# United States 12 Month Oil Fund, LP

> Clarifo company profile — qualitative business description generated from
> the company's filings. Financial statements, charts and ratios are
> available on Clarifo (https://www.clarifo.com/fi/companies/United States 12 Month Oil Fund, LP).

## Overview

United States 12 Month Oil Fund, LP is a Delaware limited partnership that issues exchange-traded limited partnership interests on NYSE Arca. Its business is to provide investors with exposure to crude oil prices through a portfolio centered on 12 consecutive months of NYMEX light, sweet crude oil futures and related oil-linked instruments.

## Products & services

• Exchange-traded limited partnership interests
• 12-month crude oil futures exposure
• Oil futures and related oil-linked instruments
• Cash-settled options on oil futures
• Forward contracts, swaps, and OTC oil instruments

- **Exchange-traded fund interests** (0%) — Publicly traded partnership units that give investors access to the fund's oil strategy.
- **Crude oil futures exposure** (85%) — Primary portfolio exposure through NYMEX light, sweet crude oil futures across 12 contract months.
- **Other oil-related investments** (15%) — Supplemental instruments such as options, forwards, cleared swaps, and OTC oil-linked contracts.

- Exchange-traded limited partnership interests
- 12-month crude oil futures exposure
- Oil futures and related oil-linked instruments
- Cash-settled options on oil futures
- Forward contracts, swaps, and OTC oil instruments

## Customers

USL is used by investors seeking commodity exposure to crude oil without directly holding physical barrels. Its shares are bought by market participants who want a listed vehicle for tactical oil positioning, hedging, or portfolio diversification. The product is also relevant to institutions and traders that need exchange-traded access to oil futures-linked returns.

- **Retail investors** (secondary) — Buy exchange-traded shares for simple access to crude oil price exposure without futures accounts.
- **Institutional investors** (primary) — Use the fund for tactical commodity allocation, hedging, or portfolio diversification.
- **Traders and active market participants** (primary) — Trade shares for short-term exposure to movements in oil futures and related contracts.

- Retail investors seeking listed crude oil exposure
- Institutions using oil exposure for hedging or allocation
- Traders seeