Effective January 1, 2008, US12OF adopted FAS 157 – Fair Value Measurements (“FAS 157” or the “Statement”). FAS 157 defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value in generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), and expands disclosures about fair value measurement. The changes to current practice resulting from the application of the Statement relate to the definition of fair value, the methods used to measure fair value, and the expanded disclosures about fair value measurement. The Statement establishes a fair value hierarchy that distinguishes between (1) market participant assumptions developed based on market data obtained from sources independent of US12OF (observable inputs) and (2) US12OF’s own assumptions about market participant assumptions developed based on the best information available under the circumstances (unobservable inputs). The three levels defined by the FAS 157 hierarchy are as follows:

 

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Level I – Quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the reporting entity has the ability to access at the measurement date.

 

Level II – Inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly. Level II assets include the following: quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets, quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active, inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability, and inputs that are derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data by correlation or other means (market-corroborated inputs).

 

Level III – Unobservable pricing input at the measurement date for the asset or liability. Unobservable inputs shall be used to measure fair value to the extent that observable inputs are not available.

 

In some instances, the inputs used to measure fair value might fall in different levels of the fair value hierarchy. The level in the fair value hierarchy within which the fair value measurement in its entirety falls shall be determined based on the lowest input level that is significant to the fair value measurement in its entirety.

 

The following table summarizes the valuation of US12OF’s securities at June 30, 2008 using the fair value hierarchy:

 

At June 30, 2008		Total			Level I			Level II			Level III
Investments		$	4,042,678		$	4,042,678		$	-		$	-
Derivative assets			2,630,810			2,630,810			-			-

 

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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

 

The following discussion should be read in conjunction with the condensed financial statements and the notes thereto of the United States 12 Month Oil Fund, LP (“US12OF”) included elsewhere in this quarterly report on Form 10-Q.

 

Forward-Looking Information

 

This quarterly report on Form 10-Q, including this “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” contains forward-looking statements regarding the plans and objectives of management for future operations. This information may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause US12OF’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements, which involve assumptions and describe US12OF’s future plans, strategies and expectations, are generally identifiable by use of the words “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “believe,” “intend” or “project,” the negative of these words, other variations on these words or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions that may be incorrect, and US12OF cannot assure investors that the projections included in these forward-looking statements will come to pass. US12OF’s actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors.

 

US12OF has based the forward-looking statements included in this quarterly report on Form 10-Q on information available to it on the date of this quarterly report on Form 10-Q, and US12OF assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Although US12OF undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, investors are advised to consult any additional disclosures that US12OF may make directly to them or through reports that US12OF in the future files with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K.

 

Introduction

US12OF, a Delaware limited partnership, is a commodity pool that issues units that may be purchased and sold on the American Stock Exchange (the “AMEX”). The net assets of US12OF consist primarily of investments in futures contracts for light, sweet crude oil, other types of crude oil, heating oil, gasoline, natural gas and other petroleum-based fuels that are traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange (the “NYMEX”), ICE Futures or other U.S. and foreign exchanges (collectively, “Futures Contracts”). This includes contracts that are of the standard industry size as measured in physical amounts of light, sweet crude oil, as well as similar contracts that are financially settled but are based on a percentage of the standard size contracts. US12OF may also invest in other crude oil-related investments such as cash-settled options on Futures Contracts, forward contracts for crude oil, and over-the-counter transactions that are based on the price of crude oil, heating oil, gasoline, natural gas and other petroleum-based fuels, Futures Contracts and indices based on the foregoing (collectively, “Other Crude Oil-Related Investments”). For convenience and unless otherwise specified, Futures Contracts and Other Crude Oil-Related Investments collectively are referred to as “Crude Oil Interests” in this quarterly report on Form 10-Q. 

The investment objective of US12OF is to have the changes in percentage terms of the units’ net asset value (“NAV”) reflect the changes in percentage terms of the price of light, sweet crude oil delivered to Cushing, Oklahoma, as measured by the changes in the average of the prices of the 12 futures contracts (the “Benchmark Futures Contracts”) on light sweet crude oil traded on the NYMEX, consisting of the near month contract to expire and the contracts for the following 11 months, for a total of 12 consecutive months’ contracts, except when the near month contract is within two weeks of expiration, in which case it will be measured by the futures contracts that are the next month contract to expire and the contracts for the following 11 consecutive months, less US12OF’s expenses. When calculating the daily movement of the average price of the 12 contracts, each contract month will be equally weighted.

