Attached files

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EX-31.02 - EX-31.02 - ML Winton FuturesAccess LLCa15-12022_1ex31d02.htm
EX-32.02 - EX-32.02 - ML Winton FuturesAccess LLCa15-12022_1ex32d02.htm
EX-31.01 - EX-31.01 - ML Winton FuturesAccess LLCa15-12022_1ex31d01.htm
EX-32.01 - EX-32.01 - ML Winton FuturesAccess LLCa15-12022_1ex32d01.htm

 

 

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 10-Q

 

(Mark One)

 

x

QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

For the quarterly period ended June 30, 2015

 

OR

 

o

TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

For the transition period from                  to                 

 

Commission File Number 0-51084

 

ML WINTON FUTURESACCESS LLC

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Delaware

 

20-1227904

(State or other jurisdiction of

 

(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

incorporation or organization)

 

 

 

c/o Merrill Lynch Alternative Investments LLC

250 Vesey Street, 11th Floor

New York, New York 10080

(Address of principal executive offices)

(Zip Code)

 

609-274-5838

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

 

Yes x  No o

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate website, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).

 

Yes x  No o

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company.  See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

 

Large accelerated filer o

 

Accelerated filer o

 

 

 

Non-accelerated filer x

 

Smaller reporting company o

(Do not check if a smaller reporting company)

 

 

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

 

Yes o  No x

 

As of June 30, 2015, 699,341,621 units of limited liability company interest were outstanding.

 

 

 




 

PART I - FINANCIAL INFORMATION

 

Item 1.                                 Financial Statements

 

ML WINTON FUTURESACCESS LLC

(A Delaware Limited Liability Company)

 

STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION

(unaudited)

 

 

 

June, 30

 

December 31,

 

 

 

2015

 

2014

 

ASSETS:

 

 

 

 

 

Equity in commodity trading accounts:

 

 

 

 

 

Cash (including restricted cash of $79,640,401 for 2015 and $70,036,099 for 2014)

 

$

1,045,116,061

 

$

980,824,673

 

Unrealized profit on open futures contracts

 

18,236,711

 

44,175,968

 

Unrealized profit on open forwards contracts

 

4,605,556

 

4,533,927

 

Cash and cash equivalents

 

579,694

 

704,200

 

Other assets

 

8,881

 

32,960

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TOTAL ASSETS

 

$

1,068,546,903

 

$

1,030,271,728

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LIABILITIES AND MEMBERS’ CAPITAL:

 

 

 

 

 

LIABILITIES:

 

 

 

 

 

Brokerage commissions payable

 

$

6,977

 

$

6,232

 

Sponsor and Advisory fees payable

 

2,859,120

 

23,352,515

 

Redemptions payable

 

2,855,244

 

2,759,503

 

Unrealized loss on open futures contracts

 

22,502,314

 

13,528,343

 

Unrealized loss on open forwards contracts

 

2,656,112

 

9,079,528

 

Other liabilities

 

602,572

 

460,550

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total liabilities

 

31,482,339

 

49,186,671

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MEMBERS’ CAPITAL:

 

 

 

 

 

Members’ Capital (699,341,621 Units and 593,821,837 Units outstanding; unlimited Units authorized)

 

1,037,064,564

 

981,085,057

 

Total members’ capital

 

1,037,064,564

 

981,085,057

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TOTAL LIABILITIES AND MEMBERS’ CAPITAL

 

$

1,068,546,903

 

$

1,030,271,728

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NET ASSET VALUE PER UNIT:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Class A

 

$

1.8757

 

$

1.9392

 

Class C

 

$

1.6919

 

$

1.7580

 

Class D

 

$

2.0204

 

$

2.0732

 

Class I

 

$

1.9402

 

$

2.0018

 

Class DS*

 

$

 

$

2.0706

 

Class DT

 

$

2.1672

 

$

2.2127

 

Class M

 

$

1.1352

 

$

1.1649

 

Class F

 

$

1.1192

 

$

1.1433

 

Class F1

 

$

1.1468

 

$

1.1715

 

Class DI

 

$

0.9485

 

$

 

 


**Units fully redeemed as of April 30, 2015.

See notes to financial statements.

 

1



 

ML WINTON FUTURESACCESS LLC

 

(A Delaware Limited Liability Company)

 

STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(unaudited)

 

 

 

For the three
months ended

 

For the three
months ended

 

For the six months
ended

 

For the six months
ended

 

 

 

June 30, 2015

 

June 30, 2014

 

June 30, 2015

 

June 30, 2014

 

TRADING PROFIT (LOSS):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Realized, net

 

$

(44,113,717

)

$

48,611,713

 

$

22,455,569

 

$

61,294,097

 

Change in unrealized, net

 

(25,974,244

)

(552,607

)

(28,418,183

)

(13,577,777

)

Brokerage commissions

 

(306,071

)

(298,846

)

(565,971

)

(614,274

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total trading profit (loss), net

 

(70,394,032

)

47,760,260

 

(6,528,585

)

47,102,046

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

INVESTMENT INCOME (EXPENSE):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interest, net

 

(11,357

)

(176,952

)

(12,468

)

(312,133

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EXPENSES:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Management fee

 

5,154,795

 

4,597,225

 

10,342,925

 

9,200,743

 

Sponsor fee

 

3,627,064

 

3,493,408

 

7,269,384

 

7,080,230

 

Performance fee

 

 

7,408,654

 

11,590,474

 

7,408,667

 

Other

 

755,328

 

475,368

 

1,310,095

 

1,047,760

 

Total expenses

 

9,537,187

 

15,974,655

 

30,512,878

 

24,737,400

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NET INVESTMENT INCOME (LOSS)

 

(9,548,544

)

(16,151,607

)

(30,525,346

)

(25,049,533

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NET INCOME (LOSS)

 

$

(79,942,576

)

$

31,608,653

 

$

(37,053,931

)

$

22,052,513

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NET INCOME (LOSS) PER UNIT:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weighted average number of Units outstanding

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Class A

 

64,215,771

 

77,901,587

 

64,134,961

 

82,250,631

 

Class C

 

273,285,615

 

278,356,038

 

269,340,663

 

282,111,340

 

Class D

 

35,827,904

 

39,733,197

 

35,787,677

 

42,838,575

 

Class I

 

32,005,794

 

36,763,960

 

31,586,409

 

41,479,856

 

Class DS**

 

20,422,359

 

25,052,090

 

20,935,317

 

25,518,422

 

Class DT

 

5,062,849

 

6,279,674

 

5,197,131

 

6,662,944

 

Class M

 

99,680,862

 

88,286,175

 

97,345,744

 

74,221,797

 

Class F

 

46,520,691

 

46,520,691

 

46,520,691

 

46,520,691

 

Class F1

 

32,348,368

 

32,348,368

 

32,348,368

 

32,348,368

 

Class DI*

 

106,421,060

 

 

105,408,541

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net income (loss) per weighted average Unit

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Class A

 

$

(0.1438

)

$

0.0580

 

$

(0.0638

)

$

0.0369

 

Class C

 

$

(0.1341

)

$

0.0483

 

$

(0.0690

)

$

0.0274

 

Class D

 

$

(0.1473

)

$

0.0692

 

$

(0.0539

)

$

0.0520

 

Class I

 

$

(0.1465

)

$

0.0601

 

$

(0.0647

)

$

0.0365

 

Class DS**

 

$

(0.0763

)

$

0.0676

 

$

0.0195

 

$

0.0527

 

Class DT

 

$

(0.1547

)

$

0.0780

 

$

(0.0394

)

$

0.0621

 

Class M

 

$

(0.0824

)

$

0.0381

 

$

(0.0330

)

$

0.0398

 

Class F

 

$

(0.0783

)

$

0.0393

 

$

(0.0242

)

$

0.0356

 

Class F1

 

$

(0.0802

)

$

0.0402

 

$

(0.0247

)

$

0.0365

 

Class DI*

 

$

(0.0686

)

$

 

$

(0.0520

)

$

 

 


* Units issued on February 1, 2015. (Presentation of weighted average units outstanding and net income (loss) per weighted average units for this share class is for the period February 1, 2015 to June 30, 2015.)

**Units fully redeemed as of April 30, 2015. (Presentation of weighted average units outstanding and net income (loss) per weighted average units for this share class is for the period January 1, 2015 to April 30, 2015.)

See notes to financial statements.

 

2



 

ML WINTON FUTURESACCESS LLC

(A Delaware Limited Liability Company)

 

STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN MEMBERS’ CAPITAL

FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30, 2015 AND 2014

(unaudited) (in Units)

 

 

 

Members’ Capital
December 31, 2013

 

Subscriptions

 

Redemptions

 

Members’ Capital
June 30, 2014

 

Members’ Capital
December 31, 2014

 

Subscriptions

 

Redemptions

 

Members’ Capital
June 30, 2015

 

Class A

 

89,279,211

 

4,212,662

 

(19,322,754

)

74,169,119

 

64,145,923

 

3,292,338

 

(3,408,790

)

64,029,471

 

Class C

 

289,256,969

 

25,162,964

 

(40,007,865

)

274,412,068

 

265,575,955

 

23,012,525

 

(9,068,342

)

279,520,138

 

Class D

 

46,696,897

 

2,323,418

 

(14,074,121

)

34,946,194

 

35,322,377

 

888,820

 

(1,729,806

)

34,481,391

 

Class I

 

47,689,327

 

2,069,490

 

(15,978,433

)

33,780,384

 

31,155,649

 

2,260,975

 

(2,373,746

)

31,042,878

 

Class DS**

 

27,662,374

 

3,442,966

 

(7,934,746

)

23,170,594

 

21,211,500

 

217,903

 

(21,429,403

)

 

Class DT

 

7,308,839

 

 

(1,370,916

)

5,937,923

 

5,341,053

 

35,822

 

(670,631

)

4,706,244

 

Class M

 

46,183,286

 

46,483,663

 

(6,601,028

)

86,065,921

 

92,200,321

 

12,298,599

 

(4,143,626

)

100,355,294

 

Class F

 

46,520,691

 

 

 

46,520,691

 

46,520,691

 

 

 

46,520,691

 

Class F1

 

32,348,368

 

 

 

32,348,368

 

32,348,368

 

 

 

32,348,368

 

Class DI*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

107,464,097

 

(1,126,951

)

106,337,146

 

Total Members’ Units

 

632,945,962

 

83,695,163

 

(105,289,863

)

611,351,262

 

593,821,837

 

149,471,079

 

(43,951,295

)

699,341,621

 

 


* Units issued on February 1, 2015.

**Units fully redeemed as of April 30, 2015.

See notes to financial statements.

 

3



 

ML WINTON FUTURESACCESS LLC

(A Delaware Limited Liability Company)

 

STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN MEMBERS’ CAPITAL

FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30, 2015 AND 2014

(unaudited)

 

 

 

Members’ Capital
December 31, 2013

 

Subscriptions

 

Redemptions

 

Net Income
(Loss)

 

Members’ Capital June
30, 2014

 

Members’ Capital
December 31, 2014

 

Subscriptions

 

Redemptions

 

Net Income
(Loss)

 

Members’ Capital
June 30, 2015

 

Class A

 

$

155,214,109

 

$

7,307,212

 

$

(33,630,164

)

$

3,035,960

 

$

131,927,117

 

$

124,393,069

 

$

6,490,036

 

$

(6,691,014

)

$

(4,090,213

)

$

120,101,878

 

Class C

 

460,460,237

 

39,867,813

 

(63,359,533

)

7,732,118

 

444,700,635

 

466,870,415

 

40,798,913

 

(16,173,183

)

(18,573,272

)

472,922,873

 

Class D

 

85,498,186

 

4,229,000

 

(25,996,651

)

2,225,822

 

65,956,357

 

73,228,701

 

1,875,100

 

(3,507,874

)

(1,930,518

)

69,665,409

 

Class I

 

85,244,114

 

3,673,218

 

(28,528,248

)

1,513,123

 

61,902,207

 

62,368,274

 

4,585,458

 

(4,682,082

)

(2,043,359

)

60,228,291

 

Class DS**

 

50,584,682

 

6,267,559

 

(14,519,670

)

1,344,453

 

43,677,024

 

43,919,926

 

463,567

 

(44,791,393

)

407,900

 

 

Class DT

 

14,111,527

 

 

(2,658,639

)

413,752

 

11,866,640

 

11,818,184

 

81,606

 

(1,495,502

)

(204,678

)

10,199,610

 

Class M

 

47,512,048

 

47,688,263

 

(6,879,557

)

2,950,699

 

91,271,453

 

107,401,709

 

14,539,000

 

(4,801,105

)

(3,214,122

)

113,925,482

 

Class F

 

46,554,511

 

 

 

1,656,403

 

48,210,914

 

53,188,258

 

 

 

(1,123,681

)

52,064,577

 

Class F1

 

33,169,991

 

 

 

1,180,183

 

34,350,174

 

37,896,521

 

 

 

(800,621

)

37,095,900

 

Class DI*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

107,455,928

 

(1,114,017

)

(5,481,367

)

100,860,544

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Members’ Capital

 

$

978,349,405

 

$

109,033,065

 

$

(175,572,462

)

$

22,052,513

 

$

933,862,521

 

$

981,085,057

 

$

176,289,608

 

$

(83,256,170

)

$

(37,053,931

)

$

1,037,064,564

 

 


* Units issued on February 1, 2015.

