§1.25. Investment of customer funds.
17 C.F.R. § 1.25
Permitted investments.
Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this section, a futures commission merchant or a derivatives clearing organization may invest customer money in the following instruments (permitted investments):
Obligations of the United States and obligations fully guaranteed as to principal and interest by the United States (U.S. government securities);
General obligations of any State or of any political subdivision thereof (municipal securities);
Obligations of any United States government corporation or enterprise sponsored by the United States government (U.S. agency obligations);
Interests in government money market funds as defined in § 270.2a-7 of this title, provided that the government money market funds do not choose to rely on the ability to impose discretionary liquidity fees consistent with the requirements of 17 CFR 270.2a-7(c)(2)(i)(government money market fund);
Interests in exchange-traded funds, as defined in 17 CFR 270.6c-11, which seek to replicate the performance of a published short-term U.S. Treasury security index composed of bonds, notes, and bills with a remaining maturity of 12 months or less, issued by, or unconditionally guaranteed as to the timely payment of principal and interest by, the U.S. Department of the Treasury (U.S. Treasury exchange-traded fund); and
General obligations of Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom (permitted foreign sovereign debt), subject to the following:
A futures commission merchant may invest in the permitted foreign sovereign debt of a country to the extent the futures commission merchant has balances in segregated accounts owed to its customers denominated in that country's currency; and
A derivatives clearing organization may invest in the permitted foreign sovereign debt of a country to the extent the derivatives clearing organization has balances in segregated accounts owed to its clearing members that are futures commission merchants denominated in that country's currency.
In addition, a futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization may buy and sell the permitted investments listed in paragraphs (a)(1)(i) through (vii) of this section pursuant to agreements for resale or repurchase of the instruments, in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (d) of this section.
A futures commission merchant or a derivatives clearing organization may sell securities deposited by customers as margin pursuant to agreements to repurchase subject to the following:
Securities subject to such repurchase agreements must be “highly liquid” as defined in paragraph (b)(1) of this section.
Securities subject to such repurchase agreements must not be “specifically identifiable property” as defined in § 190.01 of this chapter.
The terms and conditions of such an agreement to repurchase must be in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (d) of this section.
Upon the default by a counterparty to a repurchase agreement, the futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization shall act promptly to ensure that the default does not result in any direct or indirect cost or expense to the customer.
Obligations issued by the Federal National Mortgage Association or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Association are permitted while these entities operate under the conservatorship or receivership of the Federal Housing Finance Authority with capital support from the United States.
General terms and conditions. A futures commission merchant or a derivatives clearing organization is required to manage the permitted investments consistent with the objectives of preserving principal and maintaining liquidity and according to the following specific requirements:
Liquidity. Investments must be “highly liquid” such that they have the ability to be converted into cash within one business day without material discount in value.
Restrictions on instrument features.
With the exception of government money market funds and U.S. Treasury exchange-traded funds, no permitted investment may contain an embedded derivative of any kind, except as follows:
The issuer of an instrument otherwise permitted by this section may have an option to call, in whole or in part, at par, the principal amount of the instrument before its stated maturity date; or
An instrument that meets the requirements of paragraph (b)(2)(iv) of this section may provide for a cap, floor, or collar on the interest paid; provided, however, that the terms of such instrument obligate the issuer to repay the principal amount of the instrument at not less than par value upon maturity.
No instrument may contain interest-only payment features.
No instrument may provide payments linked to a commodity, currency, reference instrument, index, or benchmark except as provided in paragraph (b)(2)(iv) of this section, and it may not otherwise constitute a derivative instrument.
Adjustable rate securities are permitted, subject to the following requirements— (1) The interest payments on variable rate securities must correlate closely and on an unleveraged basis to a benchmark of either the Federal Funds target or effective rate, the prime rate, the three-month Treasury Bill rate, a Secured Overnight Financing Rate published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York or a CME Term SOFR Rate published by the CME Group Benchmark Administration Limited, or the interest rate of any fixed rate instrument that is a permitted investment listed in paragraph (a)(1) of this section;
(2) The interest payment, in any period, on floating rate securities must be determined solely by reference, on an unleveraged basis, to a benchmark of either the Federal Funds target or effective rate, the prime rate, the three-month Treasury Bill rate, a Secured Overnight Financing Rate published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York or a CME Term SOFR Rate published by the CME Group Benchmark Administration Limited, or the interest rate of any fixed rate instrument that is a permitted investment listed in paragraph (a)(1) of this section;
(3) Benchmark rates must be expressed in the same currency as the adjustable rate securities that reference them; and
(4) No interest payment on an adjustable rate security, in any period, can be a negative amount.
