1.55—Distribution of “Risk Disclosure Statement” by futures commission merchants and introducing brokers.

(a) (1) Except as provided in 1.65, no futures commission merchant, or in the case of an introduced account no introducing broker, may open a commodity futures account for a customer, other than for a customer specified in paragraph (f) of this section, unless the futures commission merchant or introducing broker first:

(i) Furnishes the customer with a separate written disclosure statement containing only the language set forth in paragraph (b) of this section (except for nonsubstantive additions such as captions) or as otherwise approved under paragraph (c) of this section; Provided, however, that the disclosure statement may be attached to other documents as the cover page or the first page of such documents and as the only material on such page; and

(ii) Receives from the customer an acknowledgment signed and dated by the customer that he received and understood the disclosure statement.

(b) The language set forth in the written disclosure document required by paragraph (a) of this section shall be as follows:

Risk Disclosure Statement

The risk of loss in trading commodity futures contracts can be substantial. You should, therefore, carefully consider whether such trading is suitable for you in light of your circumstances and financial resources. You should be aware of the following points:

(1) You may sustain a total loss of the funds that you deposit with your broker to establish or maintain a position in the commodity futures market, and you may incur losses beyond these amounts. If the market moves against your position, you may be called upon by your broker to deposit a substantial amount of additional margin funds, on short notice, in order to maintain your position. If you do not provide the required funds within the time required by your broker, your position may be liquidated at a loss, and you will be liable for any resulting deficit in your account.

(2) Under certain market conditions, you may find it difficult or impossible to liquidate a position. This can occur, for example, when the market reaches a daily price fluctuation limit (“limit move”).

(3) Placing contingent orders, such as “stop-loss” or “stop-limit” orders, will not necessarily limit your losses to the intended amounts, since market conditions on the exchange where the order is placed may make it impossible to execute such orders.

(4) All futures positions involve risk, and a “spread” position may not be less risky than an outright “long” or “short” position.

(5) The high degree of leverage (gearing) that is often obtainable in futures trading because of the small margin requirements can work against you as well as for you. Leverage (gearing) can lead to large losses as well as gains.

(6) You should consult your broker concerning the nature of the protections available to safeguard funds or property deposited for your account.

ALL OF THE POINTS NOTED ABOVE APPLY TO ALL FUTURES TRADING WHETHER FOREIGN OR DOMESTIC. IN ADDITION, IF YOU ARE CONTEMPLATING TRADING FOREIGN FUTURES OR OPTIONS CONTRACTS, YOU SHOULD BE AWARE OF THE FOLLOWING ADDITIONAL RISKS:

(7) Foreign futures transactions involve executing and clearing trades on a foreign exchange. This is the case even if the foreign exchange is formally “linked” to a domestic exchange, whereby a trade executed on one exchange liquidates or establishes a position on the other exchange. No domestic organization regulates the activities of a foreign exchange, including the execution, delivery, and clearing of transactions on such an exchange, and no domestic regulator has the power to compel enforcement of the rules of the foreign exchange or the laws of the foreign country. Moreover, such laws or regulations will vary depending on the foreign country in which the transaction occurs. For these reasons, customers who trade on foreign exchanges may not be afforded certain of the protections which apply to domestic transactions, including the right to use domestic alternative dispute resolution procedures. In particular, funds received from customers to margin foreign futures transactions may not be provided the same protections as funds received to margin futures transactions on domestic exchanges. Before you trade, you should familiarize yourself with the foreign rules which will apply to your particular transaction.

(8) Finally, you should be aware that the price of any foreign futures or option contract and, therefore, the potential profit and loss resulting therefrom, may be affected by any fluctuation in the foreign exchange rate between the time the order is placed and the foreign futures contract is liquidated or the foreign option contract is liquidated or exercised.

THIS BRIEF STATEMENT CANNOT, OF COURSE, DISCLOSE ALL THE RISKS AND OTHER ASPECTS OF THE COMMODITY MARKETS

I hereby acknowledge that I have received and understood this risk disclosure statement.

Date

Signature of Customer

(c) The Commission may approve for use in lieu of the risk disclosure document required by paragraph (b) of this section a risk disclosure statement approved by one or more foreign regulatory agencies or self-regulatory organizations if the Commission determines that such risk disclosure statement is reasonably calculated to provide the disclosure required by paragraph (b) of this section. Notice of risk disclosure statements that may be used to satisfy Commission disclosure requirements, what requirements such statements meet and the jurisdictions which accept each format will be set forth in appendix A to this section.