 

The general partner of US12OF, United States Commodity Funds LLC (formerly, Victoria Bay Asset Management, LLC) (the “General Partner”), which is registered as a commodity pool operator (“CPO”) with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”), is authorized by the Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of US12OF (the “LP Agreement”) to manage US12OF. The General Partner is authorized by US12OF in its sole judgment to employ and establish the terms of employment for, and termination of, commodity trading advisors or futures commission merchants.

 

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Valuation of Futures Contracts and the Computation of the NAV

The NAV of US12OF units is calculated once each trading day as of the earlier of the close of the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) or  4:00 p.m. New York time. The NAV for a particular trading day is released after 4:15 p.m. New York time. Trading on the AMEX typically closes at 4:15 p.m. New York time. US12OF uses the NYMEX closing price (determined at the earlier of the close of the NYMEX or 2:30 p.m. New York time) for the contracts held on the NYMEX, but calculates or determines the value of all other US12OF investments, including ICE Futures or other futures contracts, as of the earlier of the close of the NYSE or 4:00 p.m. New York time.

 

Management’s Discussion of Results of Operations and the Crude Oil Market

Results of Operations.  On December 6, 2007, US12OF listed its units on the AMEX under the ticker symbol “USL.” On that day, US12OF established its initial offering price at $50.00 per unit and issued 300,000 units to the initial authorized purchaser, Merrill Lynch Professional Clearing Corp., in exchange for $15,001,000 in cash. As of June 30, 2008, US12OF had issued 400,000 units, 100,000 of which were outstanding.

More units may have been issued by US12OF than are outstanding due to the redemption of units. Unlike funds that are registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, units that have been redeemed by US12OF cannot be resold by US12OF. As a result, US12OF contemplates that additional offerings of its units will be registered with the SEC in the future in anticipation of additional issuances and redemptions.

As of June 30, 2008, the total unrealized gain on crude oil Futures Contracts owned or held on that day was $2,630,810 and US12OF established cash deposits, including cash investments in money market funds that were equal to $5,770,611. The majority of those cash assets were held in overnight deposits at US12OF’s custodian bank, while (1.69)% of the cash balance was held as margin deposits with the futures commission merchant for the Futures Contracts purchased (margin requirements at this time were satisfied by unrealized appreciation on investments held at the futures commission merchant including a forward funding excess of $1,848,298 in open equity over the required margin deposit amount). The ending per unit NAV on June 30, 2008 was $84.05.

Portfolio Expenses. US12OF’s expenses consist of investment management fees, brokerage fees and commissions, certain offering costs, licensing fees and the fees and expenses of the independent directors of the General Partner. The management fee that US12OF pays to the General Partner is calculated as a percentage of the total net assets of US12OF. US12OF pays the General Partner a management fee of 0.60% of net assets. The fee is accrued daily.

During the six month period ended June 30, 2008, the daily average total net assets of US12OF were $10,713,219. During the six month period ended June 30, 2008, the management fee paid by US12OF amounted to $31,964, and was accrued daily. Management fees as a percentage of average net assets averaged 0.60% over the course of this six month period.

 

US12OF pays for all brokerage fees, taxes and other expenses, including certain tax reporting costs, licensing fees for the use of intellectual property, ongoing registration or other fees paid to the SEC, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) and any other regulatory agency in connection with offers and sales of its units subsequent to the initial offering and all legal, accounting, printing and other expenses associated therewith. For the six month period ended June 30, 2008, US12OF did not incur any ongoing registration fees or other offering expenses. In addition, the General Partner, though under no obligation to do so, has agreed to pay certain costs for tax reporting and audit expenses normally borne by US12OF to the extent that such expenses exceed 0.15% (15 basis points) of its NAV, on an annualized basis, until December 31, 2008. The General Partner has no obligation to continue such payment into subsequent years. US12OF is responsible for paying the fees and expenses, including directors’ and officers’ liability insurance, of the independent directors of the General Partner who are also audit committee members. US12OF shares these fees with USOF, USNG, USG and USHO based on the relative assets of each fund computed on a daily basis. These fees for calendar year 2008 are estimated to be a total of $286,000 for all five funds. 

