−Removed: Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related
−Removed: Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.
+Added: Market for Registrant’s
+Added: Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.
Price Range of Shares
−Removed: UNL’s shares have traded on the NYSE
−Removed: Arca under the symbol “UNL” since November 18, 2009.
−Removed: As of December 31, 2019, UNL had approximately
+Added: UNL’s shares have traded on the NYSE
+Added: Arca under the symbol “UNL”
+Added: since November 18, 2009 As of December 31, 2020, UNL had approximately 1,123
holders of shares.
4 unchanged sentences
its shareholders.
−Removed: In connection with its redemption of baskets held by Authorized Participants, UNL redeemed 1 basket (comprising
−Removed: 50,000 shares) and 3 baskets (comprising 150,000 shares) for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2019, respectively.
−Removed: Monthly redemptions for the last three months are detailed below.
−Removed: Total Number of Shares Redeemed
−Removed: Price Per Share
+Added: In connection with its redemption of baskets held by Authorized Participants, UNL did not have any shares redeemed for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2020, respectively.
+Added: There were no monthly redemptions for the last three months as indicated below.
+Added: Total Number of
+Added: Shares Redeemed
+Added: Average Price Per
10/1/20 to 10/31/20
2 unchanged sentences
Selected Financial Data.
−Removed: Financial Highlights (for the years
−Removed: ended December 31, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016 and 2015)
−Removed: (Dollar amounts in 000’s except
−Removed: for per share information)
−Removed: Net realized and unrealized gain
−Removed: (loss) on futures transactions, inclusive of commissions
+Added: Financial Highlights (for the years ended December 31,
+Added: 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2016)
+Added: (Dollar amounts in 000’s except for per share information)
+Added: Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on futures transactions, inclusive of commissions
Net income (loss)
3 unchanged sentences
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year
+Added: Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial
+Added: Condition and Results of Operations.
+Added: The following discussion should be read in conjunction with
+Added: the condensed financial statements and the notes thereto of the United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund, LP (“UNL”)
+Added: included elsewhere in this annual report on Form 10-K.
+Added: Forward-Looking Information
+Added: This annual report on Form 10-K, including
+Added: this “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,”
+Added: contains forward-looking
+Added: statements regarding the plans and objectives of management for future operations.
+Added: This information may involve known and unknown
+Added: risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause UNL’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially
+Added: different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements.
+Added: these factors include, but are not limited to, the following:
+Added: changes in inflation in the United States;
+Added: movements in U.S.
+Added: foreign currencies;
+Added: significant market volatility in the crude oil markets and futures markets attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic,
+Added: disputes among oil-producing countries over the potential limits on the production of crude oil, a corresponding collapse in demand
+Added: for crude oil and a lack of on-land storage for crude oil.;
+Added: uncertainties associated with the impact from the coronavirus (COVID-19)
+Added: pandemic, including:
+Added: its impact on the global and U.S.
+Added: capital markets and the global and U.S.
+Added: economy, the length and duration
+Added: of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States as well as worldwide and the magnitude of the economic impact of that outbreak, the
+Added: effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on USO’s business prospects, including its ability to achieve its objectives, and the effect
+Added: of the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on our ability to continue to effectively manage our business.
+Added: Forward-looking
+Added: statements, which involve assumptions and describe UNL’s future plans, strategies and expectations, are generally identifiable
+Added: by use of the words “may,”
+Added: “will,”
+Added: “should,”
+Added: “expect,”
+Added: “anticipate,”
+Added: “estimate,”
+Added: “believe,”
+Added: “intend”
+Added: or “project,”
+Added: the negative of these words, other
+Added: variations on these words or comparable terminology.
+Added: These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions that may be incorrect,
+Added: and UNL cannot assure investors that the projections included in these forward-looking statements will come to pass.
+Added: actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements as a result of various
+Added: UNL has based the forward-looking statements
+Added: included in this annual report on Form 10-K on information available to it on the date of this annual report on Form 10-K,
+Added: and UNL assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements.
+Added: Although UNL undertakes no obligation to revise or
+Added: update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, investors are advised
+Added: to consult any additional disclosures that UNL may make directly to them or through reports that UNL files in the future with the
+Added: Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports
+Added: on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K.
+Added: UNL, a Delaware limited partnership, is
+Added: a commodity pool that issues shares that may be purchased and sold on the NYSE Arca.
+Added: The investment objective of UNL is for the
+Added: daily changes in percentage terms of its shares’
+Added: per share NAV to reflect the daily changes, in percentage terms, of the
+Added: price of natural gas delivered at the Henry Hub, Louisiana, as measured by the daily changes in the average of the prices of 12
+Added: futures contracts for natural gas traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange (the “NYMEX”), consisting of the near
+Added: month contract to expire and the contracts for the following 11 months, for a total of 12 consecutive months’
+Added: except when the near month contract is within two weeks of expiration, in which case it will be measured by the futures contract
+Added: that is the next month contract to expire and the contracts for the following 11 consecutive months (the “Benchmark Futures
+Added: Contracts”), plus interest earned on UNL’s collateral holdings less UNL’s expenses.
+Added: “Near month contract”
+Added: means the next contract traded on the NYMEX due to expire.
+Added: “Next month contract”
+Added: means the first contract traded on
+Added: the NYMEX due to expire after the near month contract.
+Added: When calculating the daily movement of the average price of the 12 contracts,
+Added: each contract month is equally weighted.
+Added: UNL seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing so that the average daily percentage
+Added: change in UNL’s NAV for any period of 30 successive valuation days will be within plus/minus ten percent (10%) of the average
+Added: daily percentage change in the price of the Benchmark Futures Contracts over the same period.
+Added: UNL’s investment objective is not
+Added: for its NAV or market price of shares to equal, in dollar terms, the spot price of natural gas or any particular futures contract
+Added: based on natural gas nor is UNL’s investment objective for the percentage change in its NAV to reflect the percentage change
+Added: of the price of any particular futures contract as measured over a time period greater than one day .
+Added: The general partner
+Added: of UNL, United States Commodity Funds LLC (“USCF”), believes that it is not practical to manage the portfolio to achieve
+Added: such an investment goal when investing in Natural Gas Futures Contracts (as defined below) and Other Natural Gas-Related Investments
+Added: (as defined below).
+Added: UNL invests primarily in natural gas futures
+Added: contracts that are traded on the NYMEX, ICE Futures Exchange (“ICE Futures”) or other U.S.
+Added: and foreign exchanges
+Added: (collectively, “Natural Gas Futures Contracts”) and to a lesser extent, in order to comply with regulatory requirements
+Added: or in view of market conditions, other natural gas-related investments such as cash-settled options on Natural Gas Futures Contracts,
+Added: forward contracts for natural gas, cleared swap contracts and non-exchange traded over-the-counter (“OTC”) swaps that
+Added: are based on the price of natural gas, crude oil and other petroleum-based fuels and indices based on the foregoing (collectively,
+Added: “Other Natural Gas-Related Investments”).
+Added: Market conditions that USCF currently anticipates could cause UNL to invest
+Added: in Other Natural Gas-Related Investments include those allowing UNL to obtain greater liquidity or to execute transactions with
+Added: more favorable pricing.
+Added: For convenience and unless otherwise specified, Natural Gas Futures Contracts and Other Natural Gas-Related
+Added: Investments collectively are referred to as “Natural Gas Interests”
+Added: in this annual report on Form 10-K.
+Added: USCF believes that market arbitrage opportunities
+Added: will cause daily changes in UNL’s share price on the NYSE Arca on a percentage basis to closely track daily changes in UNL’s
+Added: per share NAV on a percentage basis.
+Added: USCF further believes that daily changes in prices of the Benchmark Futures Contracts have
+Added: historically closely tracked the daily changes in spot price of natural gas.
+Added: USCF believes that the net effect of these relationships
+Added: will be that the daily changes in the price of UNL’s shares on the NYSE Arca on a percentage basis will closely track the
+Added: daily changes in the spot price of a MMBtu of natural gas on a percentage basis, plus interest earned on UNL’s collateral
+Added: holdings, less UNL’s expenses.
+Added: UNL seeks to achieve its investment objective
+Added: by investing so that the average daily percentage change in UNL’s NAV for any period of 30 successive valuation days will
+Added: be within plus/minus ten percent (10%) of the average daily percentage change in the price of the Benchmark Futures Contracts over
+Added: the same period.
+Added: Regulatory Disclosure
+Added: Accountability Levels, Position Limits
+Added: and Price Fluctuation Limits .
