MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT
EXHIBIT 10.1
AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”) made as of the 1st day of February,
2019, by and among CERES MANAGED FUTURES LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“CMF”), CERES TACTICAL SYSTEMATIC L.P., a New York limited partnership (the “Partnership”) and ADG CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLP, a limited liability partnership
registered in England and Wales (“ADG Capital” or the “Advisor”).
W I T N E S S E T H :
WHEREAS, CMF is the general partner of the Partnership, a limited partnership
organized for the purpose of speculative trading of commodity interests, including futures contracts, options, forward contracts, swaps and other derivative instruments with the objective of achieving substantial capital appreciation; and
WHEREAS, such trading is to be conducted directly or through investment in CMF
ADG Master Fund LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Master Fund”) of which CMF is the trading manager and ADG Capital is the advisor; and
WHEREAS, the Amended and Restated Limited Partnership Agreement dated as of
November 22, 2017 (the “Partnership Agreement”), permits CMF to delegate to one or more commodity trading advisors CMF’s authority to make trading decisions for the Partnership; and
WHEREAS, the Advisor is registered as a commodity trading advisor with the
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) and is a member of National Futures Association (“NFA”); and
WHEREAS, CMF is registered as a commodity trading advisor and a commodity pool
operator with the CFTC and is a member of NFA; and
WHEREAS, CMF, the Partnership and the Advisor wish to enter into this Agreement
in order to set forth the terms and conditions upon which the Advisor will render and implement advisory services in connection with the conduct by the Partnership of its commodity interest trading activities during the term of this Agreement.
NOW, THEREFORE, the parties agree as follows:
1. DUTIES OF THE ADVISOR. (a) For the period and on the terms and conditions of this Agreement, effective February 1, 2019, the Advisor shall have sole authority and responsibility, as one of the Partnership’s agents and
attorneys-in-fact, for directing the investment and reinvestment of the assets and funds of the Partnership, whether directly or indirectly through the Master Fund, allocated to it from time to time by CMF in the instruments listed in Appendix C of
this agreement, as amended from time to time. The Advisor may also engage in swap transactions and other derivative transactions on behalf of the Partnership with the prior written approval of CMF. All such trading on behalf of the Partnership
shall be (i) in accordance with the trading policies of CMF expressly set forth in Appendix A hereto as such trading policies may be changed from time to
time upon receipt by the Advisor of prior written notice of such change (the “CMF Trading Policies”), provided that the Advisor shall notify CMF of its inability to comply
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with the new CMF Trading Policies within one (1) business day of notice of such
change, and (ii) pursuant to the trading strategy selected by CMF to be utilized by the Advisor in managing the Partnership’s assets allocated to it. CMF has initially selected the Advisor’s ADG Systematic Macro Fund’s strategy (the “Strategy”),
as described in Appendix B attached hereto, to manage the Partnership’s assets allocated to it. Any open positions or other investments at the time of
receipt of such notice of a change in trading policy shall not be deemed to violate the changed policy and shall be closed or sold in the ordinary course of trading. The Advisor may not deviate from the CMF Trading Policies without the prior
written consent of the Partnership given by CMF. The Advisor makes no representation or warranty that the trading to be directed by it for the Partnership will be profitable or will not result in losses.
(b) CMF acknowledges receipt of the description of the Strategy, attached
hereto as Appendix B. All trades made by the Advisor for the account of the Partnership, whether directly or indirectly through the Master Fund, shall be
made through such commodity broker or brokers as CMF shall direct, and the Advisor shall have no authority or responsibility for selecting or supervising any such broker in connection with the execution, clearance or confirmation of transactions
for the Partnership or for the negotiation of brokerage rates charged therefor. However, the Advisor, with the prior written permission (by original, fax copy or email copy) of CMF, may direct any and all trades in commodity futures and options to
a futures commission merchant or independent floor broker it chooses for execution with instructions to give-up the trades to the broker designated by CMF, provided that the futures commission merchant, independent floor broker and any give-up or
floor brokerage fees are approved in advance by CMF. The initial list of approved executing brokers is attached as Appendix D hereto. The Advisor, with the prior written permission (by original, fax copy or email copy) of CMF, may enter into swaps
and other derivative transactions with any swap dealer it chooses for execution with instructions to give-up the trades to the broker designated by CMF provided that the swap dealer and any give-up or other fees are approved in advance by CMF. All
give-up or similar fees relating to the foregoing shall be paid by the Partnership after all parties have executed the relevant give-up agreements (via EGUS or by original, fax copy or email copy).
(c) The initial allocation of the Partnership’s assets to the Advisor shall be
invested in accordance with the Strategy, as described in Appendix B. The Partnership and the Advisor agree that the Advisor shall trade the initial allocation, either directly or indirectly through the Master Fund, at a trading level confirmed to
the Advisor by CMF, which initially shall be traded at a target annualized volatility of 20%. Where due notice is provided, the Advisor agrees to run the Strategy at the trading level requested by CMF by written notice to xxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx indicating the new target annualized volatility and the effective date of the new trading level. This will be acknowledged and confirmed in writing by the
Advisor.