**Units fully redeemed as of April 30, 2015.

See notes to financial statements.

 

4



 

ML WINTON FUTURESACCESS LLC

(A Delaware Limited Liability Company)

 

FINANCIAL DATA HIGHLIGHTS

FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30, 2015 (unaudited)

 

The following per Unit data and ratios have been derived from information provided in the financial statements.

 

 

 

Class A

 

Class C

 

Class D

 

Class I

 

Class DS**

 

Class DT

 

Class M

 

Class F

 

Class F1

 

Class DI*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Per Unit Operating Performance:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net asset value, beginning of period or at the time of offer

 

$

2.0193

 

$

1.8260

 

$

2.1669

 

$

2.0866

 

$

2.1642

 

$

2.3216

 

$

1.2176

 

$

1.1974

 

$

1.2270

 

$

1.0173

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net realized and net change in unrealized trading profit (loss)

 

(0.1247

)

(0.1127

)

(0.1340

)

(0.1289

)

(0.0726

)

(0.1437

)

(0.0753

)

(0.0741

)

(0.0760

)

(0.0629

)

Brokerage commissions

 

(0.0006

)

(0.0005

)

(0.0006

)

(0.0006

)

(0.0001

)

(0.0006

)

(0.0003

)

(0.0003

)

(0.0003

)

(0.0003

)

Interest income, net (c)

 

(0.0000

)

(0.0000

)

(0.0000

)

(0.0000

)

0.0000

 

(0.0000

)

(0.0000

)

(0.0000

)

(0.0000

)

(0.0000

)

Expenses

 

(0.0183

)

(0.0209

)

(0.0119

)

(0.0169

)

(0.0040

)

(0.0101

)

(0.0068

)

(0.0038

)

(0.0039

)

(0.0056

)

Net asset value, before full redemption

 

1.8757

 

1.6919

 

2.0204

 

1.9402

 

2.0875

 

2.1672

 

1.1352

 

1.1192

 

1.1468

 

0.9485

 

Less redemption

 

 

 

 

 

2.0875

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

 

$

1.8757

 

$

1.6919

 

$

2.0204

 

$

1.9402

 

$

 

$

2.1672

 

$

1.1352

 

$

1.1192

 

$

1.1468

 

$

0.9485

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Return: (a) (d)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total return before Performance fees

 

-7.11

%

-7.34

%

-6.76

%

-7.01

%

-3.54

%

-6.65

%

-6.77

%

-6.53

%

-6.54

%

-6.76

%

Performance fees

 

0.00

%

0.00

%

0.00

%

0.00

%

0.00

%

0.00

%

0.00

%

0.00

%

0.00

%

0.00

%

Total return after Performance fees

 

-7.11

%

-7.34

%

-6.76

%

-7.01

%

-3.54

%

-6.65

%

-6.77

%

-6.53

%

-6.54

%

-6.76

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ratios to Average Member’s Capital: (d)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Expenses (excluding Performance fees) (b)

 

0.94

%

1.19

%

0.57

%

0.84

%

0.55

%

0.44

%

0.57

%

0.32

%

0.32

%

0.57

%

Performance fees

 

0.00

%

0.00

%

0.00

%

0.00

%

0.00

%

0.00

%

0.00

%

0.00

%

0.00

%

0.00

%

Expenses (including Performance fees)

 

0.94

%

1.19

%

0.57

%

0.84

%

0.55

%

0.44

%

0.57

%

0.32

%

0.32

%

0.57

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net investment income (loss) (excluding Performance fees)

 

-0.94

%

-1.19

%

-0.57

%

-0.84

%

-0.55

%

-0.44

%

-0.57

%

-0.32

%

-0.32

%

-0.57

%

Performance fees

 

0.00

%

0.00

%

0.00

%

0.00

%

0.00

%

0.00

%

0.00

%

0.00

%

0.00

%

0.00

%

Net investment income (loss) (including Performance fees)

 

-0.94

%

-1.19

%

-0.57

%

-0.84

%

-0.55

%

-0.44

%

-0.57

%

-0.32

%

-0.32

%

-0.57

%

 


(a) The total return is based on compounded monthly returns and is calculated for each class taken as a whole. An individual member’s return may vary from these returns based on timing of capital transactions.

(b) The expense ratios do not include brokerage commissions.

(c) Interest income, net is less than $0.0001 per Unit.

(d) The ratios and total return are not annualized.

 

* Units issued on February 1, 2015.

**Units fully redeemed as of April 30, 2015.

See notes to financial statements.

 

5



 

ML WINTON FUTURESACCESS LLC

(A Delaware Limited Liability Company)

 

FINANCIAL DATA HIGHLIGHTS

FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30, 2015 (unaudited)

 

The following per Unit data and ratios have been derived from information provided in the financial statements.

 

 

 

Class A

 

Class C

 

Class D

 

Class I

 

Class DS**

 

Class DT

 

Class M

 

Class F

 

Class F1

 

Class DI*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Per Unit Operating Performance:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net asset value, beginning of period or at the time of offer

 

$

1.9392

 

$

1.7580

 

$

2.0732

 

$

2.0018

 

$

2.0706

 

$

2.2127

 

$

1.1649

 

$

1.1433

 

$

1.1715

 

$

1.0000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net realized and net change in unrealized trading profit (loss)

 

(0.0037

)

(0.0031

)

(0.0045

)

(0.0040

)

0.0567

 

(0.0053

)

(0.0025

)

(0.0027

)

(0.0027

)

(0.0374

)

Brokerage commissions

 

(0.0010

)

(0.0009

)

(0.0011

)

(0.0011

)

(0.0007

)

(0.0012

)

(0.0006

)

(0.0006

)

(0.0006

)

(0.0005

)

Interest income, net (c)

 

(0.0000

)

(0.0000

)

(0.0000

)

(0.0000

)

0.0000

 

(0.0000

)

(0.0000

)

(0.0000

)

(0.0000

)

(0.0000

)

Expenses

 

(0.0588

)

(0.0621

)

(0.0472

)

(0.0565

)

(0.0391

)

(0.0390

)

(0.0266

)

(0.0208

)

(0.0214

)

(0.0136

)

Net asset value, before full redemption

 

1.8757

 

1.6919

 

2.0204

 

1.9402

 

2.0875

 

2.1672

 

1.1352

 

1.1192

 

1.1468

 

0.9485

 

Less redemption

 

 

 

 

 

2.0875

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

 

$

1.8757

 

$

1.6919

 

$

2.0204

 

$

1.9402

 

$

 

$

2.1672

 

$

1.1352

 

$

1.1192

 

$

1.1468

 

$

0.9485

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Return: (a) (d)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total return before Performance fees

 

-2.15

%

-2.63

%

-1.42

%

-1.95

%

1.95

%

-1.19

%

-1.42

%

-0.91

%

-0.92

%

-4.72

%

Performance fees

 

-1.12

%

-1.13

%

-1.13

%

-1.13

%

-1.13

%

-0.86

%

-1.13

%

-1.19

%

-1.19

%

-0.43

%

Total return after Performance fees

 

-3.27

%

-3.76

%

-2.55

%

-3.08

%

0.82

%

-2.05

%

-2.55

%

-2.10

%

-2.11

%

-5.15

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ratios to Average Member’s Capital: (d)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Expenses (excluding Performance fees) (b)

 

1.88

%

2.38

%

1.13

%

1.68

%

1.11

%

0.88

%

1.13

%

0.63

%

0.63

%

1.13

%

Performance fees

 

1.10

%

1.10

%

1.10

%

1.10

%

1.10

%

0.84

%

1.10

%

1.16

%

1.16

%

0.42

%

Expenses (including Performance fees)

 

2.98

%

3.48

%

2.23

%

2.78

%

2.21

%

1.72

%

2.23

%

1.79

%

1.79

%

1.55

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net investment income (loss) (excluding Performance fees)

 

-1.88

%

-2.38

%

-1.13

%

-1.68

%

-1.11

%

-0.88

%

-1.13

%

-0.63

%

-0.63

%

-1.13

%

Performance fees

 

-1.10

%

-1.10

%

-1.10

%

-1.10

%

-1.10

%

-0.84

%

-1.10

%

-1.16

%

-1.16

%

-0.42

%

Net investment income (loss) (including Performance fees)

 

-2.98

%

-3.48

%

-2.23

%

-2.78

%

-2.21

%

-1.72

%

-2.23

%

-1.79

%

-1.79

%

-1.55

%

 


(a) The total return is based on compounded monthly returns and is calculated for each class taken as a whole. An individual member’s return may vary from these returns based on timing of capital transactions.

(b) The expense ratios do not include brokerage commissions.

(c) Interest income, net is less than $0.0001 per Unit.

(d) The ratios and total return are not annualized.

 

* Units issued on February 1, 2015.

**Units fully redeemed as of April 30, 2015.

See notes to financial statements.

 

6



 

ML WINTON FUTURESACCESS LLC

(A Delaware Limited Liability Company)

 

FINANCIAL DATA HIGHLIGHTS

FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30, 2014 (unaudited)

 

The following per Unit data and ratios have been derived from information provided in the financial statements.

 

 

 

Class A

 

Class C

 

Class D

 

Class I

 

Class DS

 

Class DT

 

Class M

 

Class F

 

Class F1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Per Unit Operating Performance:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net asset value, beginning of period or at the time of offer

 

$

1.7214

 

$

1.5722

 

$

1.8197

 

$

1.7716

 

$

1.8174

 

$

1.9213

 

$

1.0225

 

$

0.9971

 

$

1.0217

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net realized and net change in unrealized trading profit (loss)

 

0.0881

 

0.0804

 

0.0933

 

0.0907

 

0.0932

 

0.0986

 

0.0524

 

0.0512

 

0.0524

 

Brokerage commissions

 

(0.0006

)

(0.0005

)

(0.0006

)

(0.0006

)

(0.0006

)

(0.0006

)

(0.0003

)

(0.0003

)

(0.0003

)

Interest income, net

 

(0.0003

)

(0.0003

)

(0.0003

)

(0.0003

)

(0.0003

)

(0.0004

)

(0.0002

)

(0.0002

)

(0.0002

)

Expenses

 

(0.0299

)

(0.0312

)

(0.0247

)

(0.0289

)

(0.0247

)

(0.0205

)

(0.0139

)

(0.0115

)

(0.0117

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

 

$

1.7787

 

$

1.6206

 

$

1.8874

 

$

1.8325

 

$

1.8850

 

$

1.9984

 

$

1.0605

 

$

1.0363

 

$

1.0619

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Return: (a) (d)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total return before Performance fees

 

4.13

%

3.87

%

4.52

%

4.23

%

4.52

%

4.65

%

4.52

%

4.78

%

4.78

%

Performance fees/other (b) 

 

-0.78

%

-0.78

%

-0.78

%

-0.78

%

-0.78

%

-0.62

%

-0.78

%

-0.82

%

-0.82

%

Total return after Performance fees

 

3.35

%

3.09

%

3.74

%

3.45

%

3.74

%

4.03

%

3.74

%

3.96

%

3.96

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ratios to Average Member’s Capital: (d)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Expenses (excluding Performance fees) (c)

 

0.95

%

1.20

%

0.57

%

0.85

%

0.57

%

0.45

%

0.57

%

0.32

%

0.32

%

Performance fees (b) 

 

0.77

%

0.77

%

0.77

%

0.77

%

0.77

%

0.61

%

0.77

%

0.82

%

0.82

%

Expenses (including Performance fees)

 

1.72

%

1.97

%

1.34

%

1.62

%

1.34

%

1.06

%

1.34

%

1.14

%

1.14

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net investment income (loss) (excluding Performance fees)

 

-0.95

%

-1.20

%

-0.58

%

-0.85

%

-0.58

%

-0.45

%

-0.58

%

-0.32

%

-0.32

%

Performance fees

 

-0.77

%

-0.77

%

-0.77

%

-0.77

%

-0.77

%

-0.61

%

-0.77

%

-0.82

%

-0.82

%

Net investment income (loss) (including Performance fees)

 

-1.72

%

-1.97

%

-1.35

%

-1.62

%

-1.35

%

-1.06

%

-1.35

%

-1.14

%

-1.14

%

 


(a) The total return is based on compounded monthly returns and is calculated for each class taken as a whole. An individual member’s return may vary from these returns based on timing of capital transactions.

(b) Performance fees include reimbursement of performance fees allocated to the share classes in accordance with offering documents.

(c) The expense ratios do not include brokerage commissions.

(d) The ratios and total return are not annualized.

See notes to financial statements.

 

7



 

ML WINTON FUTURESACCESS LLC

(A Delaware Limited Liability Company)

 

FINANCIAL DATA HIGHLIGHTS

FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30, 2014 (unaudited)

 

The following per Unit data and ratios have been derived from information provided in the financial statements.

 

 

 

Class A

 

Class C

 

Class D

 

Class I

 

Class DS

 

Class DT

 

Class M

 

Class F

 

Class F1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Per Unit Operating Performance:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net asset value, beginning of period or at the time of offer

 

$

1.7385

 

$

1.5919

 

$

1.8309

 

$

1.7875

 

$

1.8286

 

$

1.9307

 

$

1.0288

 

$

1.0007

 

$

1.0254

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net realized and net change in unrealized trading profit (loss)

 

0.0879

 

0.0801

 

0.0930

 

0.0905

 

0.0929

 

0.0983

 

0.0523

 

0.0510

 

0.0523

 

Brokerage commissions

 

(0.0011

)

(0.0010

)

(0.0012

)

(0.0011

)

(0.0012

)

(0.0012

)

(0.0007

)

(0.0006

)

(0.0007

)

Interest income, net

 

(0.0006

)

(0.0005

)

(0.0006

)

(0.0006

)

(0.0006

)

(0.0006

)

(0.0003

)

(0.0003

)

(0.0003

)

Expenses

 

(0.0460

)

(0.0499

)

(0.0347

)

(0.0438

)

(0.0347

)

(0.0288

)

(0.0196

)

(0.0145

)

(0.0148

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

 

$

1.7787

 

$

1.6206

 

$

1.8874

 

$

1.8325

 

$

1.8850

 

$

1.9984

 

$

1.0605

 

$

1.0363

 

$

1.0619

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Return: (a) (d)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total return before Performance fees

 

3.10

%

2.59

%

3.88

%

3.31

%

3.88

%

4.14

%

3.88

%

4.40

%

4.40

%

Performance fees/other (b) 

 

-0.78

%

-0.78

%

-0.78

%

-0.78

%

-0.78

%

-0.62

%

-0.78

%

-0.82

%

-0.82

%

Total return after Performance fees

 

2.32

%

1.81

%

3.10

%

2.53

%

3.10

%

3.52

%

3.10

%

3.58

%

3.58

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ratios to Average Member’s Capital: (d)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Expenses (excluding Performance fees) (c)

 

1.90

%

2.40

%

1.15

%

1.70

%

1.15

%

0.90

%

1.15

%

0.65

%

0.65

%

Performance fees (b) 

 

0.77

%

0.77

%

0.77

%

0.77

%

0.77

%

0.61

%

0.77

%

0.82

%

0.82

%

Expenses (including Performance fees)

 

2.67

%

3.17

%

1.92

%

2.47

%

1.92

%

1.51

%

1.92

%

1.47

%

1.47

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net investment income (loss) (excluding Performance fees)

 

-1.90

%

-2.40

%

-1.15

%

-1.70

%

-1.15

%

-0.90

%

-1.15

%

-0.64

%

-0.64

%

Performance fees

 

-0.77

%

-0.77

%

-0.77

%

-0.77

%

-0.77

%

-0.61

%

-0.77

%

-0.82

%

-0.82

%

Net investment income (loss) (including Performance fees)

 

-2.67

%

-3.17

%

-1.92

%

-2.47

%

-1.92

%

-1.51

%

-1.92

%

-1.46

%

-1.46

%

 


(a) The total return is based on compounded monthly returns and is calculated for each class taken as a whole. An individual member’s return may vary from these returns based on timing of capital transactions.

(b) Performance fees include reimbursement of performance fees allocated to the share classes in accordance with offering documents.

(c) The expense ratios do not include brokerage commissions.

(d) The ratios and total return are not annualized.

See notes to financial statements.

 

8



 

ML WINTON FUTURESACCESS LLC

(A Delaware Limited Liability Company)

 

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(unaudited)

 

1.              ORGANIZATION

 

ML Winton FuturesAccess LLC (the “Fund”), a FuturesAccessSM Program (“FuturesAccess”) fund, which is an investment company as defined by Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) guidance, was organized under the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act on May 17, 2004 and commenced trading activities on February 1, 2005. The Fund engages in the speculative trading of futures and forward contracts on a wide range of commodities. Winton Capital Management Limited (“Trading Advisor”) is the trading advisor of the Fund. The Trading Advisor trades the Winton Futures Program (the “Trading Program”) for the Fund.

 

Merrill Lynch Alternative Investments LLC (“MLAI”, the “Sponsor” or the “Managing Member”) is the sponsor and manager of the Fund. MLAI is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation. Bank of America Corporation and its affiliates are referred to herein as “BofA Corp.”. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (“MLPF&S”) is currently the exclusive clearing broker for the Fund. The Sponsor may select other parties as clearing broker(s). Merrill Lynch International (“MLI”) is the primary foreign exchange (“F/X”) forward prime broker for the Fund. The Sponsor may select other of its affiliates or third parties as F/X or other over-the-counter (“OTC”) prime brokers. MLPF&S and MLI are BofA Corp. affiliates.

 

FuturesAccess is a group of managed futures funds sponsored by MLAI (“FuturesAccess Funds”).  FuturesAccess is exclusively available to investors that have investment accounts with Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, U.S. Trust and other divisions or affiliates of BofA Corp.  FuturesAccess Funds currently are composed of direct-trading funds advised by a single trading advisor and a single fund of funds no longer offered to investors for which MLAI acts as the advisor and allocates capital among multiple trading advisors. Although redemption terms vary among FuturesAccess Funds, FuturesAccess applies, with some exceptions, the same minimum investment amounts, fees and other operational criteria across all FuturesAccess Funds.  Each trading advisor participating in FuturesAccess employs different technical, fundamental, systematic and/or discretionary trading strategies.

 

Interests in the Fund are not insured or otherwise protected by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government authority.  Interests are not deposits or other obligations of, and are not guaranteed by, BofA Corp. or by any bank.  Interests are subject to investment risks, including the possible loss of the full amount invested.

 

The Fund considers all highly liquid investments, with a maturity of three months or less when acquired, to be cash equivalents. As of June 30, 2015 the Fund holds cash equivalents. Cash was held at a nationally recognized financial institution.

 

In the opinion of management, these interim financial statements contain all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, necessary for a fair statement of the financial position of the Fund as of June 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014 and the results of its operations for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2015 and 2014.  However, the operating results for the interim periods may not be indicative of the results for the full year.

 

9



 

Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in annual financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) have been omitted.  These financial statements should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes thereto included in the Fund’s report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the year ended December 31, 2014.

 

Estimates

 

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that may affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements as well as the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period.  Actual results could differ from those estimates and such differences could be material.

 

10



 

2.    CONDENSED SCHEDULES OF INVESTMENTS

 

The Fund’s investments, defined as unrealized profit (loss) on open contracts on the Statements of Financial Condition, as of June 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014, are as follows:

 

June 30, 2015

 

 

 

Long Positions

 

Short Positions

 

Net Unrealized

 

 

 

 

 

Commodity Industry

 

Number of

 

Unrealized

 

Percent of

 

Number of

 

Unrealized

 

Percent of

 

Profit (Loss)

 

Percent of

 

 

 

Sector

 

Contracts/Notional*

 

Profit (Loss)

 

Members’ Capital

 

Contracts/Notional*

 

Profit (Loss)

 

Members’ Capital

 

on Open Positions

 

Members’ Capital

 

Maturity Dates

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Agriculture

 

1,163

 

$

2,081,446

 

0.20

%

(3,191

)

$

(5,312,037

)

-0.51

%

$

(3,230,591

)

-0.31

%

July 2015 - March 2016

 

Currencies - Futures

 

1,286

 

1,463,310

 

0.14

%

(3,933

)

1,310,858

 

0.13

%

2,774,168

 

0.27

%

September 2015

 

Currencies - Forwards*

 

458,167,084

 

1,955,315

 

0.19

%

(223,603,953

)

(5,871

)

0.00

%

1,949,444

 

0.19

%

July 2015 - December 2015

 

Energy

 

563

 

(325,523

)

-0.03

%

(1,196

)

615,040

 

0.06

%

289,517

 

0.03

%

July 2015 - September 2015

 

Interest rates

 

23,090

 

1,770,021

 

0.17

%

(920

)

(1,386,816

)

-0.13

%

383,205

 

0.04

%

September 2015 - September 2018

 

Metals

 

777

 

(3,902,082

)

-0.38

%

(2,255

)

5,899,757

 

0.57

%

1,997,675

 

0.19

%

July 2015 - October 2015

 

Stock indices

 

4,353

 

(6,462,982

)

-0.62

%

(156

)

(16,595

)

0.00

%

(6,479,577

)

-0.62

%

July 2015 - September 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

 

 

 

$

(3,420,495

)

-0.33

%

 

 

$

1,104,336

 

0.12

%

$

(2,316,159

)

-0.21

%

 

 

 

December 31, 2014

 

 

 

Long Positions

 

Short Positions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commodity Industry

 

Number of

 

Unrealized

 

Percent of

 

Number of

 

Unrealized

 

Percent of

 

Profit (Loss)

 

Percent of

 

 

 

Sector

 

Contracts/Notional*

 

Profit (Loss)

 

Members’ Capital

 

Contracts/Notional*

 

Profit (Loss)

 

Members’ Capital

 

on Open Positions

 

Members’ Capital

 

Maturity Dates

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Agriculture

 

1,421

 

$

(785,953

)

-0.08

%

(1,158

)

$

1,472,959

 

0.15

%

$

687,006

 

0.07

%

January 2015 - May 2015

 

Currencies - Futures

 

45

 

82,921

 

0.01

%

(4,699

)

6,871,456

 

0.70

%

6,954,377

 

0.71

%

March 2015

 

Currencies - Forwards*

 

332,199,304

 

(8,001,592

)

-0.82

%

(212,084,481

)

3,455,991

 

0.35

%

(4,545,601

)

-0.47

%

January 2015 - June 2015

 

Energy

 

322

 

(3,058,740

)

-0.31

%

(847

)

6,738,494

 

0.69

%

3,679,754

 

0.38

%

January 2015 - March 2015

 

Interest rates

 

25,193

 

13,192,799

 

1.34

%

(189

)

(39,367

)

0.00

%

13,153,432

 

1.34

%

March 2015 - March 2018

 

Metals

 

896

 

(3,038,004

)

-0.31

%

(1,377

)

3,249,905

 

0.33

%

211,901

 

0.02

%

January 2015 - April 2015

 

Stock indices

 

4,101

 

6,699,726

 

0.68

%

(193

)

(738,571

)

-0.08

%

5,961,155

 

0.60

%

January 2015 - March 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

 

 

 

$

5,091,157

 

0.51

%

 

 

$

21,010,867

 

2.14

%

$

26,102,024

 

2.65

%

 

 

 


*Currencies-Forwards present notional amounts as converted to USD.

 

No individual contract’s unrealized profit or loss comprised greater than 5% of Members’ Capital as of June 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014. With respect to each commodity industry sector listed in the above chart, the net unrealized profit (loss) on open positions is the sum of the unrealized profits (losses) of long positions and short positions of the open contracts, netting unrealized losses against unrealized profits as applicable. Net unrealized profit and loss provides a rough measure of the exposure of the Fund to the various sectors as of the date listed, although such exposure can change at any time.

 

11



 

3.              FAIR VALUE OF INVESTMENTS

 

Fair value of an investment is the amount that would be received to sell the investment in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date (i.e. the exit price). All investments (including derivative financial instruments and derivative commodity instruments) are held for trading purposes.  The investments are recorded on trade date and open contracts are recorded at fair value (described below) at the measurement date. Investments denominated in foreign currencies are translated into U.S. dollars at the exchange rates prevailing at the measurement date. Profits or losses are realized when contracts are liquidated.  Unrealized profits or losses on open contracts are included in Equity in commodity trading accounts on the Statements of Financial Condition.  Any change in net unrealized profit or loss from the preceding period/year is reported in the respective Statements of Operations.

 

The fair value measurement guidance established by U.S. GAAP is a hierarchical disclosure framework which prioritizes and ranks the level of market price observability used in measuring investments at fair value. Market price observability is impacted by a number of factors, including the type of investment and the characteristics specific to the investment. Investments with readily available active quoted prices or for which fair value can be measured from actively quoted prices generally will have a higher degree of market price observability and a lesser degree of judgment used in measuring fair value.

 

Investments measured and reported at fair value are classified and disclosed in one of the following categories:

 

Level I — Quoted prices are available in active markets for identical investments as of the reporting date. The type of investments included in Level I are publicly traded investments. As required by the fair market value measurement guidance in U.S. GAAP, the Fund does not adjust the quoted price for these investments even in situations where the Fund holds a large position and a sale could reasonably impact the quoted price.

 

Level II — Pricing inputs are other than quoted prices in active markets, which are either directly or indirectly observable as of the reporting date, and fair value is determined through the use of generally accepted and understood models or other valuation methodologies. Investments which are generally included in this category are investments valued using market data.

 

Level III — Pricing inputs are unobservable and include situations where there is little, if any, market activity for the investment. Fair value for these investments is determined using valuation methodologies that consider a range of factors, including but not limited to the nature of the investment, local market conditions, trading values on public exchanges for comparable securities, current and projected operating performance and financing transactions subsequent to the acquisition of the investment. The inputs into the determination of fair value require significant management judgment. Due to the inherent uncertainty of these estimates, these values may differ materially from the values that would have been used had a ready market for these investments existed.

 

In certain cases, the inputs used to measure fair value may fall into different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In such cases, an investment’s level within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. MLAI’s assessment of the significance of a particular input to the fair value measurement in its entirety requires judgment, and considers factors specific to the investment.

 

The following is a description of the valuation methodologies used for investments, as well as the general classification of such investments pursuant to the valuation hierarchy.

 

12



 

Exchange traded investments are fair valued by the Fund by using the reported closing price on the primary exchange where such investments are traded.  These closing prices are observed through the clearing broker and third party pricing services. For non-exchange traded investments, quoted values and other data provided by nationally recognized independent pricing sources are used as inputs into the process for determining fair values.

 

The Fund has determined that Level I investments would include its futures and options contracts where it believes that quoted prices are available in an active market.

 

Where the Fund believes that quoted market prices are not available or that the market is not active, fair values are estimated by using observable prices of investments with similar characteristics and these are generally classified as Level II investments. The Fund determined that Level II investments would include its forwards and certain futures contracts.

 

Transfers of investments between different levels of the fair value hierarchy, if any, are recorded as of the beginning of the reporting period. There were no transfers to or from any level during the three or six month periods ended June 30, 2015 or the year ended December 31, 2014.

 

The Fund’s unrealized profit (loss) on open forwards and futures contracts, by the above fair value hierarchy levels, as of June 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014, are as follows:

 

Net unrealized profit (loss)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

on open contracts

 

Total

 

Level I

 

Level II

 

Level III

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Futures

 

$

18,236,711

 

$

15,405,716

 

$

2,830,995

 

$

 

Forwards

 

4,605,556

 

 

4,605,556

 

 

 

 

$

22,842,267

 

$

15,405,716

 

$

7,436,551

 

$

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Liabilities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Futures

 

$

22,502,314

 

$

18,550,494

 

$

3,951,820

 

$

 

Forwards

 

2,656,112

 

 

2,656,112

 

 

 

 

$

25,158,426

 

$

18,550,494

 

$

6,607,932

 

$

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

June 30, 2015

 

$

(2,316,159

)

$

(3,144,778

)

$

828,619

 

$

 

 

13



 

Net unrealized profit (loss)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

on open contracts

 

Total

 

Level I

 

Level II

 

Level III

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Futures

 

$

44,175,968

 

$

41,776,309

 

$

2,399,659

 

$

 

Forwards

 

4,533,927

 

 

4,533,927

 

 

 

 

$

48,709,895

 

$

41,776,309

 

$

6,933,586

 

$

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Liabilities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Futures

 

$

13,528,343

 

$

10,463,309

 

$

3,065,034

 

$

 

Forwards

 

9,079,528

 

 

9,079,528

 

 

 

 

$

22,607,871

 

$

10,463,309

 

$

12,144,562

 

$

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

December 31, 2014

 

$

26,102,024

 

$

31,313,000

 

$

(5,210,976

)

$

 

 

The Fund’s volume of trading forwards and futures as of the six month period ended June 30, 2015 and year ended December 31, 2014 are representative of the activity throughout these periods.

 

The Fund engages in the speculative trading of futures, options on futures and forward contracts on a wide range of commodities. Such contracts meet the definition of a derivative as noted in the ASC guidance for accounting for derivative and hedging activities. The fair value amounts of, and the net profits and losses on, derivative instruments is disclosed in the Statements of Financial Condition and Statements of Operations, respectively. There are no credit related contingent features embedded in these derivative contracts. The total notional, number of contracts and fair values of derivative instruments by contract type/commodity sector are disclosed in Note 2.

 

The Fund maintains margin deposits and cash collateral with its futures and forwards brokers, respectively, based on the greater of exchange margin or amounts determined by the respective broker. At June 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014, the initial margin deposits (cash) are used to satisfy the margin requirements to establish the futures or forward contracts and are presented on the Statements of Financial Condition in Cash in the Equity in commodity trading accounts. The variation margin on open contracts is presented gross on the Statements of Financial Condition in Unrealized profit or loss on futures or forwards contracts, respectively. The Fund is subject to agreements which support the ability to settle net with their counterparties; however, the Fund has elected to present the related balances on the Statements of Financial Condition on a gross basis. The net of these amounts less the restricted cash presented within the Cash in the Equity in commodity trading accounts on the Statements of Financial Condition represents the Fund’s net exposure.

 

The following table indicates the trading profits and losses before brokerage commissions, by commodity industry sector for each of the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2015 and 2014:

 

14



 

 

 

For the three months ended

 

For the six months ended

 

 

 

June 30, 2015

 

June 30, 2015

 

Commodity Industry Sector

 

Profit (loss) from trading, net

 

Profit (loss) from trading, net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Agriculture

 

$

(4,116,571

)

$

(1,435,406

)

Currencies

 

(18,313,754

)

2,723,493

 

Energy

 

(14,339,395

)

(13,345,427

)

Interest rates

 

(23,379,894

)

1,310,083

 

Metals

 

255,615

 

(5,644,880

)

Stock indices

 

(10,193,962

)

10,429,523

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total, net

 

$

(70,087,961

)

$

(5,962,614

)

 

 

 

For the three months ended

 

For the six months ended

 

 

 

June 30, 2014

 

June 30, 2014

 

Commodity Industry Sector

 

Profit (loss) from trading, net

 

Profit (loss) from trading, net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Agriculture

 

$

(7,135,697

)

$

(3,424,188

)

Currencies

 

4,916,206

 

5,202,519

 

Energy

 

759,021

 

1,447,039

 

Interest rates

 

36,014,827

 

49,837,419

 

Metals

 

(4,656,176

)

(12,256,935

)

Stock indices

 

18,160,925

 

6,910,466

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total, net

 

$

48,059,106

 

$

47,716,320

 

 

The Fund is subject to the risk of insolvency of a counterparty, an exchange, a clearinghouse, MLPF&S or other BofA Corp. entities.  Fund assets could be lost or impounded during lengthy bankruptcy proceedings.  Were a substantial portion of the Fund’s capital tied up in a bankruptcy or other similar types of proceedings, MLAI might suspend or limit trading, perhaps causing the Fund to miss significant profit opportunities.  There are increased risks in dealing with unregulated trading counterparties including the risk that assets may not benefit from the protection afforded to “customer funds” deposited with regulated dealers and brokers.

 

4.              MARKET AND CREDIT RISKS

 

The nature of this Fund has certain risks, which cannot all be presented in the financial statements.  The following summarizes some of those risks.

 

Market Risk

 

Derivative instruments involve varying degrees of market risk.  Changes in the level or volatility of interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates or the market values of the financial instruments or commodities underlying such derivative instruments frequently result in changes in the Fund’s unrealized profit (loss) on open contracts on such derivative instruments as reflected in the Statements of Financial

 

15



 

Condition.  The Fund’s exposure to market risk is influenced by a number of factors, including the relationships among the derivative instruments held by the Fund as well as the volatility and liquidity of the markets in which the derivative instruments are traded.  Investments in foreign markets may also entail legal and political risks.

 

MLAI has procedures in place intended to control market risk exposure, although there can be no assurance that it will, in fact, succeed in doing so.  These procedures focus primarily on monitoring the trading of the Trading Advisor, calculating the Net Asset Value of the Fund as of the close of business on each day and reviewing outstanding positions for over-concentrations.  While MLAI does not intervene in the markets to hedge or diversify the Fund’s market exposure, MLAI may urge the Trading Advisor to reallocate positions in an attempt to avoid over-concentrations.  However, such interventions are expected to be unusual.  It is expected that MLAI’s basic risk control procedures will consist of the process of Trading Advisor monitoring, with the market risk controls being applied by the Trading Advisor.

 

Credit Risk

 

The risks associated with exchange-traded contracts are typically perceived to be less than those associated with over-the-counter (non-exchange-traded) transactions because exchanges typically (but not universally) provide clearinghouse arrangements in which the collective credit (in some cases limited in amount, in some cases not) of the members of the exchange/clearinghouse is pledged to support the financial integrity of the exchange/clearinghouse.  In over-the-counter transactions, on the other hand, traders must rely solely on the credit of their respective individual counterparties.  Margins, which may be subject to loss in the event of a default, are generally required in exchange traded contracts, and in the over-the-counter markets counterparties may also require margin.

 

The credit risk associated with these instruments from counterparty nonperformance is the unrealized profit (loss) on open contracts, if any, included in the Statements of Financial Condition. MLAI, as sponsor of the Fund, has a general policy of maintaining clearing and prime brokerage arrangements with BofA Corp. affiliates, such as MLPF&S and MLI, although MLAI may engage non-BofA Corp. affiliated service providers as clearing brokers or prime brokers for the Fund. This policy may increase risk to the Fund by preventing the diversification of brokers used by the Fund.

 

The Fund, in its normal course of business, enters into various contracts, with MLPF&S acting as its futures clearing broker.  Due to the relationship with MLPF&S, in the event of default, all futures balances are eligible for offset with a net settlement due to MLPF&S.  Due to the relationship with MLI, in the event of default, all forwards balances are eligible for offset with a net settlement due to MLI.

 

Indemnifications

 

In the normal course of business, the Fund has entered, or may in the future enter, into agreements that obligate the Fund to indemnify certain parties, including BofA Corp. affiliates. No claims have actually been made with respect to such indemnities and any quantification would involve hypothetical claims that have not been made. Based on the Fund’s experience, MLAI expects the risk of loss to be remote and, therefore, no provision has been recorded.

 

16



 

5.              RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

 

MLAI owns 48 Units of Class D which represent less than 1% of the Fund’s Net Asset Value as of June 30, 2015.

 

MLAI and the Fund entered into a transfer agency and investor services agreement with Financial Data Services, Inc. (the “Transfer Agent”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of BofA Corp. and affiliate of MLAI. The Transfer Agent provides registrar, distribution disbursing agent, transfer agent and certain other services related to the issuance, redemption, exchange and transfer of Units. The fees charged by the Transfer Agent for its services are based on the aggregate net assets of funds managed or sponsored by MLAI. The fee rate ranges from 0.016% to 0.02% per year of the aggregate net assets managed or sponsored by MLAI. During the quarter ended June 30, 2015, the rate ranged from 0.018% to 0.02%.  The fee is payable monthly in arrears.  MLAI allocates the Transfer Agent fees to each of the managed or sponsored funds, including the Fund, on a monthly basis based on each fund’s net assets.  The Transfer Agent fee allocated to the Fund for the three month periods ended June 30, 2015, and 2014 amounted to $208,010 and $55,517, respectively. The Transfer Agent fee allocated to the Fund for the six month periods ended June 30, 2015 and 2014 amounted to $265,089 and $110,938, respectively, of which $120,715 and $34,694 was payable to the Transfer Agent as of June 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively.

 

Brokerage commissions, Interest and Sponsor fees, as presented on the Statements of Operations, are all received from or paid to related parties. Equity in commodity trading accounts, including cash and Unrealized profit (loss), as presented on the Statements of Financial Condition are held with a related party.

 

6.              RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

 

In May 2015, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued ASU 2015-07, Disclosures for Investments in Certain Entities That Calculate Net Asset Value per Share (or Its Equivalent). ASU 2015-07 removes the requirement to categorize within the fair value hierarchy all investments for which fair value is measured using the net asset value per share practical expedient. It also removes the requirement to make certain disclosures for all investments that are eligible to be measured at fair value using the net asset value per share practical expedient. ASU 2015-07 will be effective for the Fund beginning in the first quarter of 2016, with early adoption permitted, and will be applied retrospectively. MLAI is currently evaluating the standard and does not believe it will have a material impact on the Fund’s financial statements.

 

7.              SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

 

Management has evaluated the impact of subsequent events on the Fund through the date the financial statements were issued and has determined that there were no subsequent events that require adjustments to, or disclosure in, the financial statements.

 

17



 

Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

 

MONTH-END NET ASSET VALUE PER UNIT

 

The Fund calculates the Net Asset Value per Unit of each Class of Units as of the last calendar day of each month, the fifteenth calendar day of each month and as of any other dates MLAI may determine in its discretion (each, a “Calculation Date”). The Fund’s Net Asset Value as of any Calculation Date generally equals the value of the Fund’s account under the management of the Trading Advisor as of that date, plus any other assets held by the Fund, minus accrued Sponsor, management and performance fees, trading liabilities, including brokerage commissions and all other liabilities of the Fund.  MLAI or its delegates are authorized to make all Net Asset Value determinations.

 

MLAI believes that the Net Asset Value used to calculate subscription and redemption value and to report performance to investors is a useful performance measure for the investors of the Fund.  Therefore, the charts below are referencing Net Asset Value at each Calculation Date.

 

18



 

MONTH-END NET ASSET VALUE PER UNIT CLASS A

 

 

 

Jan. 15th

 

Jan.

 

Feb. 15th

 

Feb.

 

Mar. 15th

 

Mar.

 

Apr. 15th

 

Apr.

 

May 15th

 

May

 

Jun. 15th

 

Jun.

 

2014

 

$

1.7319

 

$

1.6967

 

$

1.7075

 

$

1.7329

 

$

1.7016

 

$

1.7214

 

$

1.7247

 

$

1.7487

 

$

1.7555

 

$

1.7791

 

$

1.7747

 

$

1.7787

 

2015

 

$

1.9671

 

$

1.9900

 

$

1.9613

 

$

1.9857

 

$

2.0058

 

$

2.0193

 

$

2.0377

 

$

1.9453

 

$

1.9201

 

$

1.9422

 

$

1.8839

 

$

1.8757

 

 

MONTH-END NET ASSET VALUE PER UNIT CLASS C

 

 

 

Jan. 15th

 

Jan.

 

Feb. 15th

 

Feb.

 

Mar. 15th

 

Mar.

 

Apr. 15th

 

Apr.

 

May 15th

 

May

 

Jun. 15th

 

Jun.

 

2014

 

$

1.5851

 

$

1.5523

 

$

1.5615

 

$

1.5841

 

$

1.5548

 

$

1.5722

 

$

1.5746

 

$

1.5959

 

$

1.6014

 

$

1.6223

 

$

1.6175

 

$

1.6206

 

2015

 

$

1.7825

 

$

1.8025

 

$

1.7758

 

$

1.7971

 

$

1.8145

 

$

1.8260

 

$

1.8418

 

$

1.7576

 

$

1.7341

 

$

1.7534

 

$

1.7000

 

$

1.6919

 

 

MONTH-END NET ASSET VALUE PER UNIT CLASS D

 

 

 

Jan. 15th

 

Jan.

 

Feb. 15th

 

Feb.

 

Mar. 15th

 

Mar.

 

Apr. 15th

 

Apr.

 

May 15th

 

May

 

Jun. 15th

 

Jun.

 

2014

 

$

1.8250

 

$

1.7891

 

$

1.8016

 

$

1.8296

 

$

1.7976

 

$

1.8197

 

$

1.8244

 

$

1.8509

 

$

1.8592

 

$

1.8854

 

$

1.8819

 

$

1.8874

 

2015

 

$

2.1043

 

$

2.1301

 

$

2.1007

 

$

2.1281

 

$

2.1510

 

$

2.1669

 

$

2.1879

 

$

2.0901

 

$

2.0643

 

$

2.0894

 

$

2.0279

 

$

2.0204

 

 

MONTH-END NET ASSET VALUE PER UNIT CLASS I

 

 

 

Jan. 15th

 

Jan.

 

Feb. 15th

 

Feb.

 

Mar. 15th

 

Mar.

 

Apr. 15th

 

Apr.

 

May 15th

 

May

 

Jun. 15th

 

Jun.

 

2014

 

$

1.7809

 

$

1.7451

 

$

1.7565

 

$

1.7829

 

$

1.7510

 

$

1.7716

 

$

1.7754

 

$

1.8004

 

$

1.8076

 

$

1.8323

 

$

1.8280

 

$

1.8325

 

2015

 

$

2.0310

 

$

2.0549

 

$

2.0257

 

$

2.0512

 

$

2.0723

 

$

2.0866

 

$

2.1059

 

$

2.0108

 

$

1.9851

 

$

2.0083

 

$

1.9483

 

$

1.9402

 

 

MONTH-END NET ASSET VALUE PER UNIT CLASS DS

 

 

 

Jan. 15th

 

Jan.

 

Feb. 15th

 

Feb.

 

Mar. 15th

 

Mar.

 

Apr. 15th

 

Apr.

 

May 15th

 

May

 

Jun. 15th

 

Jun.

 

2014

 

$

1.8228

 

$

1.7869

 

$

1.7994

 

$

1.8273

 

$

1.7954

 

$

1.8174

 

$

1.8221

 

$

1.8486

 

$

1.8569

 

$

1.8831

 

$

1.8795

 

$

1.8850

 

2015

 

$

2.1017

 

$

2.1274

 

$

2.0981

 

$

2.1255

 

$

2.1484

 

$

2.1642

 

$

2.1852

 

NA

 

NA

 

NA

 

NA

 

NA

 

 

MONTH-END NET ASSET VALUE PER UNIT CLASS DT

 

 

 

Jan. 15th

 

Jan.

 

Feb. 15th

 

Feb.

 

Mar. 15th

 

Mar.

 

Apr. 15th

 

Apr.

 

May 15th

 

May

 

Jun. 15th

 

Jun.

 

2014

 

$

1.9249

 

$

1.8875

 

$

1.9010

 

$

1.9309

 

$

1.8976

 

$

1.9213

 

$

1.9266

 

$

1.9560

 

$

1.9657

 

$

1.9956

 

$

1.9919

 

$

1.9984

 

2015

 

$

2.2484

 

$

2.2781

 

$

2.2451

 

$

2.2767

 

$

2.3031

 

$

2.3216

 

$

2.3460

 

$

2.2402

 

$

2.2130

 

$

2.2404

 

$

2.1749

 

$

2.1672

 

 

MONTH-END NET ASSET VALUE PER UNIT CLASS M

 

 

 

Jan. 15th

 

Jan.

 

Feb. 15th

 

Feb.

 

Mar. 15th

 

Mar.

 

Apr. 15th

 

Apr.

 

May 15th

 

May

 

Jun. 15th

 

Jun.

 

2014

 

$

1.0255

 

$

1.0053

 

$

1.0123

 

$

1.0280

 

$

1.0101

 

$

1.0225

 

$

1.0251

 

$

1.0400

 

$

1.0447

 

$

1.0594

 

$

1.0574

 

$

1.0605

 

2015

 

$

1.1824

 

$

1.1969

 

$

1.1804

 

$

1.1958

 

$

1.2086

 

$

1.2176

 

$

1.2294

 

$

1.1744

 

$

1.1599

 

$

1.1740

 

$

1.1394

 

$

1.1352

 

 

MONTH-END NET ASSET VALUE PER UNIT CLASS F

 

 

 

Jan. 15th

 

Jan.

 

Feb. 15th

 

Feb.

 

Mar. 15th

 

Mar.

 

Apr. 15th

 

Apr.

 

May 15th

 

May

 

Jun. 15th

 

Jun.

 

2014

 

$

0.9979

 

$

0.9787

 

$

0.9859

 

$

1.0017

 

$

0.9846

 

$

0.9971

 

$

1.0001

 

$

1.0149

 

$

1.0198

 

$

1.0346

 

$

1.0330

 

$

1.0363

 

2015

 

$

1.1609

 

$

1.1755

 

$

1.1597

 

$

1.1752

 

$

1.1883

 

$

1.1974

 

$

1.2095

 

$

1.1559

 

$

1.1421

 

$

1.1564

 

$

1.1229

 

$

1.1192

 

 

MONTH-END NET ASSET VALUE PER UNIT CLASS F1

 

 

 

Jan. 15th

 

Jan.

 

Feb. 15th

 

Feb.

 

Mar. 15th

 

Mar.

 

Apr. 15th

 

Apr.

 

May 15th

 

May

 

Jun. 15th

 

Jun.

 

2014

 

$

1.0225

 

$

1.0028

 

$

1.0102

 

$

1.0264

 

$

1.0089

 

$

1.0217

 

$

1.0247

 

$

1.0400

 

$

1.0450

 

$

1.0601

 

$

1.0584

 

$

1.0619

 

2015

 

$

1.1895

 

$

1.2045

 

$

1.1883

 

$

1.2042

 

$

1.2176

 

$

1.2270

 

$

1.2393

 

$

1.1844

 

$

1.1702

 

$

1.1850

 

$

1.1505

 

$

1.1468

 

 

MONTH-END NET ASSET VALUE PER INITIAL UNIT CLASS DI

 

 

 

Jan. 15th

 

Jan.

 

Feb. 15th

 

Feb.

 

Mar. 15th

 

Mar.

 

Apr. 15th

 

Apr.

 

May 15th

 

May

 

Jun. 15th

 

Jun.

 

2014

 

NA

 

NA

 

NA

 

NA

 

NA

 

NA

 

NA

 

NA

 

NA

 

NA

 

NA

 

NA

 

2015

 

NA

 

NA

 

$

0.9862

 

$

0.9991

 

$

1.0098

 

$

1.0173

 

$

1.0272

 

$

0.9812

 

$

0.9691

 

$

0.9809

 

$

0.9520

 

$

0.9485

 

 

Liquidity and Capital Resources

 

The Fund borrows only to a limited extent and only on a strictly short-term basis in order to finance losses on non-U.S. dollar denominated trading positions pending the conversion of the Fund’s U.S. dollar deposits.  These borrowings are at a prevailing short-term rate in the relevant currency.

 

Substantially all of the Fund’s assets are held in cash.  The Net Asset Value of the Fund’s cash is not affected by inflation.  However, changes in interest rates could cause periods of strong up or down price trends, during which the Fund’s profit potential might increase.  Inflation in commodity prices could also generate price movements, which the strategies might successfully follow.  The Fund should be able to close out its open trading positions and liquidate its holdings relatively quickly and at market prices, except in unusual circumstances.  This typically permits the Fund to limit losses as well as reduce market exposure on short notice should its strategies indicate doing so.

 

19



 

There is no established public trading market for the Units. Investors in the Fund generally may redeem any or all of their Units at Net Asset Value, in whole or fractional Units, effective as of (i) the 15th calendar day of each month and/or (ii) the last calendar day of each month (each a “Redemption Date”), upon submitting a redemption request by the “Subscription/Redemption Notice Date,” which is eight business days prior to the 1st and 16th of every month.  MLAI may eliminate investors’ mid-month redemption right at any time.  The Net Asset Value of redeemed Units is determined as of the Redemption Date.  Investors will remain exposed to fluctuations in Net Asset Value during the period between submission of their redemption request and the applicable Redemption Date.

 

As a commodity pool, the Fund maintains an extremely large percentage of its assets in cash, which it must have available to post initial and variation margin on futures contracts.  This cash is also used to fund redemptions.  While the Fund has the ability to fund redemption proceeds from liquidating positions, as a practical matter positions are not liquidated to fund redemptions.  In the event that positions were liquidated to fund redemptions, MLAI, as the manager of the Fund, has the ability to override decisions of the Trading Advisor to fund redemptions if necessary, but in practice the Trading Advisor would determine in its discretion which investments should be liquidated.

 

For the six month period ended June 30, 2015, Fund capital increased 5.71% from $981,085,057 to $1,037,064,564.  This increase was attributable to the net loss from operations of $37,053,931 coupled with the redemption of 43,951,295 redeemable Units resulting in an outflow of $83,256,170.  The cash outflow was offset with cash inflow of $176,289,608 due to subscriptions of 149,471,079 Units.  Future redemptions could impact the amount of funds available for investment in commodity contract positions in subsequent months.

 

Critical Accounting Policies

 

Statement of Cash Flows

 

The Fund is not required to provide a Statement of Cash Flows.

 

Investments

 

All investments (including derivatives) are held for trading purposes.  Investments are recorded on trade date and open contracts are recorded at fair value (as described below) at the measurement date.  Investments denominated in foreign currencies are translated into U.S. dollars at the exchange rates prevailing at the measurement date.  Profits or losses are realized when contracts are liquidated.  Unrealized profits or losses on open contracts are included as a component of equity in commodity trading accounts on the Statements of Financial Condition.  Realized profits or losses and any change in net unrealized profits or losses from the preceding period are reported in the Statements of Operations.

 

Fair Value Measurements

 

Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date.  For more information on the Fund’s treatment of fair value, see Financial Statements Note 3, Fair Value of Investments.

 

20



 

Futures Contracts

 

The Fund trades exchange listed futures contracts.  A listed futures contract is a firm commitment to buy or sell a standardized quantity of an underlying asset over a specified duration.  The Fund buys and sells contracts based on indices of financial assets such as stocks, domestic and global stock indices, as well as contracts on various physical commodities. Prices paid or received on these contracts are determined by the ask or bid provided by the exchanges on which they are traded.  Contracts may be settled in physical form or cash settled depending upon the contract.  Upon the execution of a trade, margin requirements determine the amount of cash that must be on deposit to secure the transaction.  These amounts are considered restricted cash on the Fund’s Statements of Financial Condition.  Contracts are priced daily by the Fund and the profit or loss is based on the daily mark to market and is recorded as unrealized profit (loss).  When the contract is closed, the Fund records a realized profit or loss equal to the difference between the value of the contract at the time it was opened and the value at the time it was closed.  Because transactions in futures contracts require participants to make both initial margin deposits of cash or other assets and variation margin deposits, through the futures broker or directly with the exchange on which the contracts are traded, credit exposure is limited.  Realized profit (loss), net and change in unrealized profit (loss), net on futures contracts are recognized in the period in which the contract is closed or the changes occur, respectively and are included in the Statements of Operations.  The Fund also trades futures contracts on the London Metals Exchange (LME). The valuation pricing for LME contracts is based on action of a committee that incorporates prices from the most liquid trading sessions of the day and can also rely on other inputs such as supply and demand factors and bids and asks from open outcry sessions.

