporated by reference to Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on March 30, 2020. |
| (10) | Incorporated by reference to Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on October 10, 2013. |
| (11) | Incorporated by reference to Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on May 29, 2020. |
| (12) | Incorporated by reference to Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on June 9, 2020. |
| (13) | Incorporated by reference to Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on December 7, 2020. |
| (14) | Incorporated by reference to Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, filed on March 20, 2020. |
| (15) | Filed herewith. |
Item 16. Form 10-K Summary.
None.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund, LP (Registrant) | | |
By: United States Commodity Funds LLC, its general partner | | |
| | |
By: | /s/ John P. Love | |
| ||
John P. Love | | |
President and Chief Executive Officer | | |
(Principal executive officer) | | |
| | |
Date: March 4, 2022 | | |
| | |
By: | /s/ Stuart P. Crumbaugh | |
| | |
Stuart P. Crumbaugh | | |
Chief Financial Officer | | |
(Principal financial and accounting officer) | | |
| | |
Date: March 4, 2022 | | |
| | |
103
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this Report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
Signature |
| Title (Capacity) |
| Date |
| | | | |
/s/ Nicholas D. Gerber | | Management Director | | March 4, 2022 |
Nicholas D. Gerber | | | | |
| | | | |
/s/ John P. Love | | Management Director | | March 4, 2022 |
John P. Love | | | | |
| | | | |
/s/ Andrew F Ngim | | Management Director | | March 4, 2022 |
Andrew F Ngim | | | | |
| | | | |
/s/ Robert L. Nguyen | | Management Director | | March 4, 2022 |
Robert L. Nguyen | | | | |
| | | | |
/s/ Peter M. Robinson | | Independent Director | | March 4, 2022 |
Peter M. Robinson | | | | |
| | | | |
/s/ Gordon L. Ellis | | Independent Director | | March 4, 2022 |
Gordon L. Ellis | | | | |
| | | | |
/s/ Malcolm R. Fobes III | | Independent Director | | March 4, 2022 |
Malcolm R. Fobes III | | | | |
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Exhibit 23.1
CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
We hereby consent to the incorporation by reference in the Registration Statement on the post-effective amendment No. 5 to Form S-1 (File No. 333-230583) of our report dated March 4, 2022 relating to the financial statements of United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund, LP (the “Fund”) as of December 31, 2021 and 2020 and for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, which appear in this Annual Report on Form 10-K of United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund, LP for the year ended December 31, 2021.
/s/ Spicer Jeffries LLP
Denver, Colorado
March 4, 2022
Exhibit 31.1
Certification by Principal Executive Officer
Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
I, John P. Love, certify that:
1. | I have reviewed this Annual Report on Form 10-K of United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund, LP; |
2. | Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report; |
3. | Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report; |
4. | The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have: |
(a) | Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared; |
(b) | Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles; |
(c) | Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and |
(d) | Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and |
5. | The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s Board of Directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions): |
(a) | All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and |
(b) | Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting. |
Date: March 4, 2022 | By | /s/ John P. Love |
| Name: | John P. Love |
| Title: | President and Chief Executive Officer |
| | United States Commodity Funds LLC, |
| | General Partner of United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund, LP |
Exhibit 31.2
Certification by Principal Financial Officer
Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
I, Stuart P. Crumbaugh, certify that:
1. | I have reviewed this Annual Report on Form 10-K of United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund, LP; |
2. | Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report; |
3. | Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report; |
4. | The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have: |
(a) | Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared; |
(b) | Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles; |
(c) | Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and |
(d) | Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and |
5. | The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s Board of Directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions): |
(a) | All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and |
(b) | Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting. |
Date: March 4, 2022 | By | /s/ Stuart P. Crumbaugh |
| Name: | Stuart P. Crumbaugh |
| Title: | Chief Financial Officer |
| | United States Commodity Funds LLC, |
| | General Partner of United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund, LP |
Exhibit 32.1
Certification by Principal Executive Officer
Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
In connection with the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 (the “Report”) of United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund, LP (the “Registrant”), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the date hereof, I, John P. Love, the President and Chief Executive Officer of United States Commodity Funds LLC, General Partner of the Registrant, hereby certify, to the best of my knowledge, that:
(1) | The Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; and |
(2) | The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Registrant. |
Date: March 4, 2022 | By | /s/ John P. Love |
| Name: | John P. Love |
| Title: | President and Chief Executive Officer |
| | United States Commodity Funds LLC, |
| | General Partner of United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund, LP |
Exhibit 32.2
Certification by Principal Financial Officer
Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
In connection with the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 (the “Report”) of United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund, LP (the “Registrant”), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the date hereof, I, Stuart P. Crumbaugh, the Chief Financial Officer of United States Commodity Funds LLC, General Partner of the Registrant, hereby certify, to the best of my knowledge, that:
(1) | The Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; and |
(2) | The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Registrant. |
Date: March 4, 2022 | By | /s/ Stuart P. Crumbaugh |
| Name: | Stuart P. Crumbaugh |
| Title: | Chief Financial Officer |
| | United States Commodity Funds LLC, |
| | General Partner of United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund, LP |