This trading level can be increased at the agreement of both the Advisor and
CMF. In the event the Advisor wishes to use a trading system or methodology other than or in addition to the Strategy in connection with its trading for the Partnership, either in whole or in part, it may not do so unless the Advisor gives CMF
prior written notice of its intention to utilize such different trading system or methodology and CMF consents thereto in writing. In addition, the Advisor will provide five business days’ prior written notice to CMF of any change in the trading
system or methodology to be utilized for the Partnership which the Advisor deems material. If the Advisor deems such change in system or methodology or in markets traded to be material, the changed system or methodology or markets traded will not
be utilized for the Partnership without the prior written consent of CMF. In addition, the Advisor will notify CMF of any changes to the trading system or methodology that would cause the description of the trading strategy or methods described in
Appendix B or the Partnership’s current Private Placement Offering Memorandum and Disclosure Document (“Memorandum”), as applicable, to be materially inaccurate. Further, the Advisor will provide the Partnership with a current list of all
commodity interests to be traded for the Partnership’s account (which is attached hereto as Appendix C) and the Advisor will not trade any additional
commodity interests for such account without providing notice thereof to CMF and receiving CMF’s written approval. The Advisor also agrees to provide CMF, on a monthly basis, with a written report of the assets under the Advisor’s management
together with all other matters deemed by the Advisor to be material changes to its business not previously reported to CMF. Monthly reports will be deemed to be delivered when received by email at the email address(es) for notices indicated in
Section 12.
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The Advisor further agrees that it will convert foreign currency balances (not
required to margin positions denominated in a foreign currency) to U.S. dollars no less frequently than monthly. U.S. dollar equivalents in individual foreign currencies of more than $100,000 will be converted to U.S. dollars within one business
day after such funds are no longer needed to margin, non-U.S. dollar-based positions.
(d) The Advisor agrees to make all material disclosures to the Partnership
regarding itself and its principals as defined in Part 4 of the CFTC’s regulations (“principals”), its officers, directors and employees, their trading performance and general trading methods, its customer accounts (but not the identities of or
identifying information with respect to its customers) and otherwise as are required in the reasonable judgment of CMF to be made in any filings required by federal or state law or NFA rule or order. Notwithstanding Sections 1(d) and 4(d) of this
Agreement, the Advisor is not required to disclose the actual trading results of proprietary accounts of the Advisor or its principals unless CMF reasonably determines that such disclosure is required in order to fulfill CMF’s fiduciary obligations
to the Partnership or the reporting, filing or other obligations imposed on it by federal or state law or NFA rule or order. The Partnership and CMF acknowledge that the trading advice to be provided by the Advisor is a property right belonging to
the Advisor and that they will keep all such advice confidential.
(e) The Advisor understands and agrees that CMF may designate other trading
advisors for the Partnership and apportion or reapportion to such other trading advisors the management of an amount of Net Assets of the Partnership (as defined in Section 3(b) hereof) as it shall determine in its absolute discretion. The
designation of other trading advisors and the apportionment or reapportionment of Net Assets of the Partnership to any such trading advisors pursuant to this Section 1 shall neither terminate this Agreement nor modify in any regard the respective
rights and obligations of the parties hereunder.
(f) CMF may, from time to time, in its absolute discretion, select additional
trading advisors and reapportion funds among the trading advisors for the Partnership as it deems appropriate. CMF shall use its best efforts to make reapportionments, if any, as of the first day of a calendar month. The Advisor agrees that it
may be called upon at any time promptly to liquidate positions in CMF’s sole discretion so that CMF may reallocate the Partnership’s assets, meet margin calls on the Partnership’s account, fund redemptions, or for any other reason, except that CMF
will not require the liquidation of specific positions by the Advisor. CMF will use its best efforts to give two business days’ prior notice to the Advisor of any reallocations or liquidations, after which the Advisor will have a maximum of two
business days to effect the specified liquidation. CMF and the Advisor acknowledge that, should the amount of the Partnership’s assets under the Advisor’s management be increased, this notice period may be extended upon the mutual consent of the
parties, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld.
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(g) The Advisor shall assume financial responsibility for any errors committed
or caused by it in transmitting orders for the purchase or sale of commodity interests for the Partnership’s account, including payment to the brokers of the floor brokerage commissions, exchange, NFA fees, and other transaction charges and give-up
charges incurred by the brokers on such trades. The Advisor’s errors shall include, but not be limited to, inputting improper trading signals or communicating incorrect orders to the commodity brokers. The Advisor shall have an affirmative
obligation to promptly notify CMF in accordance with the provisions of Section 8(a)(iii) of any errors caused by the Advisor or any of its executing brokers identified in Appendix D with respect to the account, and the Advisor shall use its best
efforts to identify and promptly notify CMF of any order or trade which the Advisor reasonably believes was not executed in accordance with its instructions to any broker utilized to execute orders for the Partnership.
2. INDEPENDENCE OF THE ADVISOR. For all purposes herein, the Advisor shall be deemed to be an independent contractor and, unless otherwise expressly provided or authorized, shall have no authority to act for or represent the
Partnership in any way and shall not be deemed an agent, promoter or sponsor of the Partnership, CMF, or any other trading advisor. The Advisor shall not be responsible to the Partnership, CMF, any trading advisor or any limited partners for any
acts or omissions of any other trading advisor to the Partnership.
3. COMPENSATION. (a) In consideration of and as compensation for all of the services to be rendered by the Advisor to the Partnership under this Agreement, the Partnership shall pay the Advisor (i) an incentive fee payable
semi-annually equal to 25% of New Trading Profits (as such term is defined below) earned by the Advisor for the Partnership (the “Incentive Fee”) and (ii) a monthly fee for professional management services equal to 1.0% per year of the month-end
Net Assets of the Partnership allocated to the Advisor (computed monthly by multiplying the Partnership’s Net Assets allocated to the Advisor as of the last business day of each month by 1.0% and dividing the result thereof by 12) (the “Management
Fee”).
(b) “Net Assets of the Partnership” shall have the meaning set forth in Section
7(d)(2) of the Partnership Agreement and, unless the Advisor consents in writing, without regard to further amendments thereto, provided that in determining the Net Assets of the Partnership on any date, no adjustment shall be made to reflect any
distributions, redemptions, administrative fees or incentive fees accrued or payable as of the date of such determination.
(c) “New Trading Profits” shall mean the excess, if any, of Net Assets of the
Partnership managed by the Advisor at the end of the fiscal period over Net Assets of the Partnership managed by the Advisor at the end of the highest previous fiscal period or Net Assets of the Partnership allocated to the Advisor at the date
trading commences by the Advisor for the Partnership, whichever is higher, and as further adjusted to eliminate the effect on Net Assets of the Partnership resulting from new capital contributions, redemptions, reallocations or capital
distributions, if any, made during the fiscal period decreased by interest or other income, not directly related to trading activity, earned on the Partnership’s assets during the fiscal period, whether the assets are held separately or in margin
accounts. Ongoing expenses shall be attributed to the assets managed by the Advisor (but shall be paid by the Partnership) based on the Advisor’s proportionate share of Net Assets of the Partnership. Ongoing expenses shall not include expenses of
litigation not involving the activities of the Advisor on behalf of the Partnership. No Incentive Fee shall be paid to the Advisor until the end of the first semi-annual period of the Advisor’s trading for the Partnership, which fee shall be based
on New Trading Profits (if any) earned from the commencement of trading by the Advisor on behalf of the Partnership through the end of the first semi-annual period of such trading (which, for the avoidance of doubt, shall be June 30, 2019).
Interest income earned, if any, will not be taken into account in computing New Trading Profits earned by the Advisor. If Net Assets of the Partnership allocated to the Advisor are reduced due to redemptions, distributions or reallocations (net of
additions), there shall be a corresponding proportional reduction in the related loss carryforward amount that must be recouped before the Advisor is eligible to receive another Incentive Fee.
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(d) Semi-annual Incentive Fees and monthly Management Fees shall be paid within
twenty (20) business days following the end of the period for which such fee is payable. In the event of the termination of this Agreement as of any date which shall not be the end of a semi-annual period or a calendar month, as the case may be,
the semi-annual Incentive Fee shall be computed as if the effective date of termination were the last day of the then current semi-annual period and the monthly Management Fee shall be prorated to the effective date of termination. If, during any
month, the Partnership does not conduct business operations or the Advisor is unable to provide the services contemplated herein for more than two successive business days, the monthly Management Fee shall be prorated by the ratio which the number
of business days during which CMF conducted the Partnership’s business operations or utilized the Advisor’s services bears in the month to the total number of business days in such month.
(e) The provisions of this Section 3 shall survive the termination of this
Agreement.
4. RIGHT TO ENGAGE IN OTHER ACTIVITIES. (a) The services provided by the Advisor hereunder are not exclusive. CMF on its own behalf and on behalf of the Partnership acknowledges that, subject to the terms of this Agreement,
the Advisor and its officers, directors and employees may render advisory, consulting and management services to other clients and accounts. The Advisor and its officers, directors, and employees shall be free to trade for their own accounts and to
advise other investors and manage other commodity accounts during the term of this Agreement and to use the same information, computer programs and trading strategies, programs or formulas which they obtain, produce or utilize in the performance of
services to CMF for the Partnership. However, the Advisor represents, warrants and agrees that it believes the rendering of such consulting, advisory and management services to other accounts and entities will not require any material change in
the Advisor’s basic trading strategies for the Partnership and will not affect the capacity of the Advisor to continue to render services to CMF for the Partnership of the quality and nature contemplated by this Agreement.
(b) If, at any time during the term of this Agreement, the Advisor is required
to aggregate the Partnership’s commodity positions with the positions of any other person for purposes of applying CFTC‑ or exchange‑imposed speculative position limits, the Advisor agrees that it will promptly notify CMF in writing that the
Partnership’s positions are included in an aggregate amount which exceeds the applicable speculative position limit. The Advisor agrees that, if its trading recommendations are altered because of the application of any speculative position limits,
it will not modify the trading instructions with respect to the Partnership’s account in such manner as to affect the Partnership substantially disproportionately as compared with other accounts managed by the Advisor. The Advisor further
represents, warrants and agrees that under no circumstances will it knowingly or deliberately use trading programs, strategies or methods for the Partnership that are inferior to strategies or methods employed for any other client or account and
that it will not knowingly or deliberately favor any client or account managed by it over any other client or account in any manner, it being acknowledged, however, that different trading programs, strategies or methods may be utilized for
differing sizes of accounts, accounts with different trading policies or risk parameters, accounts experiencing differing inflows or outflows of equity, accounts that commence trading at different times, accounts that have different portfolios or
different fiscal years, accounts utilizing different executing brokers and accounts with other differences, and that such differences may cause divergent trading results.
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(c) It is acknowledged that the Advisor and/or its officers, employees and
directors presently act, and may continue to act, as advisor for other accounts managed by them, and may continue to receive compensation with respect to services for such accounts in amounts which may be more or less than the amounts received from
the Partnership.
(d) The Advisor agrees that it shall make such information available to CMF
respecting the performance of the Partnership’s account as compared to the performance of other accounts managed by the Advisor or its principals that utilize the Strategy, if any, as shall be reasonably requested by CMF. The Advisor presently
believes and represents that existing speculative position limits will not materially adversely affect its ability to manage the Partnership’s account given the potential size of the Partnership’s account and the Advisor’s and its principals’
current accounts and all proposed accounts for which they have contracted to act as trading advisor.