 

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US12OF also incurs commissions to brokers for the purchase and sale of Futures Contracts, Other Crude Oil-Related Investments or short-term obligations of the United States of two years or less (“Treasuries”). During the six month period ended June 30, 2008, total commissions paid to brokers amounted to $1,502. Prior to the initial offering of its units, US12OF had estimated that its annual level of such commissions was expected to be 0.13% of total net assets. As an annualized percentage of average net assets, the figure for the six month period ended June 30, 2008 represented approximately 0.03% of average net assets. However, there can be no assurance that commission costs and portfolio turnover will not cause commission expenses to rise in future quarters.

 

Interest Income. US12OF seeks to invest its assets such that it holds Futures Contracts and Other Crude Oil-Related Investments in an amount equal to the total net assets of the portfolio. Typically, such investments do not require US12OF to pay the full amount of the contract value at the time of purchase, but rather require US12OF to post an amount as a margin deposit against the eventual settlement of the contract. As a result, US12OF retains an amount that is approximately equal to its total net assets, which US12OF invests in Treasuries, cash and/or cash equivalents. This includes both the amount on deposit with the futures commission merchant as margin, as well as unrestricted cash held with US12OF’s custodian bank. The Treasuries, cash and/or cash equivalents earn interest that accrues on a daily basis. For the six month period ended June 30, 2008, US12OF earned $113,197 in interest income on such cash holdings. Based on US12OF’s average daily total net assets during this time period, this is equivalent to an annualized yield of 2.12%. US12OF did not purchase Treasuries during the six month period ended June 30, 2008 and held all of its funds in cash and/or cash equivalents during this time period.

 

Tracking US12OF’s Benchmark. US12OF seeks to manage its portfolio such that changes in its average daily NAV, on a percentage basis, closely track changes in the average of the daily prices of the Benchmark Futures Contracts, also on a percentage basis. Specifically, US12OF seeks to manage the portfolio such that over any rolling period of 30 valuation days, the average daily change in the NAV is within a range of 90% to 110% (0.9 to 1.1) of the average daily change of the Benchmark Futures Contracts. As an example, if the average daily movement of the average of the prices of the Benchmark Futures Contracts for a particular 30-day time period was 0.5% per day, US12OF’s management would attempt to manage the portfolio such that the average daily movement of the NAV during that same time period fell between 0.45% and 0.55% (i.e., between 0.9 and 1.1 of the benchmark’s results). US12OF’s portfolio management goals do not include trying to make the nominal price of US12OF’s NAV equal to the average of the nominal prices of the current Benchmark Futures Contracts or the spot price for crude oil. Management believes that it is not practical to manage the portfolio to achieve such an investment goal when investing in listed crude oil Futures Contracts.

 

For the 30 valuation days ended June 30, 2008, the simple average daily change in the Benchmark Futures Contracts was 0.433%, while the simple average daily change in the NAV of US12OF over the same time period was 0.434%. The average daily difference was 0.001% (or 0.1 basis points, where 1 basis point equals 1/100 of 1%). As a percentage of the daily movement of the Benchmark Futures Contracts, the average error in daily tracking by the NAV was 0.567%, meaning that over this time period US12OF’s tracking error was within the plus or minus 10% range established as its benchmark tracking goal.

 

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*PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS

*PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS

 

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Since the offering of US12OF units to the public on December 6, 2007 to June 30, 2008, the simple average daily change in the Benchmark Futures Contracts was 0.382%, while the simple average daily change in the NAV of US12OF over the same time period was 0.385%. The average daily difference was 0.004% (or 0.4 basis points, where 1 basis point equals 1/100 of 1%). As a percentage of the daily movement of the Benchmark Futures Contracts, the average error in daily tracking by the NAV was 0.610%, meaning that over this time period US12OF’s tracking error was within the plus or minus 10% range established as its benchmark tracking goal.

An alternative tracking measurement of the return performance of US12OF versus the return of its Benchmark Futures Contracts can be calculated by comparing the actual return of US12OF, measured by changes in its NAV, versus the expected changes in its NAV under the assumption that US12OF’s returns had been exactly the same as the daily changes in its Benchmark Futures Contracts. 