+Added: Designated contract markets (“DCMs”), such as the NYMEX and ICE Futures, have established
+Added: accountability levels and position limits on the maximum net long or net short futures contracts in commodity interests that any
+Added: person or group of persons under common trading control (other than as a hedge, which an investment by UNL is not) may hold, own
+Added: These levels and position limits apply to the futures contracts that UNL invests in to meet its investment objective.
+Added: In addition to accountability levels and position limits, the NYMEX and ICE Futures also set daily price fluctuation limits on
+Added: futures contracts.
+Added: The daily price fluctuation limit establishes the maximum amount that the price of a futures contract may vary
+Added: either up or down from the previous day’s settlement price.
+Added: Once the daily price fluctuation limit has been reached in a
+Added: particular futures contract, no trades may be made at a price beyond that limit.
+Added: The accountability levels for the Benchmark
+Added: Futures Contracts and other Natural Gas Futures Contracts traded on U.S.-based futures exchanges such as the NYMEX are not a fixed
+Added: ceiling, but rather a threshold above which the NYMEX may exercise greater scrutiny and control over an investor’s positions.
+Added: The current accountability level for investments for any one-month in the Benchmark Futures Contracts is 6,000 net contracts.
+Added: addition, the NYMEX imposes an accountability levels for all months of 12,000 net futures contracts for investments in futures
+Added: contracts for natural gas.
+Added: In addition, the ICE Futures maintains the same accountability levels, position limits and monitoring
+Added: authority for its natural gas contracts as the NYMEX.
+Added: If UNL and the Related Public Funds exceed these accountability levels for
+Added: investments in the futures contract for natural gas, the NYMEX and ICE Futures will monitor UNL’s and the Related Public
+Added: exposure and may ask for further information on their activities, including the total size of all positions, investment
+Added: and trading strategy, and the extent of liquidity resources of UNL and the Related Public Funds.
+Added: If deemed necessary by the NYMEX
+Added: and/or ICE Futures, UNL and the Related Public Funds could be ordered to reduce their aggregate net futures contracts back to the
+Added: accountability level.
+Added: As of December 31, 2020, UNL held 273 Natural Gas Futures NG contracts traded on the NYMEX and did not
+Added: hold any ICE Natural Gas Futures contracts.
+Added: For the year ended December 31, 2020, UNL did not exceed accountability levels
+Added: imposed by the NYMEX and ICE Futures, however, the aggregated total of certain of the Related Public Funds did exceed the accountability
+Added: No action was taken by NYMEX and UNL did not reduce the number of Natural Gas Futures Contracts held as a result.
+Added: Position limits differ from accountability
+Added: levels in that they represent fixed limits on the maximum number of futures contracts that any person may hold and cannot allow
+Added: such limits to be exceeded without express CFTC authority to do so.
+Added: In addition to accountability levels and position limits that
+Added: may apply at any time, the NYMEX and ICE Futures impose position limits on contracts held in the last few days of trading in the
+Added: near month contract to expire.
+Added: It is unlikely that UNL will run up against such position limits because UNL’s investment
+Added: strategy is to close out its positions and “roll”
+Added: from the near month contract to expire and the eleven following months
+Added: to the next month contract to expire and the eleven following months during one day each month.
+Added: For the year ended December 31,
+Added: 2020, UNL did not exceed any position limits imposed by the NYMEX and the ICE Futures.
+Added: The regulation of commodity interest trading
+Added: in the United States and other countries is an evolving area of the law.
+Added: The various statements made in this summary are subject
+Added: to modification by legislative action and changes in the rules and regulations of the SEC, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
+Added: (“FINRA”), CFTC, NFA, the futures exchanges, clearing organizations and other regulatory bodies.
+Added: Pending final resolution
+Added: of all applicable regulatory requirements, some examples of how new rules and regulations could impact UNL are discussed in
+Added: “Item 1.
+Added: Business”
+Added: and “Item 1A.
+Added: Risk Factors”
+Added: in this annual report on Form 10-K.
+Added: Futures Contracts and Position Limits
+Added: The CFTC is generally prohibited by statute
+Added: from regulating trading on non-U.S.
+Added: futures exchanges and markets.
+Added: The CFTC, however, has adopted regulations relating to the marketing
+Added: futures contracts in the United States.
+Added: These regulations permit certain contracts on non-U.S.
+Added: exchanges to be offered
+Added: and sold in the United States.
+Added: On October 15, 2020, the CFTC approved
+Added: the Position Limits Rule.
+Added: The Position Limits Rule establishes federal position limits for 25 core referenced futures contracts
+Added: (comprised of agricultural, energy and metals futures contracts), futures and options linked to the core referenced futures contracts,
+Added: and swaps that are economically equivalent to the core referenced futures contracts.
+Added: The Position Limits Rule sets position
+Added: limits for the spot month and non-spot month;
+Added: however, the non-spot month limits only apply in respect of the agricultural futures
+Added: contracts that are currently subject to position limits under Part 150 of the CFTC regulations (the “legacy agricultural
+Added: contracts”).
+Added: With respect to regulatory oversight, the Position Limits Rule delegates authority to designated contract
+Added: markets and swap execution facilities to oversee certain aspects of the position limits framework.
+Added: In addition to setting the federal
+Added: position limits, the Position Limits Rule also provides several exemptions from such position limits, including an expanded
+Added: list of enumerated bona fide hedge exemptions and certain spread exemptions.
+Added: Further, the Position Limits Rule sets forth
+Added: two alternative processes for pursuing an exemption for non-enumerated hedge positions.
+Added: Other than for the legacy agricultural
+Added: contracts, compliance with the limits imposed by the Position Limits Rule will not be required until 2022, except that economically
+Added: equivalent swaps need not comply with the Position Limits Rule until 2023.
+Added: The Benchmark Futures Contract will be
+Added: subject to position limits under the Position Limits Rule, and UNL’s trading does not qualify as an enumerated bona fide
+Added: Accordingly, the Position Limits Rule could negatively impact the ability of UNL to meet its investment objective by
+Added: inhibiting USCF’s ability to effectively invest the proceeds from sales of Creation Baskets of UNL in particular amounts
+Added: and types of its permitted investments.
+Added: Until such time as compliance with the
+Added: Position Limits Rule is required, the regulatory architecture in effect prior to the adoption of the Position Limit Rules will
+Added: govern transactions in commodities and related derivatives.
+Added: Under that system, the CFTC enforces federal limits on speculation
+Added: in the nine legacy agricultural contracts, while futures exchanges establish and enforce position limits and accountability levels
+Added: for other agricultural products and certain energy products (e.g., oil and natural gas).
+Added: Under existing CFTC regulations and the
+Added: Position Limits Rule, for the purpose of position limits, a market participant is generally required, subject to certain narrow
+Added: exceptions, to aggregate all positions for which that participant controls the trading decisions with all positions for which that
+Added: participant has a 10% or greater ownership interest in an account or position, as well as the positions of two or more persons
+Added: acting pursuant to an express or implied agreement or understanding with that market participant (the “Aggregation Rules”).
+Added: In October 2015, the Office of the
+Added: Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the FDIC, the Farm Credit Administration, and
+Added: the Federal Housing Finance Agency (each an “Agency”
+Added: and, collectively, the “Agencies”) jointly adopted
+Added: final rules to establish minimum margin and capital requirements for registered swap dealers, major swap participants, security-based
+Added: swap dealers, and major security-based swap participants (“Swap Entities”) that are subject to the jurisdiction of
+Added: one of the Agencies (such entities, “Covered Swap Entities”, and the joint final rules, the “Final Margin Rules”).
+Added: The Final Margin Rules will subject
+Added: non-cleared swaps and non-cleared security-based swaps between Covered Swap Entities and Swap Entities, and between Covered Swap
+Added: Entities and financial end users that have material swaps exposure (i.e., an average daily aggregate notional of $8 billion or
+Added: more in non-cleared swaps calculated in accordance with the Final Margin Rules), to a mandatory two-way minimum initial margin
+Added: The minimum amount of the initial margin required to be posted or collected would be either the amount calculated
+Added: by the Covered Swap Entity using a standardized schedule set forth as an appendix to the Final Margin Rules, which provides the
+Added: gross initial margin (as a percentage of total notional exposure) for certain asset classes, or an internal margin model of the
+Added: Covered Swap Entity conforming to the requirements of the Final Margin Rules that is approved by the Agency having jurisdiction
+Added: over the particular Covered Swap Entity.
+Added: The Final Margin Rules specify the types of collateral that may be posted or collected
+Added: as initial margin for non-cleared swaps and non-cleared security-based swaps with financial end users (generally cash, certain
+Added: government, government-sponsored enterprise securities, certain liquid debt, certain equity securities, certain eligible publicly
+Added: traded debt, and gold);
+Added: and sets forth haircuts for certain collateral asset classes.