5. TERM. (a) This Agreement shall continue in effect until January 31, 2020 (the “Initial Termination Date”). If this Agreement is not terminated on the Initial Termination Date, as provided for herein, then, this Agreement
shall automatically renew for an additional one-year period and shall continue to renew for additional one-year periods until this Agreement is otherwise terminated, as provided for herein. At any time during the term of this Agreement, CMF may
elect to terminate this Agreement with five (5) days’ notice to the Advisor; provided however, that CMF may immediately terminate this Agreement if (i) the Net Asset Value per Unit of the Partnership shall decline as of the close of business on any
day to $400 or less; (ii) the Net Assets of the Partnership allocated to the Advisor through the Master Fund (adjusted for redemptions, distributions, withdrawals or reallocations, if any) decline by 30% or more as of the end of a trading day from
such Net Assets’ previous highest value of the Partnership; (iii) limited partners owning at least 50% of the outstanding units of the Partnership (excluding interests owned by CMF, an affiliate of CMF other than the Partnership, or any of their
employees) shall vote to require CMF to terminate this Agreement; (iv) the Advisor fails to comply with the terms of this Agreement (v) CMF, in good faith, reasonably determines that the performance of the Advisor has been such that CMF’s fiduciary
duties to the Partnership require CMF to terminate this Agreement; (vi) CMF reasonably believes that the application of speculative position limits will substantially affect the performance of the Partnership; (vii) the Advisor fails to conform to
the CMF Trading Policies as they may be changed from time to time; (viii) the Advisor merges, consolidates with another entity, sells a substantial portion of its assets, or becomes bankrupt or insolvent; (ix) the Advisor fails to notify CMF if
Xxxx Xxxxxx dies, becomes incapacitated, leaves the employ of the Advisor, ceases to control the Advisor Strategy Program or is otherwise not managing the trading programs or systems of the Advisor; (x) the Advisor’s registration as a commodity
trading advisor with the CFTC or its membership in NFA or any other regulatory authority, is terminated or suspended; or (xi) CMF reasonably believes that the Advisor has or may contribute to any material operational, business or reputational risk
to CMF or CMF’s affiliates. This Agreement will immediately terminate upon dissolution of the Partnership or upon cessation of trading by the Partnership prior to dissolution.
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(b) The Advisor may terminate this Agreement by giving not less than 30 days’
written notice to CMF (i) after the Initial Termination Date or (ii) in the event that CMF or the Partnership fails to comply with the terms of this Agreement. The Advisor may immediately terminate this Agreement if CMF’s registration as a
commodity pool operator or its membership in NFA is terminated or suspended.
(c) Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, any termination of this
Agreement in accordance with this Section 5 shall be without penalty or liability to any party, except for any fees due to the Advisor pursuant to Section 3 hereof.
6. INDEMNIFICATION. (a)(i) In any threatened, pending or completed action, suit, or proceeding to which the Advisor was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party arising out of or in connection with this Agreement or
the management of the Partnership’s assets by the Advisor or the offering and sale of units in the Partnership, CMF shall, subject to subsection (a)(iii) of this Section 6, indemnify and hold harmless the Advisor against any loss, liability,
damage, fine, penalty, obligation, cost, expense (including, without limitation, attorneys’ and accountants’ fees, collection fees, court costs and other legal expenses), judgments and awards and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably
incurred by it in connection with such action, suit, or proceeding if the Advisor acted in good faith and in a manner reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Partnership, and provided that its conduct did not
constitute negligence, bad faith, recklessness, intentional misconduct, or a breach of its fiduciary obligations to the Partnership as a commodity trading advisor, unless and only to the extent that the court or administrative forum in which such
action or suit was brought shall determine upon application that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all circumstances of the case, the Advisor is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which such court or
administrative forum shall deem proper; and further provided that no indemnification shall be available from the Partnership if such indemnification is prohibited by Section 16 of the Partnership Agreement. The termination of any action, suit or
proceeding by judgment, order or settlement shall not, of itself, create a presumption that the Advisor did not act in good faith and in a manner reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Partnership.
(ii) Without limiting subsection (i) above, to the extent that the Advisor has
been successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of any action, suit or proceeding referred to in subsection (i) above, or in defense of any claim, issue or matter therein, CMF shall indemnify the Advisor against the expenses (including,
without limitations, attorneys’ and accountants’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by it in connection therewith.
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(iii) Any indemnification under subsection (i) above, unless ordered by a court
or administrative forum, shall be made by CMF only as authorized in the specific case and only upon a determination by independent legal counsel in a written opinion that such indemnification is proper in the circumstances because the Advisor has
met the applicable standard of conduct set forth in subsection (i) above. Such independent legal counsel shall be selected by CMF in a timely manner, subject to the Advisor’s approval, whose approval shall not be unreasonably withheld. The
Advisor will be deemed to have approved CMF’s selection unless the Advisor notifies CMF in writing, received by CMF within five days of CMF’s telecopying to the Advisor of the notice of CMF’s selection, that the Advisor does not approve the
selection.
(iv) In the event the Advisor is made a party to any claim, dispute or
litigation or otherwise incurs any loss or expense as a result of, or in connection with, the Partnership’s or CMF’s activities or claimed activities unrelated to the Advisor, CMF shall indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Advisor against any
loss, liability, damage, fine, penalty, obligation, cost or expense (including, without limitation, attorneys’ and accountants’ fees), incurred in connection therewith.
(v) As used in this Section 6(a), the term “Advisor” shall include the Advisor,
its principals, officers, directors and employees and the term “CMF” shall include the Partnership.
(b)(i) The Advisor agrees to indemnify, defend and hold harmless CMF, the
Partnership and their affiliates against any loss, liability, damage, fine, penalty, obligation, cost or expense (including, without limitation, attorneys’ and accountants’ fees, collection fees, court costs and other legal expenses), judgments and
awards and amounts paid in settlement reasonably incurred by them (A) as a result of the breach of any representations and warranties or covenants made by the Advisor in this Agreement, or (B) as a result of any act or omission of the Advisor
relating to the Partnership if (i) there has been a final judicial or regulatory determination, or a written opinion of an arbitrator pursuant
to Section 14 hereof, to the effect that such acts or omissions violated the terms of this Agreement in any material respect or involved negligence, bad faith, recklessness or intentional misconduct on the part of the Advisor (except as otherwise
provided in Section 1(g)), or (ii) there has been a settlement of any action or proceeding with the Advisor’s prior written consent.
(ii) In the event CMF, the Partnership or any of their affiliates is made a
party to any claim, dispute or litigation or otherwise incurs any loss or expense as a result of, or in connection with, the activities or claimed activities of the Advisor or its principals, officers, directors and employees unrelated to CMF’s or
the Partnership’s business, the Advisor shall indemnify, defend and hold harmless CMF, the Partnership or any of their affiliates against any loss, liability, damage, fine, penalty, obligation cost or expense (including, without limitation,
attorneys’ and accountants’ fees, collection fees, court costs and other legal expenses) judgments, awards and amounts including amounts paid in settlement incurred in connection therewith.
(c) In the event that a person entitled to indemnification under this Section 6
is made a party to an action, suit or proceeding alleging both matters for which indemnification can be made hereunder and matters for which indemnification may not be made hereunder, such person shall be indemnified only for that portion of the
loss, liability, damage, cost or expense incurred in such action, suit or proceeding which relates to the matters for which indemnification can be made.
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(d) None of the indemnifications contained in this Section 6 shall be
applicable with respect to default judgments, confessions of judgment or settlements entered into by the party claiming indemnification without the prior written consent, which shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed, of the party obligated
to indemnify such party.
(e) The provisions of this Section 6 shall survive the termination of this
Agreement.
7. REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES AND AGREEMENTS.
(a) The Advisor represents and warrants that:
(i) All information with respect to the Advisor and its principals and the
trading performance of any of them that has been provided to CMF, including, without limitation, the description of the Strategy contained in Appendix B, is complete and accurate in all material respects and such information does not contain any
untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact that is necessary to make such statements and information therein not misleading. All references to the Advisor and its principals, if any, in the Memorandum or a supplement
thereto will, after review and approval of such references by the Advisor prior to the use of such Memorandum in connection with the offering of Partnership units, be accurate in all material respects, except that with respect to pro forma or
hypothetical performance information in such Memorandum, if any, this representation and warranty extends only to any underlying data made available by the Advisor for the preparation thereof and not to any hypothetical or pro forma adjustments.
(ii) The information with respect to the Advisor set forth in the actual
performance tables in the Memorandum, if any, is based on (a) all of the customer accounts managed pursuant to the Strategy by the Advisor’s principals and/or the Advisor during the period covered by such tables and required to be disclosed therein
or (b) with the written consent of CMF, a representative account of the Strategy. Such performance has been prepared by the Advisor or its agents in accordance with applicable CFTC and NFA rules and guidance, including, but not limited to, CFTC
Rule 4.25. The annual financial statements of ADG Systematic Macro Fund for the period January 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017 have been examined by an independent certified public accountant and a copy of the report thereon has been provided to
CMF.
(iii) The Advisor will be acting as a commodity trading advisor with respect
to the Partnership and not as a securities investment adviser and is duly registered with the CFTC as a commodity trading advisor, is a member of NFA, and is in compliance with any such other registration and licensing requirements as shall be
necessary to enable it to perform its obligations hereunder, and agrees to maintain and renew such registrations and licenses during the term of this Agreement, including, without limitation, registration as a commodity trading advisor with the
CFTC and membership in the NFA.
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(iv) The Advisor is duly organized, validly existing and in good standing
under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization and has full limited liability partnership power and authority to enter into this Agreement and to provide the services required of it hereunder.
(v) The Advisor will not, by acting as a commodity trading advisor to the
Partnership, breach or cause to be breached any undertaking, agreement, contract, statute, rule or regulation to which it is a party or by which it is bound.
(vi) This Agreement has been duly and validly authorized, executed and
delivered by the Advisor and is a valid and binding agreement enforceable in accordance with its terms.
(vii) At any time during the term of this Agreement that an offering
memorandum or prospectus relating to the Partnership units is required to be delivered in connection with the offer and sale thereof, the Advisor agrees upon the request of CMF to promptly provide the Partnership with such information as shall be
necessary so that, as to the Advisor and its principals, such offering memorandum or prospectus is accurate.
(b) CMF represents and warrants for itself and the Partnership that:
(i) CMF is a limited liability company duly organized, validly existing and in
good standing under the laws of the State of Delaware and has full limited liability company power and authority to perform its obligations under this Agreement.
(ii) CMF and the Partnership have the capacity and authority to enter into this
Agreement on behalf of the Partnership.
(iii) This Agreement has been duly and validly authorized, executed and
delivered on CMF’s and the Partnership’s behalf and is a valid and binding agreement of CMF and the Partnership enforceable in accordance with its terms.
(iv) CMF will not, by acting as general partner to the Partnership and the
Partnership will not, breach or cause to be breached any undertaking, agreement, contract, statute, rule or regulation to which it is a party or by which it is bound which would materially limit or affect the performance of its duties under this
Agreement.
(v) CMF is registered as a commodity pool operator and is a member of NFA, and
it will maintain and renew such registration and membership during the term of this Agreement.
(vi) The Partnership is a “qualified eligible person” as defined in Rule 4.7
under the Commodity Exchange Act.
(vii) The Partnership is a limited partnership duly organized and validly
existing under the laws of the State of New York and has full limited partnership power and authority to enter into this Agreement and to perform its obligations under this Agreement.