 

Forward Foreign Currency Contracts

 

Foreign currency contracts are those contracts where the Fund agrees to receive or deliver a fixed quantity of foreign currency for an agreed-upon price on an agreed future date.  Foreign currency contracts are valued daily, and the Fund’s net equity therein, representing unrealized profit or loss on the contracts as measured by the difference between the forward foreign exchange rates at the dates of entry into the contracts and the forward rates at the reporting date, is included in the Statements of Financial Condition.  Realized profit (loss), net and change in unrealized profit (loss) on foreign currency contracts are recognized in the period in which the contract is closed or the changes occur, respectively and are included in the Statements of Operations.

 

Interest Rates and Income

 

The Fund currently earns interest based on the prevailing federal funds rate plus a spread for short cash positions and minus a spread for long cash positions.  The current short term interest rates have remained extremely low when compared with historical rates and thus has contributed negligible amounts to overall Fund performance.

 

Income Taxes

 

No provision for income taxes has been made in the accompanying financial statements as each member is individually responsible for reporting income or loss based on such member’s share of the Fund’s income and expenses as reported for income tax purposes.

 

The Fund follows the ASC guidance on accounting for uncertainty in income taxes.  This guidance provides how uncertain tax positions should be recognized, measured, presented and disclosed in the financial statements.  This guidance also requires the evaluation of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in the

 

21



 

course of preparing the Fund’s financial statements to determine whether the tax positions are “more-likely-than-not” to be sustained by the applicable tax authority.  Tax positions with respect to tax at the Fund level not deemed to meet the “more-likely-than-not” threshold would be recorded as a tax benefit or expense in the current year.  A prospective investor should be aware that, among other things, income taxes could have a material adverse effect on the periodic calculations of the Net Asset Value of the Fund, including reducing the Net Asset Value of the Fund to reflect reserves for income taxes, such as foreign withholding taxes, that may be payable by the Fund. This could cause benefits or detriments to certain investors, depending upon the timing of their entry and exit from the Fund. MLAI has analyzed the Fund’s tax positions and has concluded that no provision for income tax is required in the Fund’s financial statements. The following is the major tax jurisdiction for the Fund and the earliest tax year subject to examination: United States — 2011.

 

Reform Act

 

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act amended the definition of “eligible contract participant” and the Fund expects to meet the amended definition as it applies to trading in “retail forex” transactions so long as its total assets exceed $10 million.  If the Fund does not meet the definition of “eligible contract participant” for purposes of trading in “retail forex” transactions, it could lead to the Fund being unable to trade such transactions in the interbank market and bearing higher upfront and mark-to-market margin, less favorable trade pricing, and the possible imposition of new or increased fees.  “Retail forex” markets available to parties that do not meet the definition of “eligible contract participant” could also be significantly less liquid than the interbank market.  Moreover, the creditworthiness of the counterparties with whom the Fund may be required to trade in such circumstances could be significantly weaker than the creditworthiness of MLI and the currency forward counterparties with which the Fund would otherwise engage for its currency forward transactions.

 

Results of Operations

 

January 1, 2015 to June 30, 2015

 

January 1, 2015 to March 31, 2015

 

The Fund experienced a net trading profit of $64,125,347 before brokerage commissions and related fees in the first quarter of 2015. The Fund’s profits were primarily attributable to the interest rates, currency, stock indices, agriculture and energy sectors. The metals sector posted losses.

 

The interest rate sector posted profits to the Fund. Profits were posted to the Fund at the beginning of the first quarter as long positions in European bonds benefited from the Quantitative Easing announced by the European Central Bank U.S. government bonds also closed January higher. Losses were posted to the Fund in the middle of the quarter. Encouraging U.S. employment data and speculation of a rate hike later this year saw a sell-off in U.S. fixed income securities during the first half of February. Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s testimony to Congress at the end of February reversed this somewhat, but not enough for the Fund’s long fixed income positions to have avoided losses. Profits were posted to the Fund at the end of the quarter. The Fund made gains in fixed income markets, with notable contributions from Bunds and Eurodollars.

 

The currency sector posted profits to the Fund. Profits were posted to the Fund at the beginning of the first quarter.  Swiss Central Bank announced the decision to remove the cap on the strength of the Swiss franc against the Euro. Intertwined with this was the European Central Bank affirming their commitment to Quantitative Easing, followed by the election of an anti-austerity government in Greece. The net effect

 

22



 

on the Fund’s currency positions was a loss in the CHF-USD position being offset by a gain in the EUR-USD position. Losses were posted to the Fund in the middle of the quarter as the British pound rallied against the U.S dollar, returning to where it started the year and causing the Fund’s short position to make a loss. Profits were posted to the Fund at the end of the quarter. The short position on the Euro against the U.S. dollar made a significant positive contribution.

 

The stock indices sector posted profits to the Fund. Losses were posted to the Fund at the beginning of the first quarter. Profits were posted to the Fund in the middle of the quarter. The Fund made gains in its long stock index positions. Losses were posted to the Fund at the end of the quarter.

 

The agriculture sector posted profits to the Fund. Losses were posted to the Fund at the beginning of the first quarter only to be reversed in the middle of the quarter.  Profits were posted to the Fund at the end of the quarter.

 

The energy sector posted profits to the Fund. Profits were posted to the Fund at the beginning of the first quarter. Crude oil continued to fall. This benefited the Fund’s short futures positions in the energy sector and also assisted the cash equity systems, which continue to be net short energies. Losses were posted to the Fund in the middle of the quarter as the Fund made small losses on its short energy positions. Profits were posted to the Fund at the end of the quarter due to the Fund’s short positions in energies.

 

The metals sector posted losses to the Fund. Losses were posted to the Fund at the beginning and middle of the first quarter. Losses were posted to the Fund at the end of the quarter. The Fund’s short position in copper made losses after cooper rallied with news of the world’s second largest copper mine halting production over labor protests.

 

April 1, 2015 to June 30, 2015

 

The Fund experienced a net trading loss of $70,087,961 before brokerage commissions and related fees in the second quarter of 2015. The Fund’s profits were primarily attributable to the metal sector. The agriculture, stock indices, energy, currency and interest rate sectors posted losses.

 

The metals sector posted profits to the Fund. Losses were posted to the Fund at the beginning through the middle of the second quarter. Profits were posted to the Fund at the end of the quarter due to the Fund’s short positions in gold.

 

The agriculture sector posted losses to the Fund. Losses were posted to the Fund at the beginning of the second quarter. Profits were posted to the Fund in the middle of the quarter. Coffee and sugar prices continued to decline, further profiting the Fund’s short positions. Losses were posted to the Fund at the end of the quarter as heavy rains in the U.S. Midwest hampered crop prospects, adversely affecting the Fund’s short grain positions.

 

The stock indices sector posted losses to the Fund. Profits were posted to the Fund at the beginning of the second quarter. Stock index positions gave up some of their earlier gains in the selloff, but still managed to post an overall profit at the end of April. Profits were posted to the Fund in the middle of the quarter as the Nikkei had a strong month of May. Losses were posted to the Fund at the end of the quarter.

 

The energy sector posted losses to the Fund. Losses were posted to the Fund at the beginning of the second quarter due to the Fund’s short energy positions. Losses were posted to the Fund in the middle of

 

23



 

the quarter as the prices of oil stabilized. Profits were posted to the Fund at the end of the quarter due to the Fund’s short positions in energies.

 

The currency sector posted losses to the Fund. Losses were posted to the Fund at the beginning of the second quarter due to the Fund’s long U.S. dollar exposure. Profits were posted to the Fund in the middle of the quarter due to the Fund’s short Japanese yen position, which was trading at a weak level relative to the U.S. dollar. Losses were posted to the Fund at the end of the quarter due the Fund’s short Euro position.

 

The interest rate sector posted losses to the Fund. Losses were posted to the Fund at the beginning of the second quarter. Losses were posted to the Fund in the middle of the quarter. Responsive monetary policy action from central banks, including the implementation of quantitative easing in Europe, apparently reduced concerns of further downside risks to inflation, contributing to some sharp moves lower for bond prices. Losses were posted to the Fund at the end of the quarter. An increase in U.S. non-farm payrolls and positive economic data contributed to U.S government bond higher yields. Fixed income positions suffered, particularly short term interest rates.

 

January 1, 2014 to June 30, 2014

 

January 1, 2014 to March 31, 2014

 

The Fund experienced a net trading loss of $342,786 before brokerage commissions and related fees in the first quarter of 2014. The Fund’s profits were primarily attributable to the interest rates, agriculture, energy, and currency sectors posting profits. The metals and stock indices sectors posted losses.

 

The interest rate sector posted profits to the Fund. Profits were posted to the Fund at the beginning of the first quarter as government bond markets rallied, providing positive performance contributions. Profits were posted to the Fund in the middle of the quarter only to be reversed at the end of the quarter. Markets were further destabilized in March when the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee revised their projected targets, signaling more rapid monetary policy tightening. At the end of the quarter, the Fund suffered losses in the U.S. fixed income positions.

 

The agriculture sector posted profits to the Fund. Profits were posted to the Fund at the beginning of the first quarter. In February, drought in Brazil damaged coffee crops and arabica prices increased. The Fund’s short positions in coffee suffered losses. Excess rain in the soybean producing regions of Brazil reduced the quality of maturing crops and profited the Fund’s long position as prices rose which was not enough to offset losses posted to the Fund in the middle of the quarter. Profits were posted to the Fund at the end of the quarter.

 

The energy sector posted profits to the Fund. Profits were posted to the Fund at the beginning of the quarter. Energy markets rose in January due to demand for heating fuels in North America, benefitting the Fund’s long natural gas position in particular. Losses were posted to the Fund in the middle through the end of the quarter due to market volatility.

 

The currency sector posted profits to the Fund. Losses were posted to the Fund at the beginning of the quarter.  In Canada, a worsening trade balance, weak growth and a dovish stance from the central bank contributed to the Canadian dollar trading lower, providing some offset to losses in the currency sector. Profits were posted to the Fund in the middle of the quarter only to be reversed at the end of the quarter. At the end of the quarter, the Fund suffered losses across short U.S. dollar positions.

 

24



 

The metals sector posted losses to the Fund. Losses were posted to the Fund at the beginning through the middle of the first quarter only to be reversed at the end of the quarter. Profits were posted to the Fund at the end of the quarter due to the Fund’s short positions in silver.

 

The stock indices sector posted losses to the Fund. Losses were posted to the Fund at the beginning of the first quarter. Escalating political tension, notably in Ukraine, Turkey and Thailand, further increased pressure on emerging markets which experienced a broad flight to quality through January. Losses were suffered in the Fund’s global equity indices which declined towards the end of January. Profits were posted to the Fund in the middle of the quarter as global equity markets rallied through February, reversing losses experienced in January.  Losses were posted to the Fund at the end of the quarter. The resultant threat of international sanctions against Russia and the simmering geopolitical tension led to a volatile March for global markets.

 

April 1, 2014 to June 30, 2014

 

The Fund experienced a net trading profit of $48,059,106 before brokerage commissions and related fees in the second quarter of 2014. The Fund’s profits were primarily attributable to the interest rates, stock indices, currency and energy sectors posting profits. The metals and agriculture sectors posted losses.

 

The interest rate sector posted profits to the Fund. Profits were posted to the Fund at the beginning of the second quarter. In April the European Central Bank opened the door to potential large-scale unsterilized asset purchases in an effort to battle below target inflation. While policymakers stressed that markets should not expect immediate action, European bond prices rallied and yield eager investors helped Greece and Portugal to successfully return to the sovereign debt market after prolonged absences. Long fixed income positions profited where bunds provided the most significant contribution to the Fund. Profits were posted to the Fund in the middle of the quarter due to the Fund’s long exposure to German Bunds. Profits were posted to the Fund at the end of the quarter as the Bank of England made a surprise announcement signaling that interest rates in the United Kingdom could be on the rise sooner than expected.

 

The stock indices sector posted profits to the Fund. Profits were posted to the Fund at the beginning of the second quarter. Profits were posted to the Fund in the middle of the quarter. Profits were posted to the Fund at the end of the quarter. In June the Eurozone tried to stem deflation by cutting key interest rates including the bold move of negative deposit rates. These actions provided a catalyst for a number of U.S. equity indices to climb higher.

 

The currency sector posted profits to the Fund. The currency sector posted profits to the Fund at the beginning of the second quarter. Losses were posted to the Fund in the middle of the quarter due to the Fund’s long Euro positions. Profits were posted to the Fund at the end of the quarter as sterling reached its highest exchange value against the dollar for over five years profiting the Fund’s long S&P, bund and pound positions in particular.

 

The energy sector posted profits to the Fund. Profits were posted to the Fund at the beginning of the second quarter as natural gas prices and the value of long positions continued to rise in April. Losses were posted to the Fund in the middle of the quarter. Profits were posted to the Fund at the end of the quarter. In June conflicts in Iraq threatened refinery output which supported oil prices and benefitted the Fund’s crude holdings.

