Alternative Market Briefing

CFTC issues No-Action Relief allowing Private Fund Managers to deregister as CPOs and CTAs

Tuesday, December 23, 2025

Matthias Knab, Opalesque for New Managers:

Market Participants Division reinstates exemption for managers to qualified eligible persons, eliminating duplicative regulatory burdens

In a significant development for private fund managers, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Market Participants Division has issued a no-action letter (Letter No. 25-50) that effectively reinstates registration relief for investment managers operating commodity pools exclusively for sophisticated investors. The relief, granted in response to a request from the Managed Funds Association, allows certain private fund managers to withdraw from-or avoid-registration as commodity pool operators (CPOs) and commodity trading advisors (CTAs).

The no-action position addresses long-standing industry concerns about duplicative and conflicting regulatory requirements between the CFTC and Securities and Exchange Commission that have burdened private fund managers since 2012, when the CFTC rescinded the so-called "QEP Exemption" that had provided similar relief.

The Regulatory Background

The CFTC originally adopted the qualified eligible person (QEP) exemption in 2003 to encourage participation in commodity markets by eliminating duplicative regulatory requirements for SEC-registered investment advisers managing private funds offered solely to sophisticated, o......................

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