For purposes of this paragraph, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) The term adjustable rate security means, a floating rate security, a variable rate security, or both.
(2) The term floating rate security means a security, the terms of which provide for the adjustment of its interest rate whenever a specified interest rate changes and that, at any time until the final maturity of the instrument or the period remaining until the principal amount can be recovered through demand, can reasonably be expected to have market value that approximates its amortized cost.
(3) The term variable rate security means a security, the terms of which provide for the adjustment of its interest rate on set dates (such as the last day of a month or calendar quarter) and that, upon each adjustment until the final maturity of the instrument or the period remaining until the principal amount can be recovered through demand, can reasonably be expected to have a market value that approximates its amortized cost.
Concentration—
Asset-based concentration limits for direct investments.
Investments in U.S. government securities shall not be subject to a concentration limit.
Investments in U.S. agency obligations may not exceed 50 percent of the total assets held in segregation by the futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization.
Investments in municipal securities may not exceed 10 percent of the total assets held in segregation by the futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization.
Investments in government money market funds or U.S. Treasury exchange-traded funds with $1 billion or more in assets and whose management company manages $25 billion or more in assets may not exceed 50 percent of the total assets held in segregation by the futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization.
Investments in government money market funds or U.S. Treasury exchange-traded funds with less than $1 billion in assets or which have a management company managing less than $25 billion in assets, may not exceed 10 percent of the total assets held in segregation by the futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization.
Issuer-based concentration limits for direct investments.
Securities of any single issuer of U.S. agency obligations held by a futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization may not exceed 25 percent of total assets held in segregation by the futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization.
Securities of any single issuer of municipal securities held by a futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization may not exceed 5 percent of the total assets held in segregation by the futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization.
Interests in any single family of government money market funds or U.S. Treasury exchange-traded funds may not exceed 25 percent of the total assets held in segregation by the futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization.
Interests in any individual government money market fund or U.S. Treasury exchange-traded fund may not exceed 10 percent of the total assets held in segregation by the futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization.
For purposes of determining compliance with the issuer-based concentration limits set forth in this section, securities issued by entities that are affiliated, as defined in paragraph (b)(5) of this section, shall be aggregated and deemed the securities of a single issuer. An interest in a permitted government money market fund or U.S. Treasury exchange-traded fund is not deemed to be a security issued by its sponsoring entity.
Concentration limits for agreements to repurchase—
Repurchase agreements. For purposes of determining compliance with the asset-based and issuer-based concentration limits set forth in this section, securities sold by a futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization subject to agreements to repurchase shall be combined with securities held by the futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization as direct investments.
Reverse repurchase agreements. For purposes of determining compliance with the asset-based and issuer-based concentration limits set forth in this section, securities purchased by a futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization subject to agreements to resell shall be combined with securities held by the futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization as direct investments.
Treatment of customer-owned securities. For purposes of determining compliance with the asset-based and issuer-based concentration limits set forth in this section, securities owned by the customers of a futures commission merchant and posted as margin collateral are not included in total assets held in segregation by the futures commission merchant, and securities posted by a futures commission merchant with a derivatives clearing organization are not included in total assets held in segregation by the derivatives clearing organization.
Counterparty concentration limits. Securities purchased by a futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization from a single counterparty, or from one or more counterparties under common ownership or control, subject to an agreement to resell the securities to the counterparty or counterparties, shall not exceed 25 percent of total assets held in segregation or under § 30.7 of this chapter by the futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization.
Time-to-maturity.
Except for investments in government money market funds, U.S. Treasury exchange-traded funds, and permitted foreign sovereign debt subject to the requirements of paragraph (f) of this section, the dollar-weighted average of the time-to-maturity of the portfolio, as that average is computed pursuant to 17 CFR 270.2a-7, may not exceed 24 months.
