Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2014

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

1. Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Description of the Fund

Futures Portfolio Fund, Limited Partnership (“Fund”) is a Maryland limited partnership, which operates as a commodity investment pool that commenced trading operations on January 2, 1990. The Fund issues units of limited partner interests (“Units”) in three classes, Class A, B and I, which represent units of fractional undivided beneficial interest in and ownership of the Fund. Class I Units were made available for purchase on June 1, 2012. The Fund will automatically terminate on December 31, 2025, unless terminated earlier as provided in the Third Amended and Restated Limited Partnership Agreement (“Partnership Agreement”).

The Fund uses commodity trading advisors to engage in the speculative trading of futures contracts, forward currency contracts and other financial instruments traded in the United States (“U.S.”) and internationally.

The Fund is a registrant with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) pursuant to the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (“1934 Act”). As a registrant, the Fund is subject to the regulations of the SEC and the disclosure requirements of the 1934 Act. As a commodity pool, the Fund is subject to the regulations of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”), an agency of the U.S. Government, which regulates most aspects of the commodity futures industry; rules of the National Futures Association (“NFA”), an industry self-regulatory organization; rules of Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”), an industry self-regulatory organization; and the requirements of commodity exchanges where the Fund executes transactions. Additionally, the Fund is subject to the requirements of the futures brokers and interbank market makers through which the Fund trades.

Steben & Company, Inc. (“General Partner”) is the general partner of the Fund and a Maryland corporation registered with the CFTC as a commodity pool operator and a commodities introducing broker, and is also registered with the SEC as a registered investment advisor and a broker dealer. The General Partner is a member of the NFA and FINRA. The General Partner manages all aspects of the Fund’s business and serves as one of the Fund’s selling agents.

The three classes of Units in the Fund differ only in the fees applicable to each class. Class A Units are subject to a 2% per annum selling agent fee and class B Units are subject to a 0.2% per annum broker dealer servicing fee. Class I Units are subject to higher minimum investments requirements, lower General Partner Management Fees (0.75% per annum instead of 1.50% per annum), and a General Partner performance fee (7.5% of new profits, described more fully in Note 4).

During 2011, the Fund made investments totaling $90 million in the Steben Institutional Fund LLC (“SIF”), whose manager was the General Partner. The Fund was the only member in SIF. Similar to the Fund, SIF used professional commodity trading advisors to engage in the speculative trading of futures and forward currency contracts traded in the U.S. and internationally. SIF traded within six major market sectors: agricultural commodities, currencies, energy, equity indices, interest rate instruments and metals. SIF commenced trading on March 1, 2011. SIF incurred trading advisor management and incentive fees, as well as reimbursed its manager for operating expenses incurred on its behalf. During 2012, the General Partner liquidated SIF, and all of the assets of SIF were transferred to the Fund by October 31, 2012.

Significant Accounting Policies

Accounting Principles 

The Fund’s consolidated financial statements are prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”).

Consolidation 

The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Fund and SIF, for which the Fund is the sole member. All material intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Use of Estimates 

Preparing consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Revenue Recognition 

Futures, forward currency contracts, investments in securities, and certificates of deposit are recorded on a trade date basis, and gains or losses are realized when contracts/positions are liquidated. Realized gains and losses on investments in securities and certificates of deposit are determined on a specific identification basis and are included in net realized and change in unrealized gain (loss) in the consolidated statements of operations. Unrealized gains and losses on open contracts (the difference between contract trade price and fair value) are reported in the consolidated statements of financial condition as net unrealized gain or loss, as there exists a right of offset of any unrealized gains or losses. The difference between cost and the fair value of open investments in securities and certificates of deposit is reflected as unrealized gain or loss on investments in securities and certificates of deposit. Any change in net unrealized gain or loss from the preceding period is reported in the consolidated statements of operations. Interest income earned on investments in securities, certificates of deposit and other cash and cash equivalent balances is recorded on an accrual basis.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments 

Financial instruments are recorded at fair value, the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants. Assets and liabilities recorded at fair value are classified within a fair value hierarchy based upon the level of judgment associated with the inputs used to measure their value. This fair value hierarchy gives the highest priority to quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3). The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are described below:

Level 1 –	Fair value is based on unadjusted quoted prices for identical instruments in active markets.  Financial instruments utilizing Level 1 inputs include futures contracts, U.S. Treasury securities and money market funds.
Level 2 –	Fair value is based on quoted prices for similar instruments in active markets and inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the financial instrument, such as interest rates and yield curves that are observable at commonly quoted intervals using a market approach.  Financial instruments utilizing Level 2 inputs include forward currency contracts, commercial paper, corporate notes, certificates of deposit and U.S. government sponsored enterprise notes.
Level 3 –	Fair value is based on valuation techniques in which one or more significant inputs are unobservable.  The Fund has no financial instruments utilizing Level 3 inputs.

In certain cases, the inputs used to measure fair value may fall into different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In such cases, an instrument’s level within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. The Fund’s assessment of the significance of a particular input to the fair value measurement in its entirety requires judgment, and considers factors specific to the investment.

The Fund assesses the classification of the instruments at each measurement date, and any transfers between levels are recognized on the actual date of the event or change in circumstances that caused the transfer in accordance with the Fund’s accounting policy regarding the recognition of transfers between levels of the fair value hierarchy. For the periods ended March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013, there were no such transfers between levels.

A description of the valuation techniques applied to the Fund’s major categories of assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis follows.

U.S. Treasury securities are recorded at fair value based on bid and ask quotes for identical instruments. Commercial paper, certificates of deposit, corporate notes and U.S. and foreign government sponsored enterprise notes are recorded at fair value based on bid and ask quotes for similar, but not identical, instruments. Accordingly, U.S. Treasury securities are classified within Level 1, and commercial paper, certificates of deposit, corporate notes and U.S. and foreign government sponsored enterprise notes are classified within Level 2.

The investment in a money market fund, included in cash and cash equivalents in the consolidated statements of financial condition, and futures contracts, all of which are exchange-traded, are valued using quoted market prices for identical assets and are classified within Level 1. The fair values of forward currency contracts are based upon third-party quoted dealer values on the interbank market and are classified within Level 2.

Cash and Cash Equivalents 

Cash and cash equivalents may include cash, money market accounts and short-term investments with maturities of three months or less at the date of acquisition and that are not held for sale in the normal course of business. The Fund maintains deposits with financial institutions in amounts that are in excess of federally insured limits; however, the Fund does not believe it is exposed to any significant credit risk.

Brokerage Commissions and Trading Expenses 

Brokerage commissions and trading expenses include brokerage and other trading fees, and are charged to expense when contracts are opened and closed.

Redemptions Payable 

Redemptions payable represent redemptions that meet the requirements of the Fund and have been approved by the General Partner prior to period-end. These redemptions have been recorded using the period-end net asset value per Unit.

Income Taxes 

The Fund prepares calendar year U.S. and applicable state and local tax returns. The Fund is not subject to federal income taxes as each partner is individually liable for his or her allocable share of the Fund’s income, expenses and trading gains or losses. The Fund evaluates the tax positions taken or expected to be taken in the course of preparing the Fund’s tax returns to determine whether the tax positions are more-likely-than-not to be sustained when examined by the applicable tax authority. Tax positions not deemed to meet the more-likely-than-not threshold would be recorded as a tax benefit or expense and asset or liability in the current year. Management has determined there are no material uncertain income tax positions through March 31, 2014. With few exceptions, the Fund is no longer subject to U.S. federal, or state and local income tax examinations by tax authorities for years before 2009.

Foreign Currency Transactions 

The Fund has certain investments denominated in foreign currencies. The purchase and sale of investments, and income and expenses are translated at the rates of exchange prevailing on the respective dates of such transactions. The Fund does not isolate that portion of the results of operations resulting from changes in foreign exchange rates on investments from the fluctuations arising from changes in market prices of investments held. Such fluctuations are included with the net realized and change in unrealized gain or loss on such investments in the consolidated statements of operations.

Reclassification 

Certain amounts reported in the 2013 consolidated financial statements may have been reclassified to conform to the 2014 presentation without affecting previously reported partners’ capital (net asset value).