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Financial Instruments
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2015
Investments, All Other Investments [Abstract]  
Financial Instruments

5. Financial Instruments

The Partnership trades Futures Interests. Futures and forwards represent contracts for delayed delivery of an instrument at a specified date and price. Futures Interests are open commitments until the settlement date, at which time they are realized. They are valued at fair value, generally on a daily basis, and the unrealized gains and losses on open contracts (the difference between contract trade price and market price) are reported in the Statements of Financial Condition as a net unrealized gain or loss on open contracts. The resulting net change in unrealized gains and losses is reflected in the “Net change in unrealized trading profit (loss)” on open contracts from one period to the next on the Statements of Income and Expenses. The Partnership’s contracts are accounted for on a trade-date basis. Risk arises from changes in the value of these contracts and the potential inability of counterparties to perform under the terms of the contracts. There are numerous factors which may significantly influence the fair value of these contracts, including interest rate volatility.

The fair value of an exchange-traded contract is based on the settlement price quoted by the exchange on the day with respect to which fair value is being determined. If an exchange-traded contract could not have been liquidated on such day due to the operation of daily limits or other rules of the exchange, the settlement price will be equal to the settlement price on the first subsequent day on which the contract could be liquidated.

The net unrealized gains (losses) on open contracts, reported as a component of “Trading Equity” on the Statements of Financial Condition, and their longest contract maturities were as follows:

 

     Net Unrealized Gains (Losses) on Open Contracts     Longest Maturities  

Date

   Exchange-Traded     Off-Exchange-Traded      Total     Exchange-Traded      Off-Exchange-Traded  
     $     $      $               

Jun. 30, 2015

     (3,289,435     131,547         (3,157,888     Jun. 2017         Sep. 2015   

Dec. 31, 2014

     5,296,681        495,854         5,792,535        Mar. 2019         Mar. 2015   

In general, the risks associated with off-exchange-traded contracts are greater than those associated with exchange-traded contracts because of the greater risk of default by the counterparty to an off-exchange-traded contract. The Partnership has credit risk associated with counterparty nonperformance. As of the date of the financial statements, the credit risk associated with the instruments in which the Partnership trades is limited to the unrealized gain amounts reflected in the Partnership’s Statements of Financial Condition. The net unrealized gain (loss) on open contracts are further disclosed gross by type of contract and corresponding fair value level in Note 7. Fair Value Measurements.

 

The Partnership also has credit risk because MS&Co. acts as the commodity futures broker, or the counterparty, with respect to most of the Partnership’s assets. Exchange-traded futures, exchange-traded forward, and exchange-traded futures-styled options contracts are fair valued on a daily basis, with variations in value settled on a daily basis. MS&Co., which is acting as a commodity futures broker for the Partnership’s exchange-traded futures, exchange-traded forward, and exchange-traded futures-styled options contracts, is required, pursuant to regulations of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”), to segregate from its own assets, and for the sole benefit of its commodity customers, total cash held by it with respect to exchange-traded futures, exchange-traded forward, and exchange-traded futures-styled options contracts, including an amount equal to the net unrealized gains on all open exchange-traded futures, exchange-traded forward, and exchange-traded futures-styled options contracts, which, in the aggregate, totaled $29,383,189 and $120,025,451 at June 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively. With respect to the Partnership’s off-exchange-traded forward currency contracts and forward currency options contracts, there are no daily settlements of variation in value, nor is there any requirement that an amount equal to the net unrealized gains (losses) on such contracts be segregated. However, the Partnership is required to meet margin requirements equal to the net unrealized loss on open forward currency contracts in the Partnership’s accounts with the counterparty, which is accomplished by daily maintenance of the cash balance in a custody account held at MS&Co., for the benefit of MS&Co. With respect to those off-exchange-traded forward currency contracts, the Partnership is at risk to the ability of MS&Co., the sole counterparty on all such contracts, to perform. The Partnership has a netting agreement with the counterparty. The primary terms are based on industry standard master netting agreements. This agreement, which seeks to reduce both the Partnership’s and the counterparty’s exposure on off-exchange-traded forward currency contracts, should materially decrease the Partnership’s credit risk in the event of MS&Co.’s bankruptcy or insolvency.

The General Partner monitors and attempts to control the Partnership’s risk exposure on a daily basis through financial, credit and risk management monitoring systems, and, accordingly, believes that it has effective procedures for evaluating and limiting the credit and market risks to which the Partnership may be subject. These monitoring systems generally allow the General Partner to statistically analyze actual trading results with risk adjusted performance indicators and correlation statistics. In addition, online monitoring systems provide account analysis of U.S. Treasury bills futures, forwards and options positions by sector, margin requirements, gain and loss transactions and collateral positions.

The U.S. Treasury bills futures, forwards and options traded by the Partnership involve varying degrees of related market risk. Market risk is often dependent upon changes in the level or volatility of interest rates, exchange rates, and prices of financial instruments and commodities, factors that result in frequent changes in the fair value of the Partnership’s open positions, and consequently in its earnings, whether realized or unrealized, and cash flow.

Gains and losses on open positions of exchange-traded futures, exchange-traded forward, and exchange-traded futures-styled options contracts are settled daily through variation margin. Gains and losses on off-exchange-traded forward currency contracts are settled upon termination of the contract. Gains and losses on off-exchange-traded forward currency options contracts are settled on an agreed-upon settlement date.