For purposes of determining the time-to-maturity of the portfolio, an instrument that is set forth in paragraphs (a)(1)(i) through (vii) of this section may be treated as having a one-day time-to-maturity if the following terms and conditions are satisfied:
The instrument is deposited solely on an overnight basis with a derivatives clearing organization pursuant to the terms and conditions of a collateral management program that has become effective in accordance with § 39.4 of this chapter;
The instrument is one that the futures commission merchant owns or has an unqualified right to pledge, is not subject to any lien, and is deposited by the futures commission merchant into a segregated account at a derivatives clearing organization;
The derivatives clearing organization prices the instrument each day based on the current mark-to-market value; and
The derivatives clearing organization reduces the assigned value of the instrument each day by a haircut of at least 2 percent.
Investments in instruments issued by affiliates.
A futures commission merchant shall not invest customer funds in obligations of an entity affiliated with the futures commission merchant, and a derivatives clearing organization shall not invest customer funds in obligations of an entity affiliated with the derivatives clearing organization. An affiliate includes parent companies, including all entities through the ultimate holding company, subsidiaries to the lowest level, and companies under common ownership of such parent company or affiliates.
A futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization may invest customer funds in a fund affiliated with that futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization.
Government money market funds and U.S. Treasury exchange-traded funds. The following provisions will apply to the investment of customer funds in government money market funds or U.S. Treasury exchange-traded funds (the fund).
The fund must be an investment company that is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 with the Securities and Exchange Commission and that holds itself out to investors as a government money market fund, in accordance with 17 CFR 270.2a-7, or an exchange-traded fund, in accordance with 17 CFR 270.6c-11.
The fund must be sponsored by a federally-regulated financial institution, a bank as defined in section 3(a)(6) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, an investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, or a domestic branch of a foreign bank insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
A futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization shall maintain the confirmation relating to the purchase in its records in accordance with § 1.31 and note the ownership of fund shares (by book-entry or otherwise) in a custody account of the futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization in accordance with § 1.26. The futures commission merchant or the derivatives clearing organization shall obtain the acknowledgment letter required by § 1.26 from an entity that has substantial control over the fund shares purchased with customer funds and has the knowledge and authority to facilitate redemption and payment or transfer of the customer funds. Such entity may include the fund sponsor or depository acting as custodian for fund shares.
The net asset value of the fund must be computed by 9 a.m. of the business day following each business day and made available to the futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization by that time.
General requirement for redemption of interests. A fund shall be legally obligated to redeem an interest and to make payment in satisfaction thereof by the business day following a redemption request, and the futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization shall retain documentation demonstrating compliance with this requirement.
Exception. A fund may provide for the postponement of redemption and payment due to any of the following circumstances:
For any period during which there is a non-routine closure of the Fedwire or applicable Federal Reserve Banks;
For any period— (1) During which the New York Stock Exchange is closed other than customary week-end and holiday closings; or
(2) During which trading on the New York Stock Exchange is restricted;
For any period during which an emergency exists as a result of which— (1) Disposal by the company of securities owned by it is not reasonably practicable; or
(2) It is not reasonably practicable for such company fairly to determine the value of its net assets;
For any period as the Securities and Exchange Commission may by order permit for the protection of security holders of the company;
For any period during which the Securities and Exchange Commission has, by rule or regulation, deemed that:
(1) Trading shall be restricted; or
(2) An emergency exists; or
For any period during which each of the conditions of § 270.22e-3(a)(1) through (3) of this title are met.
The agreement pursuant to which the futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization has acquired and is holding its interest in a fund must contain no provision that would prevent the pledging or transferring of shares.
Appendix E to this part sets forth language that will satisfy the requirements of paragraph (c)(5) of this section.
A futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization may invest in interests in U.S. Treasury exchange-traded funds if:
The U.S. Treasury exchange-traded fund invests at least 95 percent of its assets in securities comprising the short-term U.S. Treasury index whose performance the fund seeks to replicate and cash; and
The purchase and liquidation of interests in the fund conform to the following requirements—
Primary market transactions. The futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization purchases or redeems interests in the fund on a delivery versus payment basis at a price based on the net asset value computed in accordance with the Investment Company Act of 1940 and regulations thereunder. A futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization that is an authorized participant of the fund may redeem interests in the fund in kind, provided that the futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization is able to convert the securities received pursuant to the in-kind redemption into cash within one business day of the redemption request. A futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization that transacts with the fund through an authorized participant acting as an agent for the futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization must have a contractual agreement obligating the authorized participant to pay the futures commission merchant's or derivatives clearing organization's redemption of interests in the fund in cash within one business day of the redemption request.