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8. COVENANTS OF THE ADVISOR, CMF AND THE PARTNERSHIP.
(a) The Advisor agrees as follows:
(i) In connection with its activities on behalf of the Partnership, the Advisor
will comply with all applicable laws, including rules and regulations of the CFTC, NFA, swap execution facility and/or the commodity exchange on which any particular transaction is executed.
(ii) The Advisor will promptly notify CMF of the commencement of any
investigation, suit, action or proceeding (collectively, an “action”) involving the Advisor or any of its officers, directors or employees, agents or representatives regardless of whether such investigation, suit, action or proceeding also involves
CMF. The Advisor shall promptly notify CMF of any action against an affiliate where such action is (a) taken either in relation to the business of the Advisor or (b) adversely affects the business of the Advisor. The Advisor will provide CMF with
copies of any correspondence (including, but not limited to, any notice or correspondence regarding the violation, or potential violation, of position limits) from or to the CFTC, NFA or any commodity exchange in connection with any material,
non-routine investigation, examination or audit of the Advisor’s business activities unless such disclosure is otherwise prohibited by applicable law or regulation; provided, however, that any such correspondence provided to CMF by the Advisor
shall be subject to Section 9 hereof.
(iii) In the placement of orders for the Partnership’s account and for the
accounts of any other client, the Advisor will utilize a pre-determined, systematic, fair and reasonable order entry system, which shall, on an overall basis, be no less favorable to the Partnership than to any other account managed by the Advisor.
The Advisor acknowledges its obligation to review and reconcile the Partnership’s positions, prices and equity in the account managed by the Advisor daily and within two business days to notify, in writing, the broker and CMF and the Partnership’s
brokers of (A) any error committed by the Advisor or its principals or employees with respect to the Partnership’s assets managed by the Advisor; (B) any trade which the Advisor believes was not executed in accordance with its instructions; and (C)
any discrepancy with a value of $10,000 or more (due to differences in the positions, prices or equity in the account) between its records and the information reported on the account’s daily and monthly broker statements.
(iv) The Advisor will maintain a net worth of not less than USD 250,000 during
the term of this Agreement.
(v) The Advisor will use its best efforts to close out all futures positions
prior to any applicable delivery period, and will use commercially reasonable efforts to avoid causing the Partnership to take delivery of any commodity.
(b) CMF agrees for itself and the Partnership that:
(i) CMF and the Partnership will comply with all applicable laws, including
rules and regulations of the CFTC, NFA, swap execution facility and/or the commodity exchange on which any particular transaction is executed.
11
(ii) CMF will promptly notify the Advisor of the commencement of any material
suit, action or proceeding involving it or the Partnership, whether or not such suit, action or proceeding also involves the Advisor.
(iii) CMF or the selling agents for the Partnership have policies, procedures,
and internal controls in place that are reasonably designed to comply with applicable anti-money laundering laws, rules and regulations, including applicable provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act. CMF or the selling agents for the Partnership have
Customer Identification Programs (“CIP”), which require the performance of CIP due diligence in accordance with applicable USA PATRIOT Act requirements and regulatory guidance. CMF or the selling agents for the Partnership also have policies,
procedures, and internal controls in place that are reasonably designed to comply with regulations and economic sanctions programs administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. CMF or the selling agents
for the Partnership has policies and procedures in place reasonably designed to comply with Section 312 of the USA PATRIOT Act, including processes reasonably designed to identify clients that may be senior foreign political figures1, in
accordance with applicable requirements and regulatory guidance, and to conduct enhanced scrutiny on such clients where required under applicable law. In addition, CMF or the selling agents for the Partnership has policies and procedures in place
reasonably designed to prohibit accounts for foreign shell banks2 in compliance with Sections 313 & 319 of the USA PATRIOT Act.
9. CONFIDENTIALITY. (a) During the term and following the termination of this Agreement, each of the parties to this Agreement agrees to maintain in strict confidence the terms of this Agreement and any and all Confidential
Information (as hereinafter defined) regarding the other parties which it obtains pursuant to or in connection with this Agreement or the relationship created hereby and agrees that it shall not disclose any such Confidential Information to any
person unless required to do so by applicable laws or regulations, the request of any judicial, governmental or regulatory authority – including, without limitation, the Financial Conduct Authority or CFTC or valid legal process. Notwithstanding
the foregoing, nothing in this Section 9 shall prevent the disclosure of Confidential Information by either party to its attorneys, accountants, administrators, or other professional advisers in the proper performance of their duties; provided, in
each case, that any such attorney, accountants, administrators, or other professional advisers is subject to similar confidentiality obligations. Each of the Partnership and CMF acknowledges that the advisory services provided by the Advisor
pursuant to this Agreement constitute proprietary information.
1 A "senior foreign political figure" is defined as a current or former senior official in the executive, legislative, administrative, military or judicial branches of a non-U.S. government (whether elected or not), a
current or former senior official of a major non-U.S. political party, or a current or former senior executive of a non-U.S. government-owned commercial enterprise. In addition, a "senior foreign political figure" includes any corporation,
business or other entity that has been formed by, or for the benefit of, a senior foreign political figure. For purposes of this definition, a "senior official" or "senior executive" means an individual with substantial authority over
policy, operations, or the use of government-owned resources. An "immediate family member" of a senior foreign political figure means spouses,
parents, siblings, children and a spouse's parents and siblings.A "close associate" of a senior foreign political figure means a person who is widely
and publicly known (or is actually known) to be a close associate of a senior foreign political figure.
2 The term shell bank means a bank that does not maintain a physical presence in any country and is not subject to inspection by a banking authority. In addition, a shell bank generally does not employ individuals or
maintain operating records.
