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SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2013
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES  
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

1.              SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

 

ML Winton FuturesAccess LLC (the “Fund”), a Merrill Lynch FuturesAccessSM Program (the “FuturesAccess”) fund, was organized under the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act on May 17, 2004 and commenced trading activities on February 1, 2005. The Fund engages in the speculative trading of futures and forward contracts on a wide range of commodities. Winton Capital Management Limited (“Winton” or Trading Advisor) is the trading advisor of the Fund.  The Trading Advisor trades the Winton Diversified Program (the “Trading Program”) for the Fund.

 

Merrill Lynch Alternative Investments LLC (“MLAI” or “Sponsor”) is the sponsor and manager of the Fund. MLAI is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation. Bank of America Corporation and its affiliates are referred to herein as “BAC”. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (“MLPF&S”) is currently the exclusive clearing broker for the Fund. The Sponsor may select other parties as clearing broker(s). Merrill Lynch International Bank, Ltd. (“MLIB”) is the primary foreign exchange (“F/X”) forward prime broker for the Fund. The Sponsor may select other parties as F/X or other over-the-counter (“OTC”) prime brokers, including Bank of America N.A. (“BANA”). MLPF&S, MLIB and BANA are BAC affiliates.

 

FuturesAccess is a group of managed futures funds sponsored by MLAI (“FuturesAccess Funds”).  FuturesAccess is exclusively available to investors that have investment accounts with Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, U.S. Trust and other divisions or affiliates of BAC.  FuturesAccess Funds currently are composed of direct-trading funds advised by a single trading advisor or funds of funds for which MLAI acts as the advisor and allocates capital among multiple trading advisors.  Each FuturesAccess Fund is generally similar in terms of fees, although redemption terms vary among FuturesAccess Funds.  Each trading advisor participating in FuturesAccess employs different technical, fundamental, systematic and/or discretionary trading strategies.

 

Interests in the Fund are not insured or otherwise protected by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government authority.  Interests are not deposits or other obligations of, and are not guaranteed by, BAC or by any bank.  Interests are subject to investment risks, including the possible loss of the full amount invested.

 

On May 16, 2013 and June 1, 2013 the Fund opened Class F Units and Class F1 Units, respectively, at $1.00 per Unit.  Class F Units and Class F1 Units (together, the “New Classes”) have been designed for certain high-net-worth and institutional investors that have a “Total Fund Investment” of at least $20 million or an overall “Total Investment” of at least $60 million. The New Classes are generally subject to the same terms as the existing Class D Units described in the Disclosure Document, except as set forth below. Differences between the New Classes and Class D Units include different eligibility requirements, Management Fees, upfront sales commissions, ongoing selling agent compensation, and fee sharing with the Sponsor. The Class F1 Units are available to certain existing Investors.  The New Classes will pay a monthly Management Fee at a rate equal to 1% per year, and will pay a 20% annual Performance Fee.

 

In the opinion of management, these interim financial statements contain all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, necessary for a fair statement of the financial position of the Fund as of June 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012 and the results of its operations for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2013 and 2012.  However, the operating results for the interim periods may not be indicative of the results for the full year.

 

Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in annual financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) have been omitted.  These financial statements should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes thereto included in the Fund’s report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the year ended December 31, 2012.

 

Estimates

 

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that may affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements as well as the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period.  Actual results could differ from those estimates and such differences could be material.