Secondary market transactions. The futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization acquires or sells interests in the fund on a national securities exchange registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission under section 6 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Repurchase and reverse repurchase agreements. A futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization may buy and sell the permitted investments listed in paragraphs (a)(1)(i) through (vii) of this section pursuant to agreements for resale or repurchase of the securities (agreements to repurchase or resell), provided the agreements to repurchase or resell conform to the following requirements:
The securities are specifically identified by coupon rate, par amount, market value, maturity date, and CUSIP or ISIN number.
Permitted counterparties are limited to a bank as defined in section 3(a)(6) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, a domestic branch of a foreign bank insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, a securities broker or dealer, or a government securities dealer registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission or which has filed notice pursuant to section 15C(a) of the Government Securities Act of 1986. In addition, with respect to agreements to repurchase or resell permitted foreign sovereign debt, the following entities are also permitted counterparties: a foreign bank that qualifies as a depository under § 1.49(d)(3) and that is located in a money center country as the term is defined in § 1.49(a)(1) or in another jurisdiction that has adopted the currency in which the permitted foreign sovereign debt is denominated as its currency; a securities broker or dealer located in a money center country as the term is defined in § 1.49(a)(1) and that is regulated by a national financial regulator or a provincial financial regulator with respect to a Canadian securities broker or dealer; and the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the Banque de France, the Bank of Japan, the Deutsche Bundesbank, or the European Central Bank.
A futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization shall not enter into an agreement to repurchase or resell with a counterparty that is an affiliate of the futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization, respectively. An affiliate includes parent companies, including all entities through the ultimate holding company, subsidiaries to the lowest level, and companies under common ownership of such parent company or affiliates.
The transaction is executed in compliance with the concentration limit requirements applicable to the securities transferred to the customer segregated custodial account in connection with the agreements to repurchase referred to in paragraphs (b)(3)(iii)(A) and (B) of this section.
The transaction is made pursuant to a written agreement signed by the parties to the agreement, which is consistent with the conditions set forth in paragraphs (d)(1) through (13) of this section and which states that the parties thereto intend the transaction to be treated as a purchase and sale of securities.
The term of the agreement is no more than one business day, or reversal of the transaction is possible on demand.
Securities transferred to the futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization under the agreement are held in a safekeeping account with a bank as referred to in paragraph (d)(2) of this section, a Federal Reserve Bank, a derivatives clearing organization, or the Depository Trust Company in an account that complies with the requirements of § 1.26. Securities transferred to the futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization under an agreement related to permitted foreign sovereign debt may also be held in a safekeeping account that complies with the requirements of § 1.26 at a foreign bank that meets the location and qualification requirements in § 1.49(c) and (d), or with the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the Banque de France, the Bank of Japan, the Deutsche Bundesbank, or the European Central Bank.
The futures commission merchant or the derivatives clearing organization may not use securities received under the agreement in another similar transaction and may not otherwise hypothecate or pledge such securities, except securities may be pledged on behalf of customers at another futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization. Substitution of securities is allowed, provided, however, that:
The qualifying securities being substituted and original securities are specifically identified by date of substitution, market values substituted, coupon rates, par amounts, maturity dates and CUSIP or ISIN numbers;
Substitution is made on a “delivery versus delivery” basis; and
The market value of the substituted securities is at least equal to that of the original securities.
The transfer of securities to the customer segregated custodial account is made on a delivery versus payment basis in immediately available funds. The transfer of funds to the customer segregated cash account is made on a payment versus delivery basis. The transfer is not recognized as accomplished until the funds and/or securities are actually received by the custodian of the futures commission merchant's or derivatives clearing organization's customer funds or securities purchased on behalf of customers. The transfer or credit of securities covered by the agreement to the futures commission merchant's or derivatives clearing organization's customer segregated custodial account is made simultaneously with the disbursement of funds from the futures commission merchant's or derivatives clearing organization's customer segregated cash account at the custodian bank. On the sale or resale of securities, the futures commission merchant's or derivatives clearing organization's customer segregated cash account at the custodian bank must receive same-day funds credited to such segregated account simultaneously with the delivery or transfer of securities from the customer segregated custodial account.
A written confirmation to the futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization specifying the terms of the agreement and a safekeeping receipt are issued immediately upon entering into the transaction and a confirmation to the futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization is issued once the transaction is reversed.