12
(b) As used herein the term “Confidential Information” shall mean and include, but not be limited to, each party’s respective proprietary or confidential market and/or computerized investment approaches, trading systems or
programs, mathematical models, simulated results, simulation software, price or research databases, other research, algorithms, numerical techniques, analytical results, technical data, strategies and methodologies, business methods, trade secrets,
internal marketing materials or memoranda, corporate policies, supervisory and risk control techniques and procedures, fee and compensation structures, trader trial programs, client lists and contact lists, knowledge of facilities and any books and
records made available to any party and any other proprietary materials or information; provided, however, that the term Confidential
Information shall not include any such information which is or has been made generally available to the public through means other than wrongful conduct by the party that has the obligation to keep such information confidential or its officers,
employees or other personnel. Immediately upon the termination of this Agreement, each party hereto shall return all such Confidential Information to each party hereto, as applicable.
10. COMPLETE AGREEMENT. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties pertaining to the subject matter hereof.
11. ASSIGNMENT. This Agreement may not be assigned by any party without the express written consent of the other parties.
12. AMENDMENT. This Agreement may not be amended except by the written consent of the parties.
13. NOTICES. All notices, demands or requests required to be made or delivered under this Agreement shall be effective upon actual receipt and shall be made either by electronic mail (email) copy or in writing and delivered
personally or by registered or certified mail or expedited courier, return receipt requested, postage prepaid, to the addresses below or to such other addresses as may be designated by the party entitled to receive the same by notice similarly
given:
If to CMF or to the Partnership:
Ceres Managed Futures LLC
000 Xxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
Attention: Xxxxxxx Xxxx
000 Xxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
Attention: Xxxxxxx Xxxx
Email: Xxxxxxx.Xxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
13
If to the Advisor:
ADG Capital Management LLP
00 Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxx
00 Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxx
0xx Xxxxx
Xxxxxx, XX0X 0XX
Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx
Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx
Attention:
Email: xxx@xxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
14. GOVERNING LAW. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.
15. ARBITRATION. The parties agree that any dispute or controversy arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the interpretation thereof, shall be settled by arbitration in accordance with the rules, then in effect, of NFA
or, if NFA shall refuse jurisdiction, then in accordance with the rules, then in effect, of the American Arbitration Association; provided, however, that the power of the arbitrator shall be limited to interpreting this Agreement as written and the
arbitrator shall state in writing his reasons for his award, and further provided, that any such arbitration shall occur within the Borough of Manhattan in New York City. Judgment upon any award made by the arbitrator may be entered in any court
of competent jurisdiction.
16. NO THIRD PARTY BENEFICIARIES. There are no third party beneficiaries to this Agreement, except that certain persons not parties to this Agreement may have rights under Section 6 hereof.
17. COUNTERPART ORIGINALS. This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, including via facsimile or email, each of which is an original and all of which when taken together evidence the same agreement.
PURSUANT TO AN EXEMPTION FROM THE COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION IN CONNECTION WITH ACCOUNTS
OF QUALIFIED ELIGIBLE PERSONS, THIS BROCHURE OR ACCOUNT DOCUMENT IS NOT REQUIRED TO BE, AND HAS NOT BEEN, FILED WITH THE COMMISSION. THE COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION DOES NOT PASS UPON THE MERITS OF PARTICIPATING IN A TRADING PROGRAM OR
UPON THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF COMMODITY TRADING ADVISOR DISCLOSURE. CONSEQUENTLY, THE COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION HAS NOT REVIEWED OR APPROVED THIS TRADING PROGRAM OR THIS BROCHURE OR ACCOUNT DOCUMENT.
YOU SHOULD ALSO BE AWARE THAT THIS COMMODITY TRADING ADVISOR MAY ENGAGE IN
TRADING FOREIGN FUTURES OR OPTIONS CONTRACTS. TRANSACTIONS ON MARKETS LOCATED OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES, INCLUDING MARKETS FORMALLY LINKED TO A UNITED STATES MARKET MAY BE SUBJECT TO REGULATIONS WHICH OFFER DIFFERENT OR DIMINISHED PROTECTION.
FURTHER, UNITED STATES REGULATORY AUTHORITIES MAY BE UNABLE TO COMPEL THE ENFORCEMENT OF THE RULES OF REGULATORY AUTHORITIES OR MARKETS IN NON-UNITED STATES JURISDICTIONS WHERE YOUR TRANSACTIONS MAY BE EFFECTED.
14
CERES MANAGED FUTURES LLC
|
||
By:
|
/s/ Xxxxxxx X.
Xxxx
|
|
Xxxxxxx X. Xxxx
|
||
President and Director
|
||
By:
|
Ceres Managed Futures LLC
|
|
(General Partner)
|
||
By:
|
/s/ Xxxxxxx X.
