Financial Instrument Risks |
6 Months Ended | ||
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Jun. 30, 2025 | |||
Investments, All Other Investments [Abstract] | |||
Financial Instrument Risks |
In the normal course of business, the Partnership and the Funds are parties to financial instruments with off-balance-sheet risk, including derivative financial instruments and derivative commodity instruments. These financial instruments may include forwards, futures, options and swaps, whose values are based upon an underlying asset, index, or reference rate, and generally represent future commitments to exchange currencies or cash balances, or to purchase or sell other financial instruments at specific terms at specified future dates, or, in the case of derivative commodity instruments, to have a reasonable possibility to be settled in cash, through physical delivery or with another financial instrument. These instruments may be traded on an exchange, a swap execution facility or over-the-counter (“OTC”). Exchange-traded instruments include futures and certain standardized forward, swap and option contracts. Specific market movements of commodities or futures contracts underlying an option cannot accurately be predicted. The purchaser of an option may lose the entire premium paid for the option. The writer or seller of an option has unlimited risk. Certain swap contracts may also be traded on a swap execution facility or OTC. OTC contracts are negotiated between contracting parties and also include certain forward and option contracts. Each of these instruments is subject to various risks similar to those relating to the underlying financial instruments, including market and credit risk. In general, the risks associated with OTC contracts are greater than those associated with exchange-traded instruments because of the greater risk of default by the counterparty to an OTC contract. None of the Partnership’s/Funds’ contracts are traded OTC, although contracts may be traded OTC in the future. Futures Contracts. London Metal Exchange Forward Contracts. Options. As both a buyer and seller of options, the Partnership/Funds pay or receive a premium at the outset and then bear the risk of unfavorable changes in the price of the contract underlying the option. Written options expose the Partnership/Funds to potentially unlimited liability; for purchased options, the risk of loss is limited to the premiums paid. Certain written put options permit cash settlement and do not require the option holder to own the reference asset. The Partnership/Funds do not consider these contracts to be guarantees. Futures-Style Options Market risk is the potential for changes in the value of the financial instruments traded by the Partnership/Funds due to market changes, including interest and foreign exchange rate movements and fluctuations in commodity or security prices. Market risk is directly impacted by the volatility and liquidity in the markets in which the related underlying assets are traded. The Partnership and the Funds are exposed to market risk equal to the value of the futures and forward contracts held and unlimited liability on such contracts sold short. Credit risk is the possibility that a loss may occur due to the failure of a counterparty to perform according to the terms of a contract. As of the end of each reporting period, the Partnership’s/Funds’ risk of loss in the event of a counterparty default is typically limited to the amounts recognized in the Statements of Financial Condition and is not represented by the contract or notional amounts of the instruments. The Partnership’s/Funds’ risk of loss is reduced through the use of legally enforceable master netting agreements with counterparties that permit the Partnership/Funds to offset unrealized gains and losses and other assets and liabilities with such counterparties upon the occurrence of certain events. The Partnership/Funds have credit risk and concentration risk, as MS&Co. or an MS&Co. affiliate are counterparties or brokers with respect to the Partnership’s/Funds’ assets. Credit risk with respect to exchange-traded instruments is reduced to the extent that, through MS&Co. or an MS&Co. affiliate, the Partnership’s/Funds’ counterparty is an exchange or clearing organization. The General Partner/Trading Manager monitors and attempts to mitigate the Partnership’s/Funds’ risk exposure on a daily basis through financial, credit and risk management monitoring systems and, accordingly, believes that it has effective procedures for evaluating and limiting the credit and market risks to which the Partnership/Funds may be subject. These monitoring systems generally allow the General Partner/Trading Manager to statistically analyze actual trading results with risk-adjusted performance indicators and correlation statistics. In addition, online monitoring systems provide account analysis of futures, forward and option contracts by sector, margin requirements, gain and loss transactions and collateral positions. The majority of these financial instruments mature within one year of the inception date. However, due to the nature of the Partnership’s/Funds’ business, these instruments may not be held to maturity. The risk to the limited partners that have purchased Redeemable Units is limited to the amount of their share of the Partnership’s net assets and undistributed profits. This limited liability is a result of the organization of the Partnership as a limited partnership under New York law. In the ordinary course of business, the Partnership/Funds enter into contracts and agreements that contain various representations and warranties and which provide general indemnifications. The Partnership’s/Funds’ maximum exposure under these arrangements cannot be determined, as this could include future claims that have not yet been made against the Partnership/Funds. The General Partner/Trading Manager considers the risk of any future obligation relating to these indemnifications to be remote. Beginning in February 2022, the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and a number of other nations imposed sanctions against Russia in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and these and other governments around the world may impose additional sanctions in the future as the conflict develops. In addition, the armed conflict between Israel and Hamas and subsequent sanctions have created volatility in the price of various commodities and may lead to a deterioration in the political and trade relationships that exist between the countries involved and have a negative impact on business activity globally, and therefore could affect the performance of the Partnership’s/Funds investments. Furthermore, uncertainties regarding these conflicts and the varying involvement of the United States and other countries preclude prediction as to the ultimate impact on global economic and market conditions, and, as a result, presents material uncertainty and risk with respect to the Partnership/Funds and the performance of its investments or operations, and the ability of the Partnership/Fund to achieve its investment objectives. Additionally, to the extent that investors, service providers and/or other third parties have material operations or assets in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine or Israel, they may have their operations disrupted and/or suffer adverse consequences related to the ongoing conflicts. |