The transactions effecting the agreement are recorded in the record required to be maintained under § 1.27 of investments of customer funds, and the securities subject to such transactions are specifically identified in such record as described in paragraph (d)(1) of this section and further identified in such record as being subject to repurchase and reverse repurchase agreements.
An actual transfer of securities to the customer segregated custodial account by book entry is made consistent with Federal or State commercial law, as applicable. At all times, securities received subject to an agreement are reflected as “customer property.”
The agreement makes clear that, in the event of the bankruptcy of the futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization, any securities purchased with customer funds that are subject to an agreement may be immediately transferred. The agreement also makes clear that, in the event of a futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization bankruptcy, the counterparty has no right to compel liquidation of securities subject to an agreement or to make a priority claim for the difference between current market value of the securities and the price agreed upon for resale of the securities to the counterparty, if the former exceeds the latter.
Deposit of firm-owned securities into segregation. A futures commission merchant may deposit unencumbered securities of the type specified in this section, which it owns for its own account, into a customer account. A futures commission merchant must include such securities, transfers of securities, and disposition of proceeds from the sale or maturity of such securities in the record of investments required to be maintained by § 1.27. All such securities may be segregated in safekeeping only with a bank, trust company, derivatives clearing organization, or other registered futures commission merchant in accordance with the provisions of § 1.20 part. For purposes of this section and §§ 1.27, 1.28, 1.29, and 1.32, securities of the type specified by this section that are owned by the futures commission merchant and deposited into a customer account shall be considered customer funds until such investments are withdrawn from segregation in accordance with the provisions of § 1.23. Investments permitted by § 1.25 that are owned by the futures commission merchant and deposited into a futures customer account pursuant to § 1.26 shall be considered futures customer funds until such investments are withdrawn from segregation in accordance with § 1.23. Investments permitted by § 1.25 that are owned by the futures commission merchant and deposited into a Cleared Swaps Customer Account, as defined in § 22.1 of this chapter, shall be considered Cleared Swaps Customer Collateral, as defined in § 22.1 of this chapter, until such investments are withdrawn from segregation in accordance with § 22.17 of this chapter.
Permitted foreign sovereign debt. The following provisions will apply to investments of customer funds in permitted foreign sovereign debt.
The dollar-weighted average of the remaining time-to-maturity of the portfolio of investments in permitted foreign sovereign debt, as that average is computed pursuant to 17 CFR 270.2a-7 on a country-by-country basis, may not exceed 60 calendar days. Permitted foreign sovereign debt instruments acquired under an agreement to resell shall be deemed to have a maturity equal to the period remaining until the date on which the resale of the underlying instruments is scheduled to occur, or, where the agreement is subject to demand, the notice period applicable to a demand for the resale of the securities. Permitted foreign sovereign debt instruments sold under an agreement to repurchase shall be included in the calculation of the dollar-weighted average based on the remaining time-to-maturity of each instrument sold.
A futures commission merchant or a derivatives clearing organization may not invest customer funds in any permitted foreign sovereign debt that has a remaining maturity greater than 180 calendar days.
If the two-year credit default spread, computed as the average of the bid and ask prices between willing buyers and sellers, of an issuing sovereign of permitted foreign sovereign debt is greater than 45 basis points:
The futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization shall not make any new investments in that sovereign's debt using customer funds.
The futures commission merchant or derivatives clearing organization must discontinue investing customer funds in that sovereign's debt through agreements to resell as soon as practicable under the circumstances.
Notes, amendments, and revision history
Amendments
[76 FR 78798, Dec. 19, 2011, as amended at 77 FR 66322, Nov. 2, 2012; 78 FR 68633, Nov. 14, 2013; 86 FR 19419, Apr. 13, 2021; 90 FR 7867, Jan. 22, 2025]
Authority
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1a, 2, 5, 6, 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d, 6e, 6f, 6g, 6h, 6i, 6k, 6l, 6m, 6n, 6o, 6p, 6r, 6s, 7, 7a-1, 7a-2, 7b, 7b-3, 8, 9, 10a, 12, 12a, 12c, 13a, 13a-1, 16, 16a, 19, 21, 23, and 24 (2012).
Source
Source: 41 FR 3194, Jan. 21, 1976, unless otherwise noted.
Amendments
[76 FR 78798, Dec. 19, 2011, as amended at 77 FR 66322, Nov. 2, 2012; 78 FR 68633, Nov. 14, 2013; 86 FR 19419, Apr. 13, 2021; 90 FR 7867, Jan. 22, 2025]