 

25



 

The metals sector posted losses to the Fund. Profits were posted to the Fund at the beginning through the middle of the second quarter only to be reversed at the end of the quarter. Losses were posted to the Fund at the end of the quarter due to regional instability in Iraq which contributed to rising precious metal values and subsequent losses for Fund’s short positions in this sector.

 

The agriculture sector posted losses to the Fund. Profits were posted to the Fund at the beginning of the second quarter. In April the agriculture sector had positive performance, in particular the Fund’s soybean holding which benefitted from reports showing increasing international demand for U.S. crop and little sign of a seasonal decline in shipments from Brazil as the end of its harvest approached.  The Fund suffered losses in the middle of the quarter. In May improving weather conditions in the U.S. and Russia led to double digit declines in the price of wheat and corn, which adversely affected the Fund’s performance. Corn price declines were further impacted by Chinese import curbs against U.S. genetically modified supplies containing presence of MIR 162, an insect-resistant genetic trait. Losses were posted to the Fund at the end of the quarter. In June corn prices continued to fall with high inventory levels and anticipation of large harvests in the U.S. adding to bearish sentiment and reducing the value of the Fund’s contracts.

 

(The Fund has no applicable off-balance sheet arrangements or tabular disclosure of contractual obligations of the type described in Items 303(a)(4) and 303(a)(5) of Regulation S-K).

 

Item 3.  Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

 

Introduction

 

The Fund is a speculative commodity pool. The market sensitive instruments held by it are acquired for speculative trading purposes and all or substantially all of the Fund’s assets are subject to the risk of trading loss.  Unlike an operating company, the risk of market sensitive instruments is integral, not incidental, to the Fund’s main line of business.

 

Market movements result in frequent changes in the fair market value of the Fund’s open positions and, consequently, in its earnings and cash flow. The Fund’s market risk is influenced by a wide variety of factors, including the level and volatility of interest rates, exchange rates, equity price levels, the market value of financial instruments and contracts, the diversification effects among the Fund’s open positions and the liquidity of the markets in which it trades.

 

The Fund, under the direction of the Trading Advisor, rapidly acquires and liquidates both long and short positions in a wide range of different markets.  Consequently, it is not possible to predict how a particular future market scenario will affect performance, and the Fund’s past performance is not necessarily indicative of its future results.

 

Value at Risk (“VaR”) is a measure of the maximum amount which the Fund could reasonably be expected to lose in a given market sector. However, the inherent uncertainty of the Fund’s speculative trading and the recurrence in the markets traded by the Fund of market movements far exceeding expectations could result in actual trading or non-trading losses far beyond the indicated VaR or the Fund’s experience to date (i.e. “risk of ruin”). In light of the foregoing, as well as the risks and uncertainties intrinsic to all future projections, the quantifications included in this section should not be

 

26



 

considered to constitute any assurance or representation that the Fund’s losses in any market sector will be limited to VaR or by the Fund’s attempts to manage its market risk.

 

Quantifying The Fund’s Trading Value At Risk

 

Quantitative Forward-Looking Statements

 

The following quantitative disclosures regarding the Fund’s market risk exposures contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor from civil liability provided for such statements by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (set forth in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 (“Securities Act”) and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Securities Exchange Act”)).  All quantitative disclosures in this section are deemed to be forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor, except for statements of historical fact.

 

The Fund’s risk exposure in the various market sectors traded by the Trading Advisor is quantified below in terms of VaR.  Due to the Fund’s fair value accounting, any loss in the fair value of the Fund’s open positions is directly reflected in the Fund’s earnings (realized or unrealized) and cash flow (in the case of exchange-traded contracts in which profits and losses on open positions are settled daily through variation margin).

 

Exchange maintenance margin requirements have been used by the Fund as the measure of its VaR.  Maintenance margin requirements are set by exchanges to equal or exceed the maximum loss in the fair value of any given contract incurred in 95%-99% of the one-day time periods included in the historical sample (generally approximately one year) researched for purposes of establishing margin levels.  The maintenance margin levels are established by dealers and exchanges using historical price studies as well as an assessment of current market volatility (including the implied volatility of the options on a given futures contract) and economic fundamentals to provide a probabilistic estimate of the maximum expected near-term one-day price fluctuation.

 

In the case of market sensitive instruments which are not exchange-traded (almost exclusively currencies in the case of the Fund), the margin requirements for the equivalent futures positions have been used as VaR.  In those rare cases in which a futures-equivalent margin is not available, dealers’ margins have been used.

 

100% positive correlation in the different positions held in each market risk category has been assumed.  Consequently, the margin requirements applicable to the open contracts have been aggregated to determine each trading category’s aggregate VaR.  The diversification effects resulting from the fact that the Fund’s positions are rarely, if ever, 100% positively correlated have not been reflected.

 

The Fund’s Trading Value at Risk in Different Market Sectors

 

The following table indicates the average, highest and lowest trading VaR associated with the Fund’s open positions by market category for the fiscal period. For the six month periods ended June 30, 2015 and 2014 the Fund’s average capitalization was $1,064,538,011 and $947,816,684, respectively.

 

27



 

June 30, 2015

 

 

 

Average

 

% of Average

 

Highest Value

 

Lowest Value

 

Market Sector

 

Value at Risk

 

Capitalization

 

At Risk

 

At Risk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Agriculture

 

$

10,660,362

 

1.00

%

$

13,834,885

 

$

7,312,345

 

Currencies

 

4,554,813

 

0.43

%

7,297,870

 

2,206,360

 

Energy

 

3,744,733

 

0.35

%

5,524,077

 

2,095,033

 

Interest Rates

 

40,272,765

 

3.78

%

56,151,635

 

24,738,289

 

Metals

 

10,355,365

 

0.97

%

12,058,917

 

8,016,762

 

Stock Indices

 

10,530,638

 

0.99

%

17,645,825

 

4,589,159

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TOTAL

 

$

80,118,676

 

7.52

%

$

112,513,209

 

$

48,957,948

 

 

June 30, 2014

 

 

 

Average

 

% of Average

 

Highest Value

 

Lowest Value

 

Market Sector

 

Value at Risk

 

Capitalization

 

At Risk

 

At Risk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Agriculture

 

$

28,312,270

 

2.99

%

$

34,166,175

 

$

21,078,691

 

Currencies

 

6,991,651

 

0.74

%

8,403,134

 

5,952,975

 

Energy

 

2,411,465

 

0.25

%

2,781,437

 

1,909,127

 

Interest Rates

 

17,457,050

 

1.84

%

32,950,906

 

3,754,274

 

Metals

 

10,253,761

 

1.08

%

12,845,337

 

8,246,417

 

Stock Indices

 

13,650,005

 

1.44

%

20,862,873

 

6,278,996

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TOTAL

 

$

79,076,202

 

8.34

%

$

112,009,862

 

$

47,220,480

 

 

Material Limitations on Value at Risk as an Assessment of Market Risk

 

The face value of the market sector instruments held by the Fund is typically many times the applicable maintenance margin requirement (maintenance margin requirements generally ranging between approximately 1% and 10% of contract face value) as well as many times the capitalization of the Fund.  The magnitude of the Fund’s open positions creates a “risk of ruin” not typically found in most other investment vehicles.  Because of the size of its positions, certain market conditions — unusual, but historically recurring from time to time — could cause the Fund to incur severe losses over a short period of time.  The foregoing VaR table — as well as the past performance of the Fund — gives no indication of this “risk of ruin.”

 

Non-Trading Risk

 

Foreign Currency Balances; Cash on Deposit with MLPF&S and MLI

 

The Fund has non-trading market risk on its foreign cash balances not needed for margin. However, these balances (as well as the market risk they represent) are immaterial.

 

The Fund also has non-trading market risk on approximately 90% of its assets which are held in cash at MLPF&S. The value of this cash is not interest rate sensitive, but there is cash flow risk in that if interest rates decline so will the cash flow generated on these monies.

 

28



 

Qualitative Disclosures Regarding Primary Trading Risk Exposures

 

The following qualitative disclosures regarding the Fund’s market risk exposures — except for (i) those disclosures that are statements of historical fact and (ii) the descriptions of how the Fund manages its primary market risk exposures — constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act. The Fund’s primary market risk exposures as well as the strategies used and to be used by MLAI and the Trading Advisor for managing such exposures are subject to numerous uncertainties, contingencies and risks, any one of which could cause the actual results of the Fund’s risk controls to differ materially from the objectives of such strategies. Government interventions, defaults and expropriations, illiquid markets, the emergence of dominant fundamental factors, political upheavals, changes in historical price relationships, an influx of new market participants, increased regulation and many other factors could result in material losses as well as in material changes to the risk exposures and the risk management strategies of the Fund. There can be no assurance that the Fund’s current market exposure and/or risk management strategies will not change materially or that any such strategies will be effective in either the short- or long-term. Investors must be prepared to lose all or substantially all of the time value of their investment in the Fund.

 

The following were the primary trading risk exposures of the Fund as of December 31, 2014, by market sector. There have been no material changes at June 30, 2015.

 

Interest Rates

 

Interest rate movements directly affect the price of derivative sovereign bond positions held by the Fund and indirectly the value of its stock index and currency positions. Interest rate movements in one country as well as relative interest rate movements between countries may materially impact the Fund’s profitability. The Fund’s primary interest rate exposure is to interest rate fluctuations in the United States and the other G-7 countries.  However, the Fund may also take positions in the government debt of smaller nations e.g., Australia. MLAI anticipates that G-7 interest rates will remain the primary market exposure of the Fund for the foreseeable future.

 

Currencies

 

The Fund trades in a number of currencies. However, the Fund’s major exposures have typically been in the U.S. dollar/China renminbi, U.S. dollar/Euro and U.S. dollar/Indian rupee positions. The Fund does not anticipate that the risk profile of the Fund’s currency sector will change significantly in the future. The currency trading VaR figure includes foreign margin amounts converted into U.S. dollars with an incremental adjustment to reflect the exchange rate risk of maintaining VaR in a functional currency other than U.S. dollars.

 

Stock Indices

 

The Fund’s primary equity exposure is due to various equity index price movements. The Fund is primarily exposed to the risk of adverse price trends or static markets in the major U.S., European and Asian indices.

 

Metals

 

The Fund’s metals market exposure is to fluctuations in the price of precious and non-precious metals.

 

29



 

Agricultural Commodities

 

The Fund’s primary agricultural commodities exposure is to agricultural price movements which are often directly affected by severe or unexpected weather conditions. Soybeans, corn and livestock accounted for the substantial bulk of the Fund’s agricultural commodities exposure.

 

Energy

 

The Fund’s primary energy market exposure is to natural gas and crude oil price movements, often resulting from political developments in the Middle East. Oil prices can be volatile and substantial profits and losses have been and are expected to continue to be experienced in this market.

 

Qualitative Disclosures Regarding Non-Trading Risk Exposure

 

The following were the primary non-trading risk exposures of the Fund as of December 31, 2014. There have been no material changes at June 30, 2015.

 

Foreign Currency Balances

 

The Fund’s primary foreign currency balances are in Japanese yen, British pounds and Euros.

 

U.S. Dollar Cash Balance

 

The Fund holds the vast majority of its U.S. dollars in cash at MLPF&S and MLI. The Fund has immaterial cash flow interest rate risk on its cash on deposit with MLPF&S in that declining interest rates would cause the income from such cash to decline.

 

Qualitative Disclosures Regarding Means of Managing Risk Exposure

 

Trading Risk

 

MLAI has procedures in place intended to control market risk, although there can be no assurance that they will, in fact, succeed in doing so.  While MLAI does not itself intervene in the markets to hedge or diversify the Fund’s market exposure, MLAI may urge the Trading Advisor to reallocate positions in an attempt to avoid over-concentrations.  However, such interventions are unusual, except in cases in which it appears that the Trading Advisor has begun to deviate from past practice and trading policies or to be trading erratically. MLAI’s basic control procedures consist of the process of monitoring the Trading Advisor with the market risk controls being applied by the Trading Advisor itself.

 

Risk Management

 

Management of the risk arising from market fluctuations is integral to the Trading Advisor’s investment process. In respect of the Trading Program, an important determinant of risk is the level of leverage. In order to determine the level of leverage, information is required on the risks the Trading Program is taking, including the Trading Program’s long and short-term forecast VaR using both standard and proprietary volatility models (which place greater emphasis on the probability of extreme market movements than many commonly used models), stress-tested models of extreme VaR (tail risk) using various proprietary methods, forecasts of extreme loss frequency and measures of margin employment and leverage. The Trading Advisor forecasts volatility in each market and the correlation between

 

30



 

markets daily in order to forecast the overall volatility of the portfolio and adjust leverage accordingly to manage portfolio risk.  The Trading Advisor’s investment management committee is primarily responsible for managing investment risk, with oversight from the Trading Advisor’s risk committee. This risk committee oversees the identification, assessment, management and monitoring of risks to which the Trading Program is exposed, including investment risk, counterparty risk, IT and security risks and regulatory risks.