+Added: The Final Margin Rules require minimum
+Added: variation margin to be exchanged daily for non-cleared swaps and non-cleared security- based swaps between Covered Swap Entities
+Added: and Swap Entities and between Covered Swap Entities and all financial end-users (without regard to the swaps exposure of the particular
+Added: financial end-user).
+Added: The minimum variation margin amount is the daily mark- to-market change in the value of the swap to the Covered
+Added: Swap Entity, taking into account variation margin previously posted or collected.
+Added: For non-cleared swaps and security-based swaps
+Added: between Covered Swap Entities and financial end-users, variation margin may be posted or collected in cash or non-cash collateral
+Added: that is considered eligible for initial margin purposes.
+Added: Variation margin is not subject to segregation with an independent, third-party
+Added: custodian, and may, if permitted by contract, be rehypothecated.
+Added: The initial margin requirements of the
+Added: Final Margin Rules are being phased in over time, and the variation margin requirements of the Final Margin Rules are
+Added: currently in effect.
+Added: UNL is not a Covered Swap Entity under the Final Margin Rules, but it is a financial end-user.
+Added: UNL is currently subject to the variation margin requirements of the Final Margin Rules.
+Added: However, UNL does not have material swaps
+Added: exposure and, accordingly, UNL will not be subject to the initial margin requirements of the Final Margin Rules.
+Added: The Dodd-Frank Act required the CFTC and
+Added: the SEC to adopt their own margin rules to apply to a limited number of registered swap dealers, security-based swap dealers,
+Added: major swap participants, and major security-based swap participants that are not subject to the jurisdiction of one of the Agencies.
+Added: On December 16, 2015 the CFTC finalized its margin rules, which are substantially the same as the Final Margin Rules and
+Added: have the same implementation timeline.
+Added: The SEC adopted margin rules for security-based swap dealers and major security-based
+Added: swap participants on June 21, 2019.
+Added: The SEC’s margin rules are generally aligned with the Final Margin Rules and
+Added: the CFTC’s margin rules, but they differ in a few key respects relating to timing for compliance and the manner in which
+Added: initial margin must be segregated.
+Added: UNL does not currently engage in security-based swap transactions and, therefore, the SEC’s
+Added: margin rules are not expected to apply to UNL.
+Added: Mandatory Trading and Clearing of Swaps
+Added: CFTC regulations require that certain swap
+Added: transactions be executed on organized exchanges or “swap execution facilities”
+Added: and cleared through regulated clearing
+Added: organizations (“derivative clearing organizations”
+Added: (“DCOs”)), if the CFTC mandates the central clearing
+Added: of a particular class of swap and such swap is “made available to trade”
+Added: on a swap execution facility.
+Added: Currently, swap
+Added: dealers, major swap participants, commodity pools, certain private funds and entities predominantly engaged in activities that
+Added: are financial in nature are required to execute on a swap execution facility, and clear, certain interest rate swaps and index-based
+Added: credit default swaps.
+Added: As a result, if UNL enters into an interest rate or index-based credit default swap that is subject to these
+Added: requirements, such swap will be required to be executed on a swap execution facility and centrally cleared.
+Added: Mandatory clearing
+Added: and “made available to trade”
+Added: determinations with respect to additional types of swaps are expected in the future,
+Added: and, when finalized, could require UNL to electronically execute and centrally clear certain OTC instruments presently entered
+Added: into and settled on a bi-lateral basis.
+Added: If a swap is required to be cleared, initial and variation margin requirements are set
+Added: by the relevant clearing organization, subject to certain regulatory requirements and guidelines.
+Added: Additional margin may be required
+Added: and held by UNL's FCM.
+Added: Other Requirements for Swaps
+Added: In addition to the margin requirements
+Added: described above, swaps that are not required to be cleared and executed on a SEF but that are executed bilaterally are also subject
+Added: to various requirements pursuant to CFTC regulations, including, among other things, reporting and recordkeeping requirements and,
+Added: depending on the status of the counterparties, trading documentation requirements and dispute resolution requirements.
+Added: Derivatives Regulations in Non-U.S.
+Added: Jurisdictions
+Added: In addition to U.S.
+Added: laws and regulations,
+Added: UNL may be subject to non-U.S.
+Added: derivatives laws and regulations if it engages in futures and/or swap transactions with non-U.S.
+Added: For example, UNL may be impacted by European laws and regulations to the extent that it engages in futures transactions
+Added: on European exchanges or derivatives transactions with European entities.
+Added: Other jurisdictions impose requirements applicable to
+Added: futures and derivatives that are similar to those imposed by the U.S., including position limits, margin, clearing and trade execution
+Added: requirements.
+Added: Money Market Funds
+Added: The SEC adopted amendments to Rule 2a-7
+Added: under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended ("1940 Act") which became effective in 2016, to reform money market
+Added: funds (“MMFs”).
+Added: While the rule applies only to MMFs, it may indirectly affect institutional investors such as
+Added: A portion of UNL's assets that are not used for margin or collateral in the Futures Contracts currently are invested in government
+Added: UNL does not hold any non-government MMFs and does not anticipate investing in any non- government MMFs.
+Added: However, if UNL
+Added: invests in other types of MMFs besides government MMFs in the future, UNL could be negatively impacted by investing in an MMF that
+Added: does not maintain a stable $1.00 NAV or that has the potential to impose redemption fees and gates (temporary suspension of redemptions).
+Added: Although such government money market funds
+Added: seek to preserve the value of an investment at $1.00 per share, there is no guarantee that they will be able to do so and UNL may
+Added: lose money by investing in a government money market fund.
+Added: An investment in a government money market fund is not insured or guaranteed
+Added: by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, referred to herein as the FDIC, or any other government agency.
+Added: The share price of
+Added: a government money market fund can fall below the $1.00 share price.
+Added: UNL cannot rely on or expect a government money market fund’s
+Added: adviser or its affiliates to enter into support agreements or take other actions to maintain the government money market fund’s
+Added: $1.00 share price.
+Added: The credit quality of a government money market fund’s holdings can change rapidly in certain markets,
+Added: and the default of a single holding could have an adverse impact on the government money market fund’s share price.
+Added: fluctuations in interest rates, the market value of securities held by a government money market fund may vary.
+Added: A government money
+Added: market fund’s share price can also be negatively affected during periods of high redemption pressures and/or illiquid markets.
+Added: Price Movements
+Added: Natural gas futures prices were volatile
+Added: during the year ended December 31, 2020 and exhibited moderate daily swings along with an uneven downward trend during the
+Added: The price of the Benchmark Futures Contract started the year at $2.330 per million British thermal shares ("MMBtu").
+Added: The high of the year was on October 30,
+Added: 2020 when the price reached $3.158 per MMBtu.
+Added: The low of the year was on February 28, 2020 when the price dropped to $2.050
+Added: The year ended with the Benchmark Futures Contract at $2.695 per MMBtu, an increase of approximately 15.67% over the
+Added: UNL’s per share NAV began the year at $8.43 and ended the year at $7.74 on December 31, 2020, a decrease of approximately
+Added: (8.19)% over the year.
+Added: The Benchmark Futures Contract prices listed above began with the February 2020 to January 2021
+Added: contracts and ended with the February 2021 to January 2022 contracts.
+Added: The increase of approximately 15.67% on the Benchmark
+Added: Futures Contract listed above is a hypothetical return only and could not actually be achieved by an investor holding Futures Contracts.
+Added: An investment in Futures Contracts would need to be rolled forward during the time period described in order to simulate such a
+Added: Furthermore, the change in the nominal price of these differing Futures Contracts, measured from the start of the year
+Added: to the end of the year, does not represent the actual benchmark results that UNL seeks to track, which are more fully described
+Added: below in the section titled “
+Added: Tracking UNL's Benchmark .”
+Added: During the year ended December 31,
+Added: 2020, the natural gas futures market experienced states of both contango and backwardation.
+Added: When the market is in a state of contango,
+Added: the near month natural gas futures contract is lower than the price of the next month natural gas futures contract, or contracts
+Added: further away from expiration.
+Added: During periods of backwardation the near month natural gas futures contract is higher than the price
+Added: of the next month natural gas futures contract, or contracts further away from expiration.
+Added: For a discussion of the impact of backwardation
+Added: and contango on total returns, see “Term Structure of Natural Gas Futures Prices and the Impact on Total Returns”
+Added: Valuation of Futures Contracts and the Computation of the
+Added: Per Share NAV
+Added: The per share NAV of UNL’s shares
+Added: is calculated once each NYSE Arca trading day.
+Added: The per share NAV for a particular trading day is released after 4:00 p.m.
