SEC Comment Letter for ProShares Trust II (AGQ, EUO, GLL, SCO, UCO, UGL, ULE, YCL, YCS, ZSL, BOIL, KOLD, SVXY, UVXY, VIXM, VIXY) (CIK 0001415311) (AGQ) — Nov 15, 2007
ProShares Trust II (AGQ, EUO, GLL, SCO, UCO, UGL, ULE, YCL, YCS, ZSL, BOIL, KOLD, SVXY, UVXY, VIXM, VIXY) (CIK 0001415311)
Date: Nov. 15, 2007 · CIK: 0001415311 · Accession: 0000000000-07-056065
AI Filing Summary & Sentiment
File numbers found in text: 333-146801
Show Raw Text
Mail Stop 4561 November 15, 2007 Michael L. Sapir c/o ProShare Capital Management LLC 7501 Wisconsin Avenue Suite 1000 Bethesda, Maryland 20814 Re: Commodities & Currencies Trust Registration Statement on Form S-1 Filed October 18, 2007 File No. 333-146801 Dear Mr. Sapir: We have reviewed your filing and have the following comments. Where indicated, we think you should re vise your document in response to these comments. If you disagree, we will consider your explanation as to why our comment is inapplicable or a revision is unnecessary. Please be as deta iled as necessary in your explanation. In some of our comments, we may ask you to provi de us with information so we may better understand your disclosure. After reviewing th is information, we may raise additional comments. Please understand that the purpose of our re view process is to assist you in your compliance with the applicable disclosure requirements and to enhance the overall disclosure in your filing. We look forward to working with you in these respects. We welcome any questions you may have about our comments or any other aspect of our review. Feel free to call us at the telephone numbers listed at the end of this letter. General 1. Please provide us with copies of all graphics, maps, photographs, and related captions or other artwork including logos th at you intend to use in the Prospectus. Such graphics and pictorial representa tions should not be included in any Preliminary Prospectus distributed to pr ospective investors prior to the time we complete our review of such artwork. 2. Please include the dealer prospectus deliv ery obligation as required by Regulation S-K, Item 502(b). 3. In your Risk Factors section, you note various risks related to regulatory Michael L. Sapir c/o ProShare Capital Management LLC November 15, 2007 Page 2 requirements, but do not seem to discuss such regulatory requirements otherwise in the Prospectus. Please revise the Prospectus to discuss the material government laws and regulations that apply to your business. 4. Please provide prior performance information for each of the benchmark indices or advise us why you believe this is not relevant to pot ential investors. 5. Please provide us with a complete copy of any sales material which includes all illustrations and other inserts in the fo rm you, the Authorized Participants, the Distributor or others expect to distribut e to investors in accordance with Release No. 33-6900 and by analogy to Item 19D of Guide 5. We may have further comment after we receive your materials. Cover Page of Registration Statement 6. In addition to listing Commodities & Currenc ies Trust as a registrant, please also list the name of each of your 48 Funds as co -registrants. Additionally, please list each of the corresponding 48 Master Funds as co-registrants. Also note that in addition to the Trust and Master Trust, each Fund and Master Fund must sign the registration statement. 7. In the fee table, please list separa tely each of the 48 Funds, the proposed maximum aggregate offering price for such Fund, and the amount of registration fee for such Fund. Front Cover Page of Prospectus 8. You use the term “Authorized Participants” but do not define it. Please define it in plain English. Additionally, please defi ne other capitalized terms the first time the terms are used. 9. Please identify the initial authorized participant. 10. Please list the amount of secu rities of each Fund that is offered. See Regulation S-K, Item 501(b)(2). Summary, page 1 11. Please consider adding an organization chart (showing investors, Authorized Participants, Funds, Master Funds, etc.) to your summary section so that investors can more easily understand your structure. Michael L. Sapir c/o ProShare Capital Management LLC November 15, 2007 Page 3 12. You disclose that all of your Funds’ i nvestment results ar e “before fees and expenses.” In the Summary section, please provide a summary of the fees and expenses described in more detail in the “Charges” section on page 52. The Master-Feeder Structure, page 3 13. Please briefly describe in plain Englis h the reference to the “master-feeder structure.” Investment Objectives, page 7 14. Please briefly describe, in plain Engl ish, how you intend to achieve the 200% performance for each of the Ultra Funds and UltraShort Funds, and how you intend to achieve the invers e performance for the Short Funds. Please also briefly explain what these objectives m ean, or provide explanatory examples. Additionally, please provide a more r obust discussion of how you intend to achieve this performance in your “Inv estment Objectives” section on page 34. The Managing Owner, page 9 15. We note your disclosure on page 62 which indicates your intention to reinstate registration with the CFTC as a commod ity pool operator. Please update us on the status of your registration and ad just your disclosure on page 9 for consistency. Limitation of Liabilities, page 10 16. You state