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As of June 1, 2009
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Ticker
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UNG
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IIV
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UNG.IV
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CUSIP
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912318102
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| ISIN |
US9123181029 |
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Management Expense Ratio
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0.97%
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Trading Increment
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$0.01
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Minimum Trade Size
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1 unit
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Marginable
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Yes
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Short Selling Allowed
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Yes (uptick exempt)*
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Options Traded
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Yes
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Administrator
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Brown Brothers Harriman & Co
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Distributor
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ALPS Distributors, Inc.
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General Partner
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United States Commodity Funds, LLC
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* Rule 10a-1(a) under the Exchange Act covers transactions in any security registered on a national securities exchange, if trades in such security are reported in the consolidated transaction reporting system, and prohibits short sales with respect to these securities unless such sales occur on a "plus tick," (that is, a price above the price at which the immediately preceding sale was effected), or "zero-plus tick," (that is, at the last sale price if it was higher than the last different price). The SEC staff granted an exemption from Rule 10a-1 to permit sales of units without regard to the "tick" requirements of Rule 10a-1 for certain commodity-based investment vehicles like UNG that continuously issue and redeem units at a net asset value in aggregations of at least 50,000 units (or such other amount where the value of a creation unit aggregation is at least $1 million). (See SEC No-Action letter dated June 21, 2006.)
The United States Natural Gas Fund LP ("UNG") is a domestic exchange traded security designed to track in percentage terms the movements of natural gas prices.
UNG is a commodity pool organized as a Delaware limited partnership that issues units that may be purchased and sold on the NYSE Arca.
UNG's Objective – The investment objective of UNG is for the changes in percentage terms of the unit's net asset value to reflect the changes in percentage terms of the price of natural gas delivered at the Henry Hub, Louisiana, as measured by the changes in the price of the futures contract on natural gas traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange that is the near month contract to expire, except when the near month contract is within two weeks of expiration, in which case it will be measured by the futures contract that is the next month contract to expire, less UNG's expenses.
UNG's Target – Natural gas is one of the most important physical commodities in the global economy. Futures contracts for natural gas delivered to the Henry Hub are among the most actively traded, and natural gas delivered to the Henry Hub is the primary U.S. benchmark for natural gas.
UNG's Portfolio – The portfolio will consist of exchange listed natural gas futures contracts and other natural gas related futures, forwards, and swap contracts. UNG will also invest in obligations of the United States government with remaining maturities of two years or less and hold cash and cash equivalents to be used to meet its current or potential margin or collateral requirements with respect to its investments in natural gas futures contracts and other natural gas interests.
U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations
A summary of the material U.S. federal income tax consequences of the purchase, ownership and disposition of units in UNG, and the U.S. federal income tax treatment of UNG, is set forth in the Prospectus.
Each prospective investor is advised to consult its own tax advisor as to the U.S. federal income tax consequences of an investment in UNG to the investor and as to applicable state, local or foreign taxes.
Tax Status of UNG
UNG is organized and will be operated as a limited partnership in accordance with the provisions of the Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership, dated April 18, 2007, and applicable state law. Under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"), an entity classified as a partnership that is deemed to be a "publicly traded partnership" is generally taxable as a corporation for federal income tax purposes. The Code provides an exception to this general rule for a publicly traded partnership whose gross income for each taxable year of its existence consists of at least 90% "qualifying income" ("qualifying income exception"). For this purpose, section 7704 defines "qualifying income" as including, in pertinent part, interest (other than from a financial business), dividends and gains from the sale or disposition of capital assets held for the production of interest or dividends. In addition, in the case of a partnership a principal activity of which is the buying and selling of commodities (other than as inventory) or of futures, forwards and options with respect to commodities, "qualifying income" includes income and gains from such commodities and futures, forwards and options with respect to commodities. UNG and the General Partner have represented the following to Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP:
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at least 90% of UNG's gross income for each taxable year will constitute "qualifying income" within the meaning of Code section 7704 (as described above);
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UNG will be organized and operated in accordance with its governing agreements and applicable law; and
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UNG has not elected, and will not elect, to be classified as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
Based in part on these representation, Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP is of the opinion that UNG will be classified as a partnership for federal income tax purposes and that it will not be taxable as a corporation for such purposes.
If UNG failed to satisfy the qualifying income exception in any year, other than a failure that is determined by the IRS to be inadvertent and that is cured within a reasonable time after discovery, UNG would be taxable as a corporation for federal income tax purposes and would pay federal income tax on its income at regular corporate rates. In that event, unitholders would not report their share of UNG's income or loss on their returns. In addition, distributions to unitholders would be treated as dividends to the extent of UNG's current and accumulated earnings and profits. To the extent a distribution exceeded UNG's earnings and profits, the distribution would be treated as a return of capital to the extent of a unitholder's basis in its units, and thereafter as gain from the sale of units. Accordingly, if UNG were to be taxable as a corporation, it would likely have a material adverse effect on the economic return from an investment in UNG and on the value of the units.
Under recently enacted legislation, interests in and income from "qualified publicly traded partnerships" satisfying certain gross income tests are treated as qualifying assets and income, respectively, for purposes of determining eligibility for regulated investment company ("RIC") status. A RIC may invest up to 25% of its assets in interests in a qualified publicly traded partnership. The determination of whether a publicly traded partnership such as UNG is a qualified publicly traded partnership is made on an annual basis. UNG expects to be a qualified publicly traded partnership in each of its taxable years. However, such qualification is not assured.
The foregoing is only a partial summary of the federal income tax consequences of an investment in UNG. The full summary can be found in the Prospectus.