+Added: Trading during the core trading session on the NYSE Arca typically closes at 4:00 p.m.
+Added: New York time.
+Added: The Administrator
+Added: uses the NYMEX closing price (determined at the earlier of the close of the NYMEX or 2:30 p.m.
+Added: New York time) for the contracts
+Added: held on the NYMEX, but calculates or determines the value of all other UNL investments, including cleared swaps, or other futures
+Added: contracts, as of the earlier of the close of the NYSE Arca or 4:00 p.m.
+Added: New York time.
+Added: Results of Operations and the Natural
+Added: Results of Operations.
+Added: On November 18,
+Added: 2009, UNL listed its shares on the NYSE Arca under the ticker symbol “UNL.”
+Added: On that day, UNL established its initial
+Added: offering price at $50.00 per share and issued 200,000 shares to the initial Authorized Participant, Merrill Lynch Professional
+Added: Clearing Corp., in exchange for $10,000,000 in cash.
+Added: As of December 31, 2020, UNL had issued
+Added: 6,150,000 shares, 950,000 of which were outstanding.
+Added: As of December 31, 2020, there were 23,850,000 shares registered but
+Added: not yet issued.
+Added: UNL has registered 30,000,000 shares since inception.
+Added: More shares may have been issued by UNL
+Added: than are outstanding due to the redemption of shares.
+Added: Unlike funds that are registered under the 1940 Act, shares that have been
+Added: redeemed by UNL cannot be resold by UNL.
+Added: As a result, UNL contemplates that additional offerings of its shares will be registered
+Added: with the SEC in the future in anticipation of additional issuances and redemptions.
+Added: As of December 31, 2020, UNL had the
+Added: following Authorized Participants:
+Added: Citadel Securities LLC, Citigroup Global Markets, Inc., Credit Suisse Securities USA LLC,
+Added: JP Morgan Securities, Inc., Merrill Lynch Professional Clearing Corp., Morgan Stanley & Co.
+Added: LLC, Nomura Securities
+Added: International Inc., RBC Capital Markets LLC, SG Americas Securities LLC and Virtu Financial BD LLC.
+Added: For the Year Ended December 31, 2020 Compared to the
+Added: Year Ended December 31, 2019
+Added: Per share net asset value, end of year
+Added: Average daily total net assets
+Added: Dividend and interest income earned on Treasuries, cash and/or cash equivalents
+Added: Annualized yield based on average daily total net assets
+Added: Management fee
+Added: Total fees and other expenses excluding management fees
+Added: Total amount of the expense waiver
+Added: Expenses before the allowance of the expense waiver
+Added: Expenses after the allowance of the expense waiver
+Added: Total commissions accrued to brokers
+Added: Total commissions as annualized percentage of average total net assets
+Added: Commissions accrued as a result of rebalancing
+Added: Percentage of commissions accrued as a result of rebalancing
+Added: Commissions accrued as a result of creation and redemption activity
+Added: Percentage of commissions accrued as a result of creation and redemption activity
+Added: Portfolio Expenses.
+Added: expenses consist of investment management fees, brokerage fees and commissions, certain offering costs, licensing fees, registration
+Added: fees, the fees and expenses of the independent directors of USCF and expenses relating to tax accounting and reporting requirements.
+Added: The management fee that UNL pays to USCF is calculated as a percentage of the total net assets of UNL.
+Added: The fee is accrued daily
+Added: and paid monthly.
+Added: The decrease in the per share NAV for
+Added: the year ended December 31, 2020, compared to the year ended December 31, 2019, was due primarily to lower prices for
+Added: natural gas and the related decrease in the value of the Natural Gas Futures Contracts in which UNL held and traded.
+Added: Average interest rates earned on short-term
+Added: investments held by UNL, including cash, cash equivalents and Treasuries, were lower during the year ended December 31, 2020,
+Added: compared to the year ended December 31, 2019.
+Added: As a result, the amount of income earned by UNL as a percentage of average daily
+Added: total net assets was lower during the year ended December 31, 2020, compared to the year ended December 31, 2019.
+Added: the degree that the aggregate yield is lower, the net expense ratio, inclusive of income, will be higher.
+Added: The decrease in total fees and other expenses
+Added: excluding management fees for the year ended December 31, 2020, compared to the year ended December 31, 2019 was due
+Added: primarily to a decrease in professional fees.
+Added: The increase in total commissions accrued
+Added: to brokers for the year ended December 31, 2020, compared to the year ended December 31, 2019, was due primarily to a
+Added: higher number of Natural Gas Futures Contracts being held and traded.
+Added: Tracking UNL’s Benchmark
+Added: USCF seeks to manage UNL's portfolio such
+Added: that changes in its average daily per share NAV, on a percentage basis, closely track the daily changes in the average price of
+Added: the Benchmark Futures Contracts, also on a percentage basis.
+Added: Specifically, USCF seeks to manage the portfolio such that over any
+Added: rolling period of 30-valuation days, the average daily change in UNL's per share NAV is within a range of 90% to 110% (0.9 to 1.1)
+Added: of the average daily change in the prices of the Benchmark Futures Contracts.
+Added: As an example, if the average daily movement of the
+Added: average of the prices of the Benchmark Futures Contracts for a particular 30-valuation day time period was 0.50% per day, USCF
+Added: would attempt to manage the portfolio such that the average daily movement of the per share NAV during that same time period fell
+Added: between 0.45% and 0.55% (i.e., between 0.9 and 1.1 of the benchmark’s results).
+Added: UNL's portfolio management goals do not include
+Added: trying to make the nominal price of UNL's per share NAV equal to the average of the nominal prices of the current Benchmark Futures
+Added: Contracts or the spot price for natural gas.
+Added: USCF believes that it is not practical to manage the portfolio to achieve such an
+Added: investment goal when investing in Futures Contracts and Other Natural Gas-Related Investments.
+Added: For the 30-valuation days ended December 31,
+Added: 2020, the average daily change in the average of the prices of the Benchmark Futures Contracts was (0.154)%, while the average
+Added: daily change in the per share NAV of UNL over the same time period was (0.158)%.
+Added: The average daily difference was (0.004)% (or
+Added: (0.4) basis points, where 1 basis point equals 1/100 of 1%), meaning that over this time period UNL’s NAV performed was
+Added: within the plus or minus 10% range established as its benchmark tracking goal.
+Added: The average daily difference expressed as a percentage
+Added: of the average daily change in Benchmark Futures Contracts for the same period was 5.179%.
+Added: This ratio expressed in percentage terms
+Added: is significantly affected by days or periods with flat price returns, and therefore, is not a meaningful measure of how well UNL
+Added: tracks its benchmark.
+Added: Since the commencement of the offering
+Added: of UNL’s shares to the public on November 18, 2009 to December 31, 2020, the average daily change in the average
+Added: price of the Benchmark Futures Contracts was (0.051)%, while the average daily change in the per share NAV of UNL over the same
+Added: time period was (0.053)%.
+Added: The average daily difference was (0.002)% (or (0.2) basis points, where 1 basis point equals 1/100
+Added: of 1%), meaning that over this time period UNL’s NAV performed within the plus or minus 10% range established as its benchmark
+Added: tracking goal.
+Added: The average daily difference expressed as a percentage of the average daily change in Benchmark Futures Contracts
+Added: for the same period was 0.004%.
+Added: This ratio expressed in percentage terms is significantly affected by days or periods with flat
+Added: price returns, and therefore, is not a meaningful measure of how well UNL tracks its benchmark.
+Added: The following two charts demonstrate the
+Added: correlation between the changes in UNL's NAV and the changes in the Benchmark Futures Contracts.
+Added: The first chart exhibits the daily
+Added: changes in the last 30 valuation days ended December 31, 2020.
+Added: The second chart measures monthly changes since December 31,
+Added: 2015 through December 31, 2020.
+Added: *PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY
+Added: INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS
+Added: *PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY
+Added: INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS
+Added: An alternative tracking measurement of
+Added: the return performance of UNL versus the return of its Benchmark Futures Contracts can be calculated by comparing the actual return
+Added: of UNL, measured by changes in its per share NAV, versus the expected changes in its per share NAV under the assumption that UNL’s
+Added: returns had been exactly the same as the daily changes in its Benchmark Futures Contracts.
+Added: For the year ended December 31, 2020,
+Added: the actual total return of UNL as measured by changes in its per share NAV was (8.19)%.
+Added: This is based on an initial per share NAV
+Added: of $8.43 as of December 31, 2019 and an ending per share NAV as of December 31, 2020 of $7.74.
+Added: During this time period,
+Added: UNL made no distributions to its shareholders.