that you have “received an opi nion of counsel that each Fund will be entitled to the benefits of the limitation on inter-series liability provided under the Delaware Statutory Trust Act.” Please st ate the name of such counsel, file the opinion as an exhibit and file a wr itten consent from such counsel. Use of Proceeds, page 12 17. We note that “substantially all” of the pr oceeds will be invested in swaps, futures and forward contracts. Please disclose how the remaining proceeds will be raised. Michael L. Sapir c/o ProShare Capital Management LLC November 15, 2007 Page 4 Fees and Expenses, page 13 18. We note your disclosure within footnote 2 of page A-2 which indicates that the Managing Owner will be responsible for paying the fees and expenses of the Administrator, Custodian and SEI Invest ments (which provides distribution and marketing services) out of the funds it r eceives from its management fees. Please expand your disclosure of management fees to reflect such information. Risk Factors, page 16 19. Please revise your risk factor subheadings so that each one conveys the specific risk to you. Currently, some of your subhead ings merely state a general risk or a fact about your business. We note the following non-exhaustiv e list of examples: • “The Funds and the Master Funds are s ubject to the risks associated with being newly organized,” (page 16) • “You may not rely on past performance in deciding whether to buy Shares, “ (page 16) • “Lack of independent advisers re presenting investors,” (page 17) • “Net asset value may not always corres pond to market price and, as a result, Creation Units may be created or redeem ed at a value that differs from the market price of the Shares,” (page 19) • “Fewer representative commodities may result in greater benchmark volatility,” (page 20) • “Trading on commodity exchanges outside the United States is not subject to U.S. regulation,” (page 20) • ““Backwardation” or “contango” in the market prices of benchmark commodities will affect the valu e of your Shares,” (page 21) • “The positive performance of swap agr eements, futures and forward contracts, and therefore your investment, is wholly dependent upon an equal and offsetting loss,” (page 28) • “The net asset value calculation of a Master Fund may be overstated or understated due to the valuation method em ployed when a settlement price is not available on the date of net a sset value calculation,” (page 28) • “Shareholders that are not Authorized Participants may only purchase or sell their Shares in secondary trading markets,” (page 30) Michael L. Sapir c/o ProShare Capital Management LLC November 15, 2007 Page 5 • “Shareholders do not have the rights en joyed by investors in certain other vehicles,” (page 30) • “The Master Fund will be s ubject to regulatory risk associated with futures contracts,” (page 31) Please revise throughout the Risk Factor sect ion as necessary to identify briefly in your subheadings the specific risks to you that result from the noted facts or uncertainties. You cannot be assured of the Managing Owner’s continued services … page 16 20. You state that the Master Funds may be adversely affected if the Managing Owner discontinues its activities on behalf of the Funds and the Master Funds, but do not explain how the Master Funds may be adversely affected. Please revise. “Backwardation” or “contango” in the market prices … page 21 21. Please explain how the absence of conta ngo in relevant benchmarks of a given UltraShort or Short Fund would be expected to adversely affect the value of that UltraShort or Short Fund and positively affect the value of that Ultra Fund. Competing claims of intellectual property rights may adversely affect … page 28 22. You note that patent application could “the oretically be releva nt to the Funds.” Please provide examples of such applicati ons and describe how they could present risks for the Funds and their investors. Failure of Futures Commission Mercha nts to segregate assets … page 31 23. You cross reference to a section called “The Futures Commission Merchant” but this section does not appear to be in the Prospectus. Please advise. Description of the Dow Jones – AI G Index and Sub-Indices, page 40 24. You describe the process known as “rolling” a futures position, and state that the Dow Jones – AIG is a “rolling index,” but do not explain what this means. Please revise. Description of the Currencies Benchmarks, page 44 25. We note your usage of the BIS Survey. Please provide us with highlighted copies of this and any other study or repor t that you cite or on which you rely. Confirm that the industry reports or studies that you rely on were publicly available and not prepared for you and that you did not compensate the party that prepared these reports or studies. Alte rnatively, please file consents for the Michael L. Sapir c/o ProShare Capital Management LLC November 15, 2007 Page 6 parties providing this data as exhib its to the registration statement. 