 

Non-Trading Risk

 

The Fund controls the non-trading exchange rate risk by regularly converting foreign currency balances back into U.S. dollars at least once per week, and more frequently if a particular foreign currency balance becomes unusually high.

 

The Fund has cash flow interest rate risk on its cash on deposit with MLPF&S in that declining interest rates would cause the income from such cash to decline. However, a certain amount of cash or cash equivalents must be held by the Fund in order to facilitate margin payments and pay expenses and redemptions. MLAI does not take any steps to limit the cash flow risk on its cash held on deposit at MLPF&S.

 

Item 4. Controls and Procedures

 

Disclosure Controls and Procedures

 

MLAI’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, on behalf of the Fund, have evaluated the effectiveness of the design and operation of its disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) or Rule 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act) with respect to the Fund as of the end of the quarter which ended June 30, 2015, and, based on their evaluation, have concluded that these disclosure controls and procedures are effective.

 

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

 

No change in internal control over financial reporting (in connection with Rule 13a-15 or Rule 15d-15 under the Securities Exchange Act) occurred during the quarter ended June 30, 2015 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Fund’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

PART II - OTHER INFORMATION

 

Item 1.                                 Legal Proceedings

 

None.

 

Item 1A.                        Risk Factors

 

There are no material changes from risk factors as previously disclosed in the Fund’s report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 20, 2015.

 

31



 

Item 2.                                 Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

 

(a)  Units are privately offered and sold to “accredited investors” (as defined in Rule 501(a) under the Securities Act) in reliance on the exemption from registration provided by Section 4(2) of the Securities Act and Rule 506 thereunder.  The selling agent of the Units was MLPF&S.

 

The Fund’s sales of unregistered securities are as follows for each Class of Units:

 

CLASS A

 

 

 

Subscription

 

 

 

 

 

Amount

 

Units

 

NAV (1)

 

1/1/2015

 

$

700,697

 

361,333

 

$

1.9392

 

1/16/2015

 

50,365

 

25,604

 

1.9671

 

2/1/2015

 

19,500

 

9,799

 

1.9900

 

2/16/2015

 

452,800

 

230,867

 

1.9613

 

3/1/2015

 

661,760

 

333,263

 

1.9857

 

3/16/2015

 

908,067

 

452,720

 

2.0058

 

4/1/2015

 

1,523,623

 

754,530

 

2.0193

 

4/16/2015

 

247,595

 

121,507

 

2.0377

 

5/01/2015

 

499,660

 

256,855

 

1.9453

 

5/16/2015

 

118,200

 

61,559

 

1.9201

 

6/01/2015

 

620,165

 

319,311

 

1.9422

 

6/16/2015

 

687,604

 

364,990

 

1.8839

 

7/01/2015

 

576,500

 

307,352

 

1.8757

 

 

CLASS C

 

 

 

Subscription

 

 

 

 

 

Amount

 

Units

 

NAV (1)

 

1/1/2015

 

$

1,154,000

 

656,428

 

$

1.7580

 

1/16/2015

 

526,000

 

295,091

 

1.7825

 

2/1/2015

 

1,262,328

 

700,321

 

1.8025

 

2/16/2015

 

979,277

 

551,457

 

1.7758

 

3/1/2015

 

2,654,240

 

1,476,957

 

1.7971

 

3/16/2015

 

3,142,652

 

1,731,966

 

1.8145

 

4/1/2015

 

5,351,132

 

2,930,522

 

1.8260

 

4/16/2015

 

3,537,907

 

1,920,896

 

1.8418

 

5/01/2015

 

3,430,861

 

1,952,015

 

1.7576

 

5/16/2015

 

6,344,516

 

3,658,679

 

1.7341

 

6/01/2015

 

9,229,000

 

5,263,488

 

1.7534

 

6/16/2015

 

3,187,000

 

1,874,705

 

1.7000

 

7/01/2015

 

2,917,780

 

1,724,558

 

1.6919

 

 

CLASS D

 

 

 

Subscription

 

 

 

 

 

Amount

 

Units

 

NAV (1)

 

1/1/2015

 

$

500,000

 

241,173

 

$

2.0732

 

1/16/2015

 

 

 

2.1043

 

2/1/2015

 

500,000

 

234,731

 

2.1301

 

2/16/2015

 

 

 

2.1007

 

3/1/2015

 

175,000

 

82,233

 

2.1281

 

3/16/2015

 

 

 

2.1510

 

4/1/2015

 

 

 

2.1669

 

4/16/2015

 

200,000

 

91,412

 

2.1879

 

5/01/2015

 

500,100

 

239,271

 

2.0901

 

5/16/2015

 

 

 

2.0643

 

6/01/2015

 

 

 

2.0894

 

6/16/2015

 

 

 

2.0279

 

7/01/2015

 

4,328,955

 

2,142,623

 

2.0204

 

 

CLASS I

 

 

 

Subscription

 

 

 

 

 

Amount

 

Units

 

NAV (1)

 

1/1/2015

 

$

20,000

 

9,991

 

$

2.0018

 

1/16/2015

 

 

 

2.0310

 

2/1/2015

 

25,000

 

12,166

 

2.0549

 

2/16/2015

 

 

 

2.0257

 

3/1/2015

 

1,792,733

 

873,992

 

2.0512

 

3/16/2015

 

150,000

 

72,384

 

2.0723

 

4/1/2015

 

178,000

 

85,306

 

2.0866

 

4/16/2015

 

35,000

 

16,620

 

2.1059

 

5/01/2015

 

1,524,975

 

758,392

 

2.0108

 

5/16/2015

 

560,000

 

282,102

 

1.9851

 

6/01/2015

 

249,750

 

124,359

 

2.0083

 

6/16/2015

 

50,000

 

25,663

 

1.9483

 

7/01/2015

 

449,250

 

231,548

 

1.9402

 

 

32



 

CLASS DS

 

 

 

Subscription

 

 

 

 

 

Amount

 

Units

 

NAV (1)

 

1/1/2015

 

$

 

 

$

2.0706

 

1/16/2015

 

 

 

2.1017

 

2/1/2015

 

463,567

 

217,903

 

2.1274

 

2/16/2015

 

 

 

2.0981

 

3/1/2015

 

 

 

2.1255

 

3/16/2015

 

 

 

2.1484

 

4/1/2015

 

 

 

2.1642

 

4/16/2015

 

 

 

2.1852

 

5/01/2015

 

 

 

 

5/16/2015

 

 

 

 

6/01/2015

 

 

 

 

6/16/2015

 

 

 

 

7/01/2015

 

 

 

 

 

CLASS DT

 

 

 

Subscription

 

 

 

 

 

Amount

 

Units

 

NAV (1)

 

1/1/2015

 

$

 

 

$

2.2127

 

1/16/2015

 

 

 

2.2484

 

2/1/2015

 

81,606

 

35,822

 

2.2781

 

2/16/2015

 

 

 

2.2451

 

3/1/2015

 

 

 

2.2767

 

3/16/2015

 

 

 

2.3031

 

4/1/2015

 

 

 

2.3216

 

4/16/2015

 

 

 

2.3460

 

5/01/2015

 

 

 

2.2402

 

5/16/2015

 

 

 

2.2130

 

6/01/2015

 

 

 

2.2404

 

6/16/2015

 

 

 

2.1749

 

7/01/2015

 

 

 

2.1672

 

 

CLASS M

 

 

 

Subscription

 

 

 

 

 

Amount

 

Units

 

NAV (1)

 

1/1/2015

 

$

1,650,000

 

1,416,431

 

$

1.1649

 

1/16/2015

 

325,000

 

274,865

 

1.1824

 

2/1/2015

 

900,000

 

751,943

 

1.1969

 

2/16/2015

 

230,000

 

194,849

 

1.1804

 

3/1/2015

 

2,185,000

 

1,827,229

 

1.1958

 

3/16/2015

 

255,000

 

210,987

 

1.2086

 

4/1/2015

 

1,843,000

 

1,513,633

 

1.2176

 

4/16/2015

 

380,000

 

309,094

 

1.2294

 

5/01/2015

 

1,997,000

 

1,700,443

 

1.1744

 

5/16/2015

 

1,458,000

 

1,257,005

 

1.1599

 

6/01/2015

 

2,636,000

 

2,245,315

 

1.1740

 

6/16/2015

 

680,000

 

596,805

 

1.1394

 

7/01/2015

 

1,315,000

 

1,158,386

 

1.1352

 

 

CLASS F

 

 

 

Subscription

 

 

 

 

 

Amount

 

Units

 

NAV (1)

 

1/1/2015

 

$

 

 

$

1.1433

 

1/16/2015

 

 

 

1.1609

 

2/1/2015

 

 

 

1.1755

 

2/16/2015

 

 

 

1.1597

 

3/1/2015

 

 

 

1.1752

 

3/16/2015

 

 

 

1.1883

 

4/1/2015

 

 

 

1.1974

 

4/16/2015

 

 

 

1.2095

 

5/01/2015

 

 

 

1.1559

 

5/16/2015

 

 

 

1.1421

 

6/01/2015

 

 

 

1.1564

 

6/16/2015

 

 

 

1.1229

 

7/01/2015

 

 

 

1.1192

 

 

CLASS F1

 

 

 

Subscription

 

 

 

 

 

Amount

 

Units

 

NAV (1)

 

1/1/2015

 

$

 

 

$

1.1715

 

1/16/2015

 

 

 

1.1895

 

2/1/2015

 

 

 

1.2045

 

2/16/2015

 

 

 

1.1883

 

3/1/2015

 

 

 

1.2042

 

3/16/2015

 

 

 

1.2176

 

4/1/2015

 

 

 

1.2270

 

4/16/2015

 

 

 

1.2393

 

5/01/2015

 

 

 

1.1844

 

5/16/2015

 

 

 

1.1702

 

6/01/2015

 

 

 

1.1850

 

6/16/2015

 

 

 

1.1505

 

7/01/2015

 

 

 

1.1468

 

 

CLASS DI

 

 

 

Subscription

 

 

 

 

 

Amount

 

Units

 

NAV (1)

 

1/1/2015

 

$

 

 

$

 

1/16/2015

 

 

 

 

2/1/2015

 

102,885,619

 

102,885,619

 

1.0000

 

2/16/2015

 

1,123,768

 

1,139,493

 

0.9862

 

3/1/2015

 

 

 

0.9991

 

3/16/2015

 

1,078,574

 

1,068,107

 

1.0098

 

4/1/2015

 

1,391,730

 

1,368,063

 

1.0173

 

4/16/2015

 

 

 

1.0272

 

5/01/2015

 

724,329

 

738,207

 

0.9812

 

5/16/2015

 

 

 

0.9691

 

6/01/2015

 

 

 

0.9809

 

6/16/2015

 

251,908

 

264,608

 

0.9520

 

7/01/2015

 

844,002

 

889,828

 

0.9485

 

 


(1) Beginning of the period Net Asset Value

 

Class A Units are subject to upfront sales commissions paid to MLPF&S ranging from 1.0% to 2.5% of an investor’s gross subscription amount. Class D Units and Class I Units are subject to upfront sales commissions paid to MLPF&S up to 2.5% of an investor’s gross subscription amount. Class F Units and Class G Units are subject to upfront sales commissions paid to MLPF&S up to 0.5% of an investor’s gross subscription amount. Sales commissions are directly deducted from subscription amounts.  Class C Units, Class DS Units, Class DT Units, Class DI Units, Class F1 Units and Class M Units are not subject to upfront sales commissions.

 

(b)         Not applicable.

 

33



 

(c)          Not applicable.

 

Item 3.                                 Defaults Upon Senior Securities

 

None.

 

Item 4.                               Mine Safety Disclosures

 

Not applicable.

 

Item 5.                               Other Information

 

None.

 

Item 6.                                 Exhibits

 

The following exhibits are filed herewith to this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q:

 

31.01 and

31.02                                         Rule 13a-14(a)/15d-14(a) Certifications

 

Exhibit 31.01

and 31.02                 Are filed herewith.

 

32.01 and

32.02                                         Section 1350 Certifications

 

Exhibit 32.01

and 32.02                 Are filed herewith.

 

Exhibit 101  Are filed herewith.

The following materials from the Fund’s quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2015 formatted in XBRL (Extensible Business Reporting Language): (i) Statements of Financial Condition (ii) Statements of Operations (iii) Statements of Changes in Members’ Capital (iv) Financial Data Highlights and (v) Notes to Financial Statements, tagged as blocks of text.

 

34



 

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements 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.

 

 

 

ML WINTON FUTURESACCESS LLC

 

 

 

 

 

By:

MERRILL LYNCH ALTERNATIVE

 

 

INVESTMENTS LLC

 

 

(Manager)

 

 

 

 

Date: August 14, 2015

By:

/s/ KEITH GLENFIELD

 

 

 Keith Glenfield

 

 

Chief Executive Officer and President

 

 

(Principal Executive Officer)

 

 

 

 

Date: August 14, 2015

By:

/s/ BARBRA E. KOCSIS

 

 

Barbra E. Kocsis

 

 

 Chief Financial Officer

 

 

(Principal Financial Officer)

 

35