+Added: However, if UNL’s daily changes in its per share NAV had instead exactly tracked
+Added: the changes in the daily total return of the Benchmark Futures Contract, UNL would have had an estimated per share NAV of $7.75
+Added: as of December 31, 2020, for a total return over the relevant time period of (8.07)%.
+Added: The difference between the actual per
+Added: share NAV total return of UNL of (8.19)% and the expected total return based on the Benchmark Futures Contract of (8.07)% was an
+Added: error over the time period of (0.12)%, which is to say that UNL’s actual total return underperformed its benchmark by that
+Added: UNL incurs expenses primarily composed of the management fee, brokerage commissions for the buying and selling of futures
+Added: contracts, and other expenses.
+Added: The impact of these expenses, offset by interest and dividend income, and net of positive or negative
+Added: execution, tends to cause daily changes in the per share NAV of UNL to track slightly lower or higher than daily changes in the
+Added: price of the Benchmark Futures Contracts.
+Added: By comparison, for the year ended December 31,
+Added: 2019, the actual total return of UNL as measured by changes in its per share NAV was (17.84)%.
+Added: This was based on an initial per
+Added: share NAV of $10.26 as of December 31, 2018 and an ending per share NAV as of December 31, 2019 of $8.43.
+Added: time period, UNL made no distributions to its shareholders.
+Added: However, if UNL’s daily changes in its per share NAV had instead
+Added: exactly tracked the changes in the daily total return of the Benchmark Futures Contracts, UNL would have had an estimated per share
+Added: NAV of $8.33 as of December 31, 2019, for a total return over the relevant time period of (18.81)%.
+Added: The difference between
+Added: the actual per share NAV total return of UNL of (17.84)% and the expected total return based on the Benchmark Futures Contracts
+Added: of (18.81)% was an error over the time period of 0.97%, which is to say that UNL’s actual total return outperformed its benchmark
+Added: by that percentage.
+Added: UNL incurred expenses primarily composed of the management fee, brokerage commissions for the buying and selling
+Added: of futures contracts, and other expenses.
+Added: The impact of these expenses, offset by interest and dividend income, and net of positive
+Added: or negative execution, tended to cause daily changes in the per share NAV of UNL to track slightly lower or higher than daily changes
+Added: in the price of the Benchmark Futures Contracts.
+Added: There are currently three factors that
+Added: have impacted or are most likely to impact UNL's ability to accurately track Benchmark Futures Contracts.
+Added: First, UNL may buy or sell its holdings
+Added: in the then current Benchmark Futures Contracts at a price other than the closing settlement price of that contract on the day
+Added: during which UNL executes the trade.
+Added: In that case, UNL may pay a price that is higher, or lower, than that of the Benchmark Futures
+Added: Contracts, which could cause the changes in the daily per share NAV of UNL to either be too high or too low relative to the daily
+Added: changes in the average price of the Benchmark Futures Contracts.
+Added: During the year ended December 31, 2020, USCF attempted to
+Added: minimize the effect of these transactions by seeking to execute its purchase or sale of the Benchmark Futures Contracts at, or
+Added: as close as possible to, the end of the day settlement price.
+Added: However, it may not always be possible for UNL to obtain the closing
+Added: settlement price and there is no assurance that failure to obtain the closing settlement price in the future will not adversely
+Added: impact UNL's attempt to track the Benchmark Futures Contracts.
+Added: Second, UNL incurs expenses primarily composed
+Added: of the management fee, brokerage commissions for the buying and selling of futures contracts, and other expenses.
+Added: The impact of
+Added: these expenses tends to cause daily changes in the per share NAV of UNL to track slightly lower than daily changes in the price
+Added: of the Benchmark Futures Contracts.
+Added: At the same time, UNL earns dividend and interest income on its cash, cash equivalents and
+Added: UNL is not required to distribute any portion of its income to its shareholders and did not make any distributions
+Added: to shareholders during the year ended December 31, 2020.
+Added: Interest payments, and any other income, were retained within the
+Added: portfolio and added to UNL's NAV.
+Added: When this income exceeds the level of UNL's expenses for its management fee, brokerage commissions
+Added: and other expenses (including ongoing registration fees, licensing fees and the fees and expenses of the independent directors
+Added: of USCF), UNL will realize a net yield that will tend to cause daily changes in the per share NAV of UNL to track slightly higher
+Added: than daily changes in the average of the prices of the Benchmark Futures Contracts.
+Added: If short-term interest rates rise above these
+Added: current levels, the level of deviation created by the yield would increase.
+Added: Conversely, if short-term interest rates were to decline,
+Added: the amount of error created by the yield would decrease.
+Added: When short-term yields drop to a level lower than the combined expenses
+Added: of the management fee and the brokerage commissions, then the tracking error becomes a negative number and would tend to cause
+Added: the daily returns of the per share NAV to underperform the daily returns of the Benchmark Futures Contracts.
+Added: USCF anticipates that
+Added: interest rates may continue to stagnate over the near future near historical lows.
+Added: It is anticipated that fees and expenses
+Added: paid by UNL may continue to be higher than interest earned by UNL.
+Added: As such, USCF anticipates that UNL could possibly underperform
+Added: its benchmark so long as interest earned is less than the fees and expenses paid by UNL.
+Added: Third, UNL may hold Other Natural Gas-Related
+Added: Investments in its portfolio that may fail to closely track the Benchmark Futures Contracts total return movements.
+Added: In that case,
+Added: the error in tracking the Benchmark Futures Contracts could result in daily changes in the per share NAV of UNL that are either
+Added: too high, or too low, relative to the daily changes in the average price of the Benchmark Futures Contracts.
+Added: During the year ended
+Added: December 31, 2020, UNL did not hold any Other Natural Gas-Related Investments.
+Added: If UNL increases in size, and due to its obligations
+Added: to comply with regulatory limits, UNL may invest in Other Natural Gas-Related Investments which may have the effect of increasing
+Added: transaction related expenses and may result in increased tracking error.
+Added: Term Structure of Natural Gas Futures
+Added: Prices and the Impact on Total Returns.
+Added: Several factors determine the total return from investing in futures contracts.
+Added: factor arises from “rolling”
+Added: futures contracts that will expire at the end of the current month (the “near”
+Added: or “front”
+Added: month contract) forward each month prior to expiration.
+Added: For a strategy that entails holding the near month
+Added: contract, the price relationship between that futures contract and the next month futures contract will impact returns.
+Added: if the price of the near month futures contract is higher than the next futures month contract (a situation referred to as “backwardation”),
+Added: then absent any other change, the price of a next month futures contract tends to rise in value as it becomes the near month futures
+Added: contract and approaches expiration.
+Added: Conversely, if the price of a near month futures contract is lower than the next month futures
+Added: contract (a situation referred to as “contango”), then absent any other change, the price of a next month futures contract
+Added: tends to decline in value as it becomes the near month futures contract and approaches expiration.
+Added: As an example, assume that the price of
+Added: natural gas for immediate delivery, is $3 per MMBtu, and the value of a position in the near month futures contract is also $3.
+Added: Over time, the price of natural gas will fluctuate based on a number of market factors, including demand for natural gas relative
+Added: The value of the near month futures contract will likewise fluctuate in reaction to a number of market factors.
+Added: investor seeks to maintain a position in a near month futures contract and not take delivery of physical MMBtu of natural gas,
+Added: the investor must sell the current near month futures contract as it approaches expiration and invest in the next month futures
+Added: In order to continue holding a position in the current near month futures contract, this “roll”
+Added: the futures contract must be executed every month.
+Added: Contango and backwardation are natural
+Added: market forces that have impacted the total return on an investment in UNL’s shares during the past year relative to a hypothetical
+Added: direct investment in natural gas.
+Added: In the future, it is likely that the relationship between the market price of UNL’s shares
+Added: and changes in the spot prices of natural gas will continue to be impacted by contango and backwardation.
+Added: It is important to note
+Added: that this comparison ignores the potential costs associated with physically owning and storing natural gas, which could be substantial.
+Added: If the futures market is in backwardation,
+Added: e.g., when the price of the near month futures contract is higher than the price of the next month futures contract, the investor
+Added: would buy a next month futures contract for a lower price than the current near month futures contract.
+Added: Assuming the price of the
+Added: next month futures contract was $2.94 per MMBtu, or 2% cheaper than the $3 near month futures contract, then, hypothetically, and
+Added: assuming no other changes (e.g., to either prevailing natural gas prices or the price relationship between the spot price, the
+Added: near month contract and the next month contract, and, ignoring the impact of commission costs and the income earned on cash and/or
+Added: cash equivalents), the value of the $2.94 next month futures contract would rise to $3 as it approaches expiration.