For the six month period ended June 30, 2008, the actual total return of US12OF as measured by changes in its NAV was 54.99%. This is based on an initial NAV of $54.23 on December 31, 2007 and an ending NAV as of June 30, 2008 of $84.05. During this time period, US12OF made no distributions to its unitholders. However, if US12OF’s daily changes in its NAV had instead exactly tracked the changes in the daily return of the Benchmark Futures Contract, US12OF would have ended the second quarter of 2008 with an estimated NAV of $83.73, for a total return over the relevant time period of 54.40%. The difference between the actual NAV total return of US12OF of 54.99% and the expected total return based on the Benchmark Futures Contract of 54.40% was an error over the time period of 0.59%, which is to say that US12OF’s actual total return exceeded the benchmark result by that percentage. Management believes that a portion of the difference between the actual return and the expected benchmark return can be attributed to the impact of the interest that US12OF collects on its cash and cash equivalent holdings. In addition, during the six month period ended June 30, 2008, US12OF also collected fees from brokerage firms creating or redeeming baskets of units. This income also contributed to US12OF’s actual return exceeding the benchmark results. However, if the total assets of US12OF continue to increase, management believes that the impact on total returns of these fees from creations and redemptions will diminish as a percentage of the total return.

There are currently three factors that have impacted, during the latest period, or are most likely to impact, US12OF’s ability to accurately track its Benchmark Futures Contracts.

First, US12OF may buy or sell its holdings in the then current Benchmark Futures Contracts at a price other than the closing settlement price of that contract on the day in which US12OF executes the trade. In that case, US12OF may get a price that is higher, or lower, than that of the Benchmark Futures Contracts, which could cause the changes in the daily NAV of US12OF to either be too high or too low relative to the changes in the daily benchmark. During the six month period ended June 30, 2008, management attempted to minimize the effect of these transactions by seeking to execute its purchase or sales of the Benchmark Futures Contracts at, or as close as possible to, the end of the day settlement price. However, it may not always be possible for US12OF to obtain the closing settlement price and there is no assurance that failure to obtain the closing settlement price in the future will not adversely impact US12OF’s attempt to track its benchmark over time.

 

Second, US12OF earns interest on its cash, cash equivalents and Treasury holdings. US12OF is not required to distribute any portion of its income to its unitholders and did not make any distributions to unitholders during the six month period ended June 30, 2008. Interest payments, and any other income, were retained within the portfolio and added to US12OF’s NAV. When this income exceeds the level of US12OF’s expenses for its management fee, brokerage commissions and other expenses (including ongoing registration fees, licensing fees and the fees and expenses of the independent directors of the General Partner), US12OF will realize a net yield that will tend to cause daily changes in the NAV of US12OF to track slightly higher than daily changes in the average of the prices of the Benchmark Futures Contracts. During the six month period ended June 30, 2008, US12OF earned, on an annualized basis, approximately 2.12% on its cash holdings. It also incurred cash expenses on an annualized basis of 0.60% for management fees and approximately 0.03% in brokerage commission costs related to the purchase and sale of futures contracts, and 0.24% for other expenses. The foregoing fees and expenses resulted in a net yield on an annualized basis of approximately 1.25% and affected US12OF’s ability to track its benchmark. If short-term interest rates rise above the current levels, the level of deviation created by the yield would increase. Conversely, if short-term interest rates were to decline, the amount of error created by the yield would decrease. If short-term yields drop to a level lower than the combined expenses of the management fee and the brokerage commissions, then the tracking error would become a negative number and would tend to cause the daily returns of the NAV to underperform the daily returns of the Benchmark Futures Contracts.

 

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Third, US12OF may hold Other Crude Oil-Related Investments in its portfolio that may fail to closely track the Benchmark Futures Contracts’ total return movements. In that case, the error in tracking the benchmark could result in daily changes in the NAV of US12OF that are either too high, or too low, relative to the daily changes in the benchmark. During the six month period ended June 30, 2008, US12OF did not hold any Other Crude Oil-Related Investments. However, there can be no assurance that in future quarters US12OF will not make use of such Other Crude Oil-Related Investments.

During the six month period ended June 30, 2008, the average prices of front 12 month Benchmark Futures Contracts rose from near the $93.28 level to approximately the $141.14 level. The prices of front month contracts were also higher than the prices of second or third month contracts for most of this time period.