26. You discuss various USD / foreign currency pairs in this section. Please disclose the relevance of this disclosure. Creation and Redemption of Shares, page 55 27. If not filed with your next amendment, please provide us a draft of the form participant agreement. Please summari ze any provisions in the Authorized Participant agreement that obligate an aut horized participant to publicly distribute shares acquired in a creation basket. Litigation, page 58 28. We note your current disclosure. Additionally, please describe material pending legal proceedings to which you are a part y. Please see Regulation S-K, Item 103 and Instruction 4 thereto. Description of the Shares and The Master Fund Units; The Funds; Certain Material Terms of the Trust Agreements, page 59 Description of the Shares and the Master Fund Units, page 59 29. In this section, you state that the Shares may be purchased from each Fund but only by Authorized Participants. On pa ge 65 under “Shares Freely Transferable,” however, you state that each Fund’s Sh ares may be bought and sold on the American Stock Exchange like other s ecurities, and on page 91 under “Plan of Distribution,” you state that that retail investors may purchase and sell Shares through traditional brokerage accounts. Pleas e revise to clarify your disclosure to distinguish between new issuances / rede mptions and secondary trading on the American Stock Exchange. Net Asset Value, page 65 30. Please revise the second paragraph to more clearly describe how you calculate indicative net asset value of a commod ities index fund, commodities fund and currency fund. The Administrator, page 69 31. Please describe the role and res ponsibilities of the Administrator. Michael L. Sapir c/o ProShare Capital Management LLC November 15, 2007 Page 7 Distribution Services Agreement, page 75 32. Please provide examples of the “certain distribution services” that SEI Investments will provide to each Fund. Likelihood of Becoming a Stat utory Underwriter, page 90 33. Please disclose that the initial Authorized Participant is actin g as an underwriter. Financial Statements, page F-1 34. It appears that you intend to include financial statements of Commodities & Currencies Trust and Commodities & Currencies Master Trust in a subsequent amendment. Please explain to us your basis in GAAP for consolidating each of the funds and the master funds with the Trust and Master Trust respectively. Alternatively, confirm for us that you will include separate financial statements for each fund and master fund. Item 16. Exhibits and Financial Statements, page II-2 35. Please submit all exhibits as promptly as possible. We will review the exhibits prior to granting effectiven ess of the registration stat ement and may have further comments after our review. If you are not in a position to file your legal and tax opinions with the next amendment, please provide draft copies for us to review. Item 17. Undertakings 36. Please include the undertaking required by Item 512(a)(5) of Regulation S-K. * * * As appropriate, please amend your regist ration statement in response to these comments. You may wish to provide us w ith marked copies of the amendment to expedite our review. Please furnish a cove r letter with your amendment that keys your responses to our comments and provides any requested information. Detailed cover letters greatly facilitate our review. Please understand that we may have additional comments after reviewing your amendmen t and responses to our comments. We urge all persons who are responsible for the accuracy and adequacy of the disclosure in the filing to be certain that the filing includes all in formation required under the Securities Act of 1933 and that they have provided all information investors require for an informed investment decision. Since the company and its management are in possession of all facts relating to a company’ s disclosure, they are responsible for the accuracy and adequacy of the disclosures they have made. Michael L. Sapir c/o ProShare Capital Management LLC November 15, 2007 Page 8 Notwithstanding our comments, in the even t the company requests acceleration of the effective date of the pending registration statement, it should furnish a letter, at the time of such request , acknowledging that: • should the Commission or the staff, acti ng pursuant to delegated authority, declare the filing effective, it does no t foreclose the Commission from taking any action with respect to the filing; • the action of the Commission or the st aff, acting pursuant to delegated authority, in declaring the filing effective, does not relieve the company from its full responsibility for the adequacy and accuracy of the disclosure in the filing; and • the company may not assert staff comments and the declaration of effectiveness as a defense in any pr oceeding initiated by the Commission or any person under the federal securities laws of the United States. In addition, please be advi sed that the Division of En forcement has access to all information you provide to the staff of the Di vision of Corporation Finance in connection with our review of your filing or in response to our comments on your filing. We will consider a written request for acceleration of the effective date of the registration statement as conf irmation of the fact that t hose requesting acceleration are aware of their respective re sponsibilities under the S ecurities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as they rela te to the proposed public offering of the securities specified in the above registration statement. We will act on the request and, pursuant to delegated authority, grant acce leration of the effective date. We direct your attention to Rules 46 0 and 461 regarding requesting acceleration of a registration statement. Please allow ad equate time aft