+Added: In this example,
+Added: the value of an investment in the next month futures contract would tend to outperform the spot price of natural gas.
+Added: it would be possible for the new near month futures contract to rise 12% while the spot price of natural gas may have risen a lower
+Added: amount, e.g., only 10%.
+Added: Similarly, the spot price of natural gas could have fallen 10% while the value of an investment in the
+Added: futures contract might have fallen another amount, e.g., only 8%.
+Added: Over time, if backwardation remained constant, this difference
+Added: between the spot price and the futures contract price would continue to increase.
+Added: If the futures market is in contango, an
+Added: investor would be buying a next month futures contract for a higher price than the current near month futures contract.
+Added: assuming the near month futures contract is $3 per MMBtu, the price of the next month futures contract might be $3.06 per MMBtu,
+Added: or 2% more expensive than the front month futures contract.
+Added: Hypothetically, and assuming no other changes, the value of the $3.06
+Added: next month futures contract would fall to $3 as it approaches expiration.
+Added: In this example, the value of an investment in the second
+Added: month would tend to underperform the spot price of natural gas.
+Added: As a result, it would be possible for the new near month futures
+Added: contract to rise only 10% while the spot price of natural gas may have risen a higher amount, e.g., 12%.
+Added: Similarly, the spot price
+Added: of natural gas could have fallen 10% while the value of an investment in the second month futures contract might have fallen another
+Added: amount, e.g., 12%.
+Added: Over time, if contango remained constant, this difference between the spot price and the futures contract price
+Added: would continue to increase.
+Added: The chart below compares the daily price
+Added: of the near month natural gas futures contract to the price of 13 th month natural gas futures contract (i.e., a contract
+Added: one year forward) over the last 10 years.
+Added: When the price of the near month futures contract is higher than the price of the 13 th
+Added: month futures contract, the market would be described as being in backwardation.
+Added: When the price of the near month futures contract
+Added: is lower than the 13 th month futures contract, the market would be described as being in contango.
+Added: Although the price
+Added: of the near month futures contract and the price of the 13 th month futures contract tend to move together, it can be
+Added: seen that at times the near month futures contract prices are higher than the 13 th month futures contract prices (backwardation)
+Added: and, at other times, the near month futures contract prices are lower than the 13 th month futures contract prices (contango).
+Added: *PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY
+Added: INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS
+Added: An alternative way to view the same data
+Added: is to subtract the dollar price of the 13 th month natural gas futures contract from the dollar price of the near month
+Added: natural gas futures contract, as shown in the chart below.
+Added: When the difference is positive, the market is in backwardation.
+Added: the difference is negative, the market is in contango.
+Added: The natural gas market spent time in both backwardation and contango during
+Added: the last ten years.
+Added: The chart below shows the results from subtracting the average dollar price of the near 12-month contracts
+Added: from the near month price for the 10-year period between December 31, 2010 and December 31, 2020.
+Added: Investors will note
+Added: that the natural gas market spent time in both backwardation and contango.
+Added: *PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY
+Added: INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS
+Added: An investment in a portfolio that owned
+Added: only the near month natural gas futures contract would likely produce a different result than an investment in a portfolio that
+Added: owned an equal number of each of the near 12 months’
+Added: of natural gas futures contracts.
+Added: Generally speaking, when the natural
+Added: gas futures market is in backwardation, a portfolio of only the near month natural gas futures contract may tend to have a higher
+Added: total return than a portfolio of 12 months’
+Added: of the natural gas futures contract.
+Added: Conversely, if the natural gas futures market
+Added: was in contango, the portfolio containing only 12 months’
+Added: of natural gas futures contracts may tend to outperform the portfolio
+Added: holding only the near month natural gas futures contract.
+Added: Historically, the natural gas futures markets
+Added: have experienced periods of contango and backwardation.
+Added: Because natural gas demand is seasonal, it is possible for the price of
+Added: natural gas futures contracts for delivery within one or two months to rapidly move from backwardation into contango and back again
+Added: within the relatively short period of time of less than one year.
+Added: However, the natural gas market has primarily been in a state
+Added: of contango since late 2014.
+Added: Periods of contango or backwardation do
+Added: not materially impact UNL’s investment objective of having the daily percentage changes in its per share NAV track the daily
+Added: percentage changes in the price of the Benchmark Futures Contract since the impact of backwardation and contango tend to equally
+Added: impact the daily percentage changes in price of both UNL’s shares and the Benchmark Futures Contract.
+Added: It is impossible to
+Added: predict with any degree of certainty whether backwardation or contango will occur in the future.
+Added: It is likely that both conditions
+Added: will occur during different periods and, because of the seasonal nature of natural gas demand, both may occur within a single year’s
+Added: Natural Gas Market.
+Added: During the year ended December 31, 2020, natural gas prices
+Added: in the United States increased by 15.99%.
+Added: Prices reached their low for the year in late June at $1.482 and peaked in late October
+Added: at $3.354 after falling to $1.544 by early June.
+Added: Natural gas prices ended the year at $2.539.
+Added: Prices have averaged about $2.58
+Added: over the last three years and $2.66 over the last five years.
+Added: By year-end, the amount of natural gas in storage was 3,460 billion
+Added: cubic feet, 8.3% above 2019 levels and 7.5% above the average of the previous five years.
+Added: While both domestic demand and U.S.
+Added: of natural gas have increased over the last five years, the robust ability of the U.S.
+Added: energy industry to meet demand may continue
+Added: to constrain natural gas prices unless periods of more extreme temperatures occur.
+Added: Mitigation measures taken in the United
+Added: States to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic led to a decline in natural gas consumption in the industrial sector and by
+Added: other commercial users.
+Added: Simultaneously, natural gas production fell as a result of reduced drilling activity and shut-ins of crude
+Added: oil wells where natural gas is a byproduct.
+Added: While natural gas prices declined steadily
+Added: during the first half of 2020, prices were not as impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic as other energy commodities.
+Added: Lower prices were
+Added: at least in part due to the ongoing surplus of natural gas in storage and lower demand resulting from warm weather in the United
+Added: Additionally, crude oil and petroleum products are more sensitive to changes in commuter and air miles as well as manufacturing
+Added: and industrial production, all of which dropped dramatically during first half of 2020.
+Added: The 30-day annualized volatility of
+Added: natural gas prices rose notably from late February to late May of 2020 and averaged about 69% during the second
+Added: quarter, considerably higher than five-year average volatility of approximately 44%.
+Added: However, natural gas price volatility
+Added: during the rest of 2020 was similar to prior years.
+Added: price volatility in 2020 never reached the extreme level that occurred during the 2018-2019 winter.
+Added: Likewise, natural gas
+Added: price volatility remained well below the levels of volatility seen in crude oil markets.
+Added: While some uncertainty in natural
+Added: gas prices was likely a result of COVID-19 mitigation efforts, the effects from the COVID-19 pandemic were more muted as
+Added: compared to the impact on crude oil markets.
+Added: The increasing number of COVID-19 cases
+Added: in the United States may continue to add pressure to natural gas demand, and the full impact is indeterminate.
+Added: However, demand
+Added: declines could be outweighed by continued production declines over the next twelve months, which would be a bullish factor for
+Added: natural gas prices.
+Added: Ultimately, the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to continue impacting both demand and supply and the ultimate impact
+Added: on natural gas prices remains uncertain at this time.
+Added: Natural Gas Price Movements in Comparison
+Added: to Other Energy Commodities and Investment Categories.
+Added: USCF believes that investors frequently measure the degree to which
+Added: prices or total returns of one investment or asset class move up or down in value in concert with another investment or asset class.
+Added: Statistically, such a measure is usually done by measuring the correlation of the price movements of the two different investments
+Added: or asset classes over some period of time.
+Added: The correlation is scaled between 1 and -1, where 1 indicates that the two investment
+Added: options move up or down in price or value together, known as “positive correlation,”
+Added: and -1 indicates that they move
+Added: in completely opposite directions, known as “negative correlation.”
+Added: A correlation of 0 would mean that the movements
+Added: of the two are neither positively nor negatively correlated, known as “non-correlation.”
+Added: That is, the investment options
+Added: sometimes move up and down together and other times move in opposite directions.
+Added: For the ten-year time period between December 31,
+Added: 2010 and December 31, 2020, the table below compares the monthly movements of natural gas prices versus the monthly movements
+Added: of the prices of several other energy commodities, such as crude oil, diesel-heating oil, and unleaded gasoline, as well as several
+Added: major non-commodity investment asset classes, such as large cap U.S.
+Added: equities, U.S.
+Added: government bonds and global equities.
