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Financial Instrument Risks
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2017
Derivative Instruments And Hedging Activities Disclosure [Abstract]  
Financial Instrument Risks

7.

Financial Instrument Risks:

In the normal course of business, the Partnership is party to financial instruments with off-balance sheet risk, including derivative financial instruments and derivative commodity instruments. These financial instruments may include futures and options, whose values are based upon an underlying asset, index, or reference rate, and generally represent future commitments to exchange currencies or cash balances, 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 or OTC. Exchange-traded instruments include futures and certain standardized swap, forward and option contracts. OTC contracts are negotiated between contracting parties and also include certain forward 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. Each of these instruments is subject to various risks similar to those related 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 current contracts are traded OTC, although contracts may be traded OTC in the future.

Market risk is the potential for changes in the value of the financial instruments traded by the Partnership due to market changes, including interest 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 is exposed to a market risk equal to the value of futures contracts purchased 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. The Partnership’s 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 risk of loss is reduced through the use of legally enforceable master netting agreements with counterparties that permit the Partnership to offset unrealized gains and losses and other assets and liabilities with such counterparties upon the occurrence of certain events. The Partnership had credit risk and concentration risk during the reporting period and prior periods, as Wells Fargo, Wedbush, ADM and/or MS&Co. or their affiliates were counterparties or brokers with respect to the Partnership’s assets. Credit risk with respect to exchange-traded instruments is reduced to the extent that, through Wells Fargo, Wedbush, ADM and/or MS&Co., the Partnership’s counterparty is an exchange or clearing organization. The Partnership continues to be subject to such risks with respect to Wedbush and ADM.

The Partnership’s trading will be concentrated in exchange-traded futures and options on the S&P 500® Index. Concentration in a limited number of commodity interests may subject the Partnership’s account to greater volatility than if a more diversified portfolio of contracts were traded on behalf of the Partnership.

As both a buyer and seller of options, the Partnership pays or receives a premium at the outset and then bears the risk of unfavorable changes in the price of the contract underlying the option. Written options expose the Partnership 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 does not consider these contracts to be guarantees.

The General Partner monitors and attempts to control the Partnership’s 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 may be subject. These monitoring systems generally allow the General Partner 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 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.

The majority of these instruments mature within one year of the inception date. However, due to the nature of the Partnership’s business, these instruments may not be held to maturity.