Definitions of terms used in parts 15 to 19, and 21 of this chapter.
17 C.F.R. § 15.00
in effectEffective: 2024-07-01As used in parts 15 to 19, and 21 of this chapter:
(a) Cash or Spot, when used in connection with any commodity, means the actual commodity as distinguished from a futures or options contract in such commodity.
(b) Clearing member means any person who is a member of, or enjoys the privilege of clearing trades in his own name through, the clearing organization of a designated contract market, registered derivatives transaction execution facility, or registered entity under section 1a(29) of the Act.
(c) Clearing organization means the person or organization which acts as a medium for clearing transactions in commodities for future delivery or commodity option transactions, or for effecting settlements of contracts for future delivery or commodity option transactions, for and between members of any designated contract market, registered derivatives transaction execution facility or registered entity under section 1a(29) of the Act.
(d) Compatible data processing media means data processing media approved by the Commission or its designee.
(e) Customer means “customer” (as defined in § 1.3 of this chapter) and “options customer” (as defined in § 1.3 of this chapter).
(f) Customer trading program means any system of trading offered, sponsored, promoted, managed or in any other way supported by, or affiliated with, a futures commission merchant, an introducing broker, a commodity trading advisor, a commodity pool operator, or other trader, or any of its officers, partners or employees, and which by agreement, recommendations, advice or otherwise, directly or indirectly controls trading done and positions held by any other person. The term includes, but is not limited to, arrangements where a program participant enters into an expressed or implied agreement not obtained from other customers and makes a minimum deposit in excess of that required of other customers for the purpose of receiving specific advice or recommendations which are not made available to other customers. The term includes any program which is of the character of, or is commonly known to the trade as, a managed account, guided account, discretionary account, commodity pool or partnership account.
(g) Discretionary account means a commodity futures or commodity option trading account for which buying or selling orders can be placed or originated, or for which transactions can be effected, under a general authorization and without the specific consent of the customer, whether the general authorization for such orders or transactions is pursuant to a written agreement, power of attorney, or otherwise.
(h) Exclusively self-cleared contract means a cleared contract for which no persons, other than a reporting market and its clearing organization, are permitted to accept any money, securities, or property (or extend credit in lieu thereof) to margin, guarantee, or secure any trade.
(i) Foreign clearing member means a “clearing member” (as defined by paragraph (b) of this section) who resides or is domiciled outside of the United States, its territories or possessions.
(j) Foreign trader means any trader (as defined in paragraph (s) of this section) who resides or is domiciled outside of the United States, its territories or possessions.
(k) Futures, futures contract, future delivery or contract for future delivery, means any contract for the purchase or sale of any commodity for future delivery that is executed on or subject to the rules of a reporting market, including all agreements, contracts and transactions that are treated by a clearing organization as fungible with such contracts.
(l) Guided account program means any customer trading program which limits trading to the purchase or sale of a particular contract for future delivery of a commodity or a particular commodity option that is advised or recommended to the participant in the program.
(m) Managed account program means a customer trading program which includes two or more discretionary accounts traded pursuant to a common plan, advice or recommendations.
(n) Open contracts means “open contracts” (as defined in § 1.3 of this chapter) and commodity option positions held by any person on or subject to the rules of a board of trade which have not expired, been exercised, or offset.
(o) Option, options, option contract, or options contract, unless specifically provided otherwise, means any contract for the purchase or sale of a commodity option that is executed on or subject to the rules of a reporting market, including all agreements, contracts and transactions that are treated by a clearing organization as fungible with such contracts.
(p) Reportable position means:
(1) For reports specified in parts 17 and 18 and in § 19.00(a) and (b) of this chapter, any open contract position that at the close of the market on any business day equals or exceeds the quantity specified in § 15.03 in either:
(i) Any one futures of any commodity on any one reporting market, excluding futures contracts against which notices of delivery have been stopped by a trader or issued by the clearing organization of the reporting market; or
(ii) Long or short put or call options that exercise into the same futures contract of any commodity, or other long or short put or call commodity options that have identical expirations and exercise into the same commodity, on any one reporting market.
(2) For the purposes of reports specified in § 19.00(a)(1) of this chapter, any combined futures and futures-equivalent option open contract position as defined in part 150 of this chapter in any one month or in all months combined, either net long or net short in any commodity on any one reporting market, excluding futures positions against which notices of delivery have been stopped by a trader or issued by the clearing organization of a reporting market, which at the close of the market on the last business day of the week exceeds the net quantity limit in spot, single or in all-months fixed in § 150.2 of this chapter for the particular commodity and reporting market.
(q) Reporting market means a designated contract market or a registered entity under section 1a(40) of the Act.
(r) Special account means any commodity futures or option account in which there is a reportable position.
(s) Trader means a person who, for his own account or for an account which he controls, makes transactions in commodity futures or options, or has such transactions made.
(t) Control means to actually direct, by power of attorney or otherwise, the trading of a special account or a consolidated account. A special account or a consolidated account may have more than one controller.
(u) Reportable trading volume means contract trading volume that meets or exceeds the level specified in § 15.04.
(v) Omnibus account means any trading account that one futures commission merchant, clearing member or foreign broker carries for another and in which the transactions of multiple individual accounts are combined. The identities of the holders of the individual accounts are not generally known or disclosed to the carrying firm.
(w) Omnibus account originator means any futures commission merchant, clearing member or foreign broker that executes trades for one or more customers via one or more accounts that are part of an omnibus account carried by another futures commission merchant, clearing member or foreign broker.
(x) Volume threshold account means any trading account that carries reportable trading volume on or subject to the rules of a reporting market that is a board of trade designated as a contract market under section 5 of the Act or a swap execution facility registered under section 5h of the Act.
(y) Omnibus volume threshold account means any trading account that, on an omnibus basis, carries reportable trading volume on or subject to the rules of a reporting market that is a board of trade designated as a contract market under section 5 of the Act or a swap execution facility registered under section 5h of the Act.
(z) Omnibus reportable sub-account means any trading sub-account of an omnibus volume threshold account, which sub-account executes reportable trading volume on an omnibus basis. Omnibus reportable sub-account also means any trading account that is itself an omnibus account, executes reportable trading volume, and is a sub-account of another omnibus reportable sub-account.
(aa) Reportable sub-account means any trading sub-account of an omnibus volume threshold account or omnibus reportable sub-account, which sub-account executes reportable trading volume.
(bb) Trading account controller means, for reports specified in § 17.01(a) of this chapter, a natural person who by power of attorney or otherwise actually directs the trading of a trading account. A trading account may have more than one controller.
(cc) Volume threshold account controller means a natural person who by power of attorney or otherwise actually directs the trading of a volume threshold account. A volume threshold account may have more than one controller.
(dd) Reportable sub-account controller means a natural person who by power of attorney or otherwise actually directs the trading of a reportable sub-account. A reportable sub-account may have more than one controller.
Source: eCFRURL: https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2024-07-01/title-17.xmlFetched: 7/26/2026