+Added: be seen that over this particular time period, the movement of natural gas on a monthly basis was neither strongly correlated nor
+Added: inversely correlated with the movements of large cap U.S.
+Added: equities, U.S.
+Added: Government bonds, global equities, crude oil, diesel-heating
+Added: oil, or unleaded gasoline.
+Added: *PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY
+Added: INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS
+Added: The table below covers a more recent, but
+Added: much shorter, range of dates than the above table.
+Added: Over the one year period ended December 31, 2020, the movement of natural
+Added: gas was neither strongly correlated nor inversely correlated with crude oil, diesel-heating oil and unleaded gasoline.
+Added: of natural gas was somewhat correlated with large cap U.S.
+Added: equities and global equities, and somewhat negatively correlated with
+Added: government bonds.
+Added: *PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY
+Added: INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS
+Added: Bloomberg, NYMEX
+Added: Investors are cautioned that the historical
+Added: price relationships between natural gas and various other energy commodities, as well as other investment asset classes, as measured
+Added: by correlation may not be reliable predictors of future price movements and correlation results.
+Added: The results pictured above would
+Added: have been different if a different range of dates had been selected.
+Added: USCF believes that natural gas has historically not demonstrated
+Added: a strong correlation with equities or bonds over long periods of time.
+Added: However, USCF also believes that in the future it is possible
+Added: that natural gas could have long-term correlation results that indicate prices of natural gas more closely track the movements
+Added: of equities or bonds.
+Added: In addition, USCF believes that, when measured over time periods shorter than ten years, there will always
+Added: be some periods where the correlation of natural gas to equities and bonds will be either more strongly positively correlated or
+Added: more strongly negatively correlated than the long term historical results suggest.
+Added: The correlations between natural gas, crude
+Added: oil, diesel-heating oil and gasoline are relevant because USCF endeavors to invest UNL’s assets in natural gas Futures Contracts
+Added: and Other Natural Gas-Related Investments so that daily changes in percentage terms in UNL’s per share NAV correlate as closely
+Added: as possible with daily changes in percentage terms in the average of the prices of the Benchmark Futures Contracts.
+Added: other fuel-based commodity futures contracts do not closely correlate with the natural gas Futures Contracts, then their use could
+Added: lead to greater tracking error.
+Added: As noted above, USCF also believes that the changes in percentage terms in the average of the prices
+Added: of the Benchmark Futures Contracts will closely correlate with changes in percentage terms in the spot price of natural gas.
+Added: For the Year Ended December 31,
+Added: 2019 Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2018
+Added: The comparison of the fiscal years ended
+Added: December 31, 2019 and 2018 can be found in UNL’s annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31,
+Added: 2019 located within Part II, Item 7.
+Added: Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,
+Added: which is incorporated by reference herein.
+Added: Critical Accounting Policies
+Added: Preparation of the condensed financial
+Added: statements and related disclosures in compliance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America
+Added: requires the application of appropriate accounting rules and guidance, as well as the use of estimates.
+Added: UNL’s application
+Added: of these policies involves judgments and actual results may differ from the estimates used.
+Added: USCF has evaluated the nature and types
+Added: of estimates that it makes in preparing UNL’s condensed financial statements and related disclosures and has determined that
+Added: the valuation of its investments, which are not traded on a United States or internationally recognized futures exchange (such
+Added: as forward contracts and OTC swaps) involves a critical accounting policy.
+Added: The values which are used by UNL for its Futures
+Added: Contracts are provided by its commodity broker who uses market prices when available, while OTC swaps are valued based on the present
+Added: value of estimated future cash flows that would be received from or paid to a third party in settlement of these derivative contracts
+Added: prior to their delivery date and valued on a daily basis.
+Added: In addition, UNL estimates interest and dividend income on a daily
+Added: basis using prevailing rates earned on its cash and cash equivalents.
+Added: These estimates are adjusted to the actual amount received
+Added: on a monthly basis and the difference, if any, is not considered material.
+Added: Liquidity and Capital Resources
+Added: UNL has not made, and does not anticipate
+Added: making, use of borrowings or other lines of credit to meet its obligations.
+Added: UNL has met, and it is anticipated that UNL
+Added: will continue to meet, its liquidity needs in the normal course of business from the proceeds of the sale of its investments, or
+Added: from the Treasuries, cash and/or cash equivalents that it intends to hold at all times.
+Added: UNL’s liquidity needs include:
+Added: shares, providing margin deposits for its existing Futures Contracts or the purchase of additional Futures Contracts
+Added: and posting collateral for its OTC swaps, if applicable, and payment of its expenses, summarized below under “Contractual
+Added: Obligations.”
+Added: UNL currently generates cash primarily
+Added: (i) the sale of baskets consisting of 50,000 shares (“Creation Baskets”) and (ii) income earned on
+Added: Treasuries, cash and/or cash equivalents.
+Added: UNL has allocated substantially all of its net assets to trading in Natural
+Added: Gas Interests.
+Added: UNL invests in Natural Gas Interests to the fullest extent possible without being leveraged or unable
+Added: to satisfy its current or potential margin or collateral obligations with respect to its investments in Futures Contracts
+Added: and Other Natural Gas-Related Investments.
+Added: A significant portion of UNL's NAV is held in cash and cash equivalents that are used
+Added: as margin and as collateral for its trading in Natural Gas Interests.
+Added: The balance of the assets is held in UNL's account at
+Added: its custodian bank and in investments in money market funds and Treasuries at the FCMs.
+Added: Income received from UNL's
+Added: investments in money market funds and Treasuries is paid to UNL.
+Added: During the year ended December 31, 2020, UNL's
+Added: expenses did exceed the income UNL earned and the cash earned from the sale of Creation Baskets and the redemption of Redemption
+Added: During the year ended December 31, 2019, UNL's expenses did not exceed the income UNL earned and the
+Added: cash earned from the sale of Creation Baskets and the redemption of Redemption Baskets.
+Added: To the extent expenses exceed income, UNL's
+Added: NAV will be negatively impacted.
+Added: USCF endeavors to have the value of UNL's Treasuries, cash and
+Added: cash equivalents, whether held by UNL or posted as margin or other collateral, at all times approximate the aggregate market value
+Added: of its obligations under its Futures Contracts and Other Natural Gas-Related Investments.
+Added: Although permitted to do so under
+Added: its Limited Partnership Agreement, UNL has not and does not intend to leverage its assets by making investments beyond its potential
+Added: ability to meet the potential margin and collateral obligations relating to such investments.
+Added: Consistent with this, UNL's investment
+Added: decisions will take into account the need for UNL to make permitted investments that also allow it to maintain adequate liquidity
+Added: to meet its margin and collateral requirements and to avoid, to the extent reasonably possible, UNL becoming leveraged, including
+Added: by its holding of assets that have a high probability of having a value of less than zero.
+Added: UNL’s investments in Natural Gas
+Added: Interests may be subject to periods of illiquidity because of market conditions, regulatory considerations and other reasons.
+Added: example, most commodity exchanges limit the fluctuations in futures contracts prices during a single day by regulations referred
+Added: to as “daily limits.”
+Added: During a single day, no trades may be executed at prices beyond the daily limit.
+Added: Once the price
+Added: of a futures contract has increased or decreased by an amount equal to the daily limit, positions in the contracts can neither
+Added: be taken nor liquidated unless the traders are willing to effect trades at or within the specified daily limit.
+Added: Such market conditions
+Added: could prevent UNL from promptly liquidating its positions in Futures Contracts.
+Added: During the year ended December 31, 2020, UNL
+Added: did not purchase or liquidate any of its positions while daily limits were in effect;
+Added: however, UNL cannot predict whether such
+Added: an event may occur in the future.
+Added: Since the initial offering of shares, UNL has been responsible
+Added: for expenses relating to:
+Added: (i) management fees, (ii) brokerage fees and commissions, (iii) licensing fees for the
+Added: use of intellectual property, (iv) ongoing registration expenses in connection with offers and sales of its shares subsequent
+Added: to the initial offering, (v) other expenses, including tax reporting costs, (vi) fees and expenses of the independent
+Added: directors of USCF and (vii) other extraordinary expenses not in the ordinary course of business.
+Added: UNL may terminate at any time, regardless
+Added: of whether UNL has incurred losses, subject to the terms of the LP Agreement.
+Added: In particular, unforeseen circumstances, including
+Added: the adjudication of incompetence, bankruptcy, dissolution, or removal of USCF as the general partner of UNL could cause UNL to
+Added: terminate unless a majority interest of the limited partners within 90 days of the event elects to continue the partnership and
+Added: appoints a successor general partner, or the affirmative vote of a majority in interest of the limited partners subject to certain
+Added: However, no level of losses will require USCF to terminate UNL.