Xxxx
|
|
Xxxxxxx X. Xxxx
|
||
President and Director
|
||
ADG CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLP
|
||
By:
|
/s/ Xxxxx
Xxxx-Xxxxx
|
|
Name: Xxxxx Xxxx-Xxxxx
|
||
Title: Head of Operations
|
15
APPENDIX A
CMF
Trading Policies
1. |
The Partnership will invest its assets only in commodity interests that the Advisor believes are traded in sufficient volume to permit ease of taking and
liquidating positions. Sufficient volume, in this context, refers to a level of liquidity that the Advisor believes will permit it to enter and exit trades without noticeably moving the market.
|
2. |
The Advisor will not initiate additional positions in any commodity interest if these positions would result in aggregate positions requiring margin of more
than 66 2/3% of the Partnership’s net assets allocated to the Advisor. To the extent the CFTC and/or exchanges have not otherwise established margin requirements with respect to particular contracts, (i) forward contracts in currencies
will be deemed to have approximately the same margin requirements as the same or similar futures contracts traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and (ii) swap contracts will be deemed to have margin requirements equivalent to the
collateral deposits, if any, made with swap counterparties.
|
3. |
The Partnership may occasionally accept delivery of a commodity. Unless such delivery is disposed of promptly by retendering the warehouse receipt
representing the delivery to the appropriate clearinghouse, the physical commodity position will be fully hedged.
|
4. |
The Partnership will not employ the trading technique commonly known as “pyramiding,” in which the speculator uses unrealized profits on existing positions as
margin for the purchase or sale of additional positions in the same or related commodities.
|
5. |
The Partnership will not utilize borrowings except if the Partnership purchases or takes delivery of commodities. If the Partnership borrows money from the
general partner or any affiliate thereof to the extent permitted by NFA Rule 2-45, the lending entity in such case may not receive interest in excess of its interest costs, nor may the lender receive interest in excess of the amounts
which would be charged the Partnership (without reference to the general partner’s financial abilities or guarantees) by unrelated banks on comparable loans for the same purpose, nor may the lender or any affiliate thereof receive any
points or other financing charges or fees regardless of the amount. Use of lines of credit in connection with its forward trading does not, however, constitute borrowing for purposes of this trading limitation.
|
6. |
From time to time, trading strategies such as spreads or straddles may be employed on behalf of the Partnership. “Spreads” or “straddles” include the
simultaneous holding of contracts on the same commodity but with different delivery dates or markets. The trader of these contracts expects to earn a profit from a widening or narrowing of the difference between the prices of the two
contracts.
|
7. |
The Partnership will not permit the churning of its brokerage accounts. The term “churning” refers to the practice of entering and exiting trades with a
frequency unwarranted by legitimate efforts to profit from the trades, driven by the desire to generate commission income.
|
16
8. |
The Partnership will not purchase, sell, or trade securities (except securities approved by the CFTC for investment of customer funds).
|
9. |
The Advisor will trade only in those futures interests that have been approved by the general partner. The Partnership normally will not establish new
positions in a futures interest for any one contract month or option if such additional positions would result in a net long or short position for that futures interest requiring as margin or premium more than 15% of the Partnership’s
net assets.
|
10. |
In addition, the Partnership will, except under extraordinary circumstances, maintain positions in futures interests in at least two market segments (i.e.,
agricultural items, industrial items (including energies), metals, currencies, and financial instruments (including stock, financial, and economic indexes)) at any one time.
|
11. |
The Advisor will not generally take a position after the first notice day in any futures interest during the delivery month of that futures interest, except
to match trades to close out a position on the interbank foreign currency or other forward markets or liquidate trades in a limit market.
|
00
XXXXXXXX X
The Strategy seeks to provide investors with positive absolute returns through taking long and
short positions on a global basis in a broad range of financial instruments. The Strategy will take directional and relative value positions based on systematically applied fundamental global macro analysis and the Advisor’s assessment of
prevailing economic conditions and other relevant factors. The Strategy aims for the generation of excess returns by means of tactical reallocation of the risk budget between asset classes, within asset classes and between various risk factors.
The Strategy is based on a proprietary software tool which analyses macroeconomic and market
information and produces recommended portfolios and trades for assessment by the Advisor. The methodology coded into the software makes use of theory based analysis of markets and advanced risk management techniques.
The Strategy is composed of four independent models, consisting of one directional trading model
and three relative value models. The Fund will take directional and relative value positions based on systematic analysis of global macro and economic data. Each of these models is built from 7-11 factors which are uncorrelated and fundamental
drivers of markets. The Strategy currently utilizes a total of 38 factors, which range for GDP measurements to curve analysis.
As has been agreed by CMF and ADG Capital, the Strategy will be run at a 20% volatility level. For
reference, the ADG Systematic Macro Fund, the Advisor’s flagship fund under management, is run at a 15% volatility level.
18
APPENDIX C
The following list of financial instruments may be traded by the Advisor on behalf of the Account:
FX Forwards
|
Index Futures
|
||||
AUD/USD FWD
|
AEX
|
||||
NZD/USD FWD
|
CAC 40
|
||||
GBP/USD FWD
|
DAX 30
|
||||
EUR/USD FWD
|
E-mini S&P 500
|
||||
USD/SEK FWD
|
FTSE 100
|
||||
USD/JPY FWD
|
FTSE/MIB
|
||||
USD/CAD FWD
|
Hang Seng
|
||||
USD/HKD FWD
|
IBEX 35
|
||||
USD/CHF FWD
|
OMXS30
|
||||
Currency Futures
|
S&P / ASX 200
|
||||
Instrument
|
Symbol
|
Exchange
|
S&P/TSX 60
|
||
AUD Currency Future
|
AD
|
CME
|
TOPIX
|
||
CAD Currency Future
|
CD
|
CME
|
Aus 10Y Treasury Bond
|
||
GBP Currency Future
|
BP
|
CME
|
Bund
|
||
NZD Currency Future
|
NV
|
CME
|
CGB
|
||
JPY Currency Future
|
JY
|
CME
|
JGB
|
||
EUR Currency Future
|
EC
|
CME
|
Long Gilt
|
||
CHF Currency Future
|
SF
|
CME
|
US 10Y T-Note
|
||
VIX
|
19
APPENDIX D
Executing
Brokers
Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx & Co. International PLC
Xxxxxxx Sachs International3
3 Xxxxxxx Xxxxx International are to be engaged
as contingency in case of unforeseen execution issues with Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx & Co. International PLC
20