(d) Any futures commission merchant, or in the case of an introduced account any introducing broker, may open a commodity futures account for a customer without obtaining the separate acknowledgments of disclosure and elections required by this section and by § 1.33(g), and by §§ 33.7 and 190.06 of this chapter, provided that:

(1) Prior to the opening of such account, the futures commission merchant or introducing broker obtains an acknowledgement from the customer, which may consist of a single signature at the end of the futures commission merchant's or introducing broker's customer account agreement, or on a separate page, of the disclosure statements, consents and elections specified in this section and § 1.33(g), and in §§ 33.7, § 155.3(b)(2), § 155.4(b)(2), and § 190.06 of this chapter, and which may include authorization for the transfer of funds from a segregated customer account to another account of such customer, as listed directly above the signature line, provided the customer has acknowledged by check or other indication next to a description of each specified disclosure statement, consent or election that the customer has received and understood such disclosure statement or made such consent or election; and

(2) The acknowledgment referred to in paragraph (d)(1) of this section is accompanied by and executed contemporaneously with delivery of the disclosures and elective provisions required by this section and § 1.33(g), and by §§ 33.7 and 190.06 of this chapter.

(e) The acknowledgment required by paragraph (a) of this section must be retained by the futures commission merchant or introducing broker in accordance with § 1.31.

(f) A futures commission merchant or, in the case of an introduced account, an introducing broker, may open a commodity futures account for an “institutional customer” as defined in § 1.3(g) without furnishing such institutional customer the disclosure statements or obtaining the acknowledgments required under paragraph (a) of this section §§ 1.33(g) and 1.65(a)(3), and §§ 30.6(a), 33.7(a), 155.3(b)(2), 155.4(b)(2) and 190.10(c) of this chapter.

(g) This section does not relieve a futures commission merchant or introducing broker from any other disclosure obligation it may have under applicable law.

(h) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section or § 1.65, a person registered or required to be registered with the Commission as a futures commission merchant pursuant to sections 4f(a)(1) or 4f(a)(2) of the Commodity Exchange Act and registered or required to be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as a broker or dealer pursuant to sections 15(b)(1) or 15(b)(11) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and rules thereunder must provide to a customer or prospective customer, prior to the acceptance of any order for, or otherwise handling any transaction in or in connection with, a security futures product for a customer, the disclosures set forth in § 41.41(b)(1) of this chapter.

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 3038-0022)

Code of Federal Regulations

(Secs. 4b, 4c(b), 4g(1), 4l, 4o, and 8a(5), Commodity Exchange Act, 7 U.S.C. 6b, 6c(b), 6g(1), 6 l, 6o, and 12a(5)(1976), and sec. 217, Commodity Futures Trading Act of 1974, 88 Stat. 1405; secs. 2(a)(1), 4b, 4c, 4d, 4f and 8a, Commodity Exchange Act, as amended ( 7 U.S.C. 2, 6b, 6c, 6f and 12a ))

Code of Federal Regulations

Code of Federal Regulations 103

[Please see PDF for image: EC05OC91.028 ]

Code of Federal Regulations

Code of Federal Regulations 104

[Please see PDF for image: EC05OC91.029 ]

[The following language should be printed on a page other than the pages containing the disclosure language above and may be omitted from the required disclosure statement]

This disclosure document meets the risk disclosure requirements in the jurisdictions identified below ONLY for those instruments which are specified.

United States: Commodity futures, options on commodity futures and options on commodities subject to the Commodity Exchange Act.

United Kingdom: Futures, options on futures, options on commodities and options on equities traded by members of the United Kingdom Securities and Futures Authority pursuant to the Financial Services Act, 1986.

Ireland: Financial futures and options on financial futures traded by members of futures exchanges on exchanges whose rules have been approved by the Central Bank of Ireland under Chapter VIII of the Central Bank Act, 1989.

Code of Federal Regulations

[43 FR 31890, July 24, 1978]

Code of Federal Regulations

Editorial Note: For Federal Register citations affecting § 1.55 , see the List of CFR Sections Affected, which appears in the Finding Aids section of the printed volume and at www.fdsys.gov.