+Added: UNL’s termination would cause the liquidation
+Added: and potential loss of an investor’s investment.
+Added: Termination could also negatively affect the overall maturity and timing
+Added: of an investor’s investment portfolio.
+Added: Trading in Futures Contracts and Other
+Added: Natural Gas-Related Investments, such as forwards, involves UNL entering into contractual commitments to purchase or sell natural
+Added: gas at a specified date in the future.
+Added: The aggregate market value of the contracts will significantly exceed UNL's future cash
+Added: requirements since UNL intends to close out its open positions prior to settlement.
+Added: As a result, UNL is generally only
+Added: subject to the risk of loss arising from the change in value of the contracts.
+Added: UNL considers the “fair value”
+Added: of its derivative instruments to be the unrealized gain or loss on the contracts.
+Added: The market risk associated with UNL’s commitments
+Added: to purchase natural gas is limited to the aggregate market value of the contracts held.
+Added: However, should UNL enter into
+Added: a contractual commitment to sell natural gas, it would be required to make delivery of the natural gas at the contract price,
+Added: repurchase the contract at prevailing prices or settle in cash.
+Added: Since there are no limits on the future price of natural gas,
+Added: the market risk to UNL could be unlimited.
+Added: UNL’s exposure to market risk depends
+Added: on a number of factors, including the markets for natural gas, the volatility of interest rates and foreign exchange rates, the
+Added: liquidity of the Futures Contracts and Other Natural Gas-Related Investments markets and the relationships among the contracts
+Added: Drastic market occurrences could ultimately lead to the loss of all or substantially all of an investor’s capital.
+Added: When UNL enters into Futures
+Added: Contracts and Other Natural Gas-Related Investments, it is exposed to the credit risk that the counterparty will not be able to
+Added: meet its obligations.
+Added: The counterparty for the Futures Contracts traded on the NYMEX and on most other futures exchanges is
+Added: the clearinghouse associated with the particular exchange.
+Added: In general, in addition to margin required to be posted by the clearinghouse
+Added: in connection with cleared trades, clearinghouses are backed by their members who may be required to share in the financial burden
+Added: resulting from the nonperformance of one of their members and, therefore, this additional member support should significantly reduce
+Added: UNL is not currently a member of any clearinghouse.
+Added: Some foreign exchanges are not backed by their clearinghouse
+Added: members but may be backed by a consortium of banks or other financial institutions.
+Added: There can be no assurance that any counterparty,
+Added: clearinghouse, or their members or their financial backers will satisfy their obligations to UNL in such circumstances.
+Added: USCF attempts to manage the credit risk
+Added: of UNL by following various trading limitations and policies.
+Added: In particular, UNL generally posts margin and/or holds
+Added: liquid assets that are approximately equal to the market value of its obligations to counterparties under the Futures Contracts
+Added: and Other Natural Gas-Related Investments it holds.
+Added: USCF has implemented procedures that include, but are not limited to, executing
+Added: and clearing trades only with creditworthy parties and/or requiring the posting of collateral or margin by such parties for the
+Added: benefit of UNL to limit its credit exposure.
+Added: An FCM, when acting on behalf of UNL in accepting orders to purchase or
+Added: sell Futures Contracts on United States exchanges, is required by CFTC regulations to separately account for and segregate as belonging
+Added: to UNL, all assets of UNL relating to domestic Futures Contracts trading.
+Added: These FCMs are not allowed to commingle
+Added: UNL's assets with their other assets.
+Added: In addition, the CFTC requires FCMs to hold in a secure account UNL's assets related to foreign Futures
+Added: In the future, UNL may purchase OTC swaps, see “Item
+Added: Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk”
+Added: in this annual report on Form 10-K for a discussion
+Added: of OTC swaps.
+Added: As of December 31, 2020, UNL held cash deposits
+Added: and investments in Treasuries and money market funds in the amount of $ 7,343,143 with the custodian and the FCMs.
+Added: or all of these amounts held by a custodian or an FCM, as applicable, may be subject to loss should UNL's custodian or FCMs, as
+Added: applicable, cease operations.
+Added: Off Balance Sheet Financing
+Added: As of December 31, 2020, UNL had no loan guarantee,
+Added: credit support or other off-balance sheet arrangements of any kind other than agreements entered into in the normal course of business,
+Added: which may include indemnification provisions relating to certain risks that service providers undertake in performing services
+Added: which are in the best interests of UNL.
+Added: While UNL’s exposure under these indemnification provisions cannot be estimated,
+Added: they are not expected to have a material impact on UNL’s financial position.
+Added: Redemption Basket Obligation
+Added: In order to meet its investment objective
+Added: and pay its contractual obligations described below, UNL requires liquidity to redeem shares, which redemptions must be in
+Added: blocks of 50,000 shares called “Redemption Baskets.”
+Added: UNL has to date satisfied this obligation by paying
+Added: from the cash or cash equivalents it holds or through the sale of its Treasuries in an amount proportionate to the number of shares
+Added: being redeemed.
+Added: Contractual Obligations
+Added: UNL's primary contractual obligations are
+Added: In return for its services, USCF is entitled to a management fee calculated daily and paid monthly as a fixed percentage
+Added: of UNL's NAV, currently 0.60% for a NAV of $1 billion or less, and thereafter of 0.50% for a NAV above $1 billion.
+Added: USCF agreed to pay the start-up costs associated
+Added: with the formation of UNL, primarily its legal, accounting and other costs in connection with USCF’s registration with the
+Added: CFTC as a CPO and the registration and listing of UNL and its shares with the SEC, FINRA and NYSE Arca (formerly, AMEX), respectively.
+Added: However, since UNL’s initial offering of shares, offering costs incurred in connection with registering and listing additional
+Added: shares of UNL have been directly borne on an ongoing basis by UNL, and not by USCF.
+Added: USCF pays the fees of the Marketing Agent
+Added: as well as BNY Mellon’s fees for performing administrative, custodial, and transfer agency services.
+Added: BNY Mellon’s fees
+Added: for performing administrative services include those in connection with the preparation of UNL's condensed financial statements
+Added: and its SEC, NFA and CFTC reports.
+Added: USCF and UNL have also entered into a licensing agreement with the NYMEX pursuant to which UNL
+Added: and the Related Public Funds, other than BNO, USCI and CPER, pay a licensing fee to the NYMEX.
+Added: UNL also pays the fees and expenses
+Added: associated with its tax accounting and reporting requirements.
+Added: USCF paid BBH&Co.’s fees for
+Added: performing administrative services, including those in connection with the preparation of UNL's condensed financial statements
+Added: and its SEC, NFA and CFTC reports through May 31, 2020.
+Added: In addition to USCF’s management
+Added: fee, UNL pays its brokerage fees (including fees to an FCM), OTC dealer spreads, any licensing fees for the use of intellectual
+Added: property, and, subsequent to the initial offering, registration and other fees paid to the SEC, FINRA, or other regulatory agencies
+Added: in connection with the offer and sale of shares, as well as legal, printing, accounting and other expenses associated therewith,
+Added: and extraordinary expenses.
+Added: The latter are expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of UNL’s business, including expenses
+Added: relating to the indemnification of any person against liabilities and obligations to the extent permitted by law and under the
+Added: LP Agreement, the bringing or defending of actions in law or in equity or otherwise conducting litigation and incurring legal expenses
+Added: and the settlement of claims and litigation.
+Added: Commission payments to an FCM are on a contract-by-contract, or round turn, basis.
+Added: UNL also pays a portion of the fees and expenses of the independent directors of USCF.
+Added: See Note 3 to the Notes to Condensed
+Added: Financial Statements in Item 8 of this annual report on Form 10-K.
+Added: The parties cannot anticipate the amount of payments that will
+Added: be required under these arrangements for future periods, as UNL's per share NAVs and trading levels to meet its investment objective
+Added: will not be known until a future date.
+Added: These agreements are effective for a specific term agreed upon by the parties with an option
+Added: to renew, or, in some cases, are in effect for the duration of UNL's existence.
+Added: Either party may terminate these agreements earlier
+Added: for certain reasons described in the agreements.
+Added: As of December 31, 2020, UNL's portfolio
+Added: consisted of 273 Natural Gas Futures NG contracts traded on the NYMEX.
+Added: As of December 31, 2020, UNL did not consist of Futures
+Added: Contracts traded on the ICE Futures.
+Added: For a list of current holdings, please see UNL's website at www.uscfinvestments.com.
Compared sentence by sentence after normalising whitespace, quotation marks, case and digits, so re-formatting and restated figures do not read as changed language. Wording changes appear as one removal and one addition. The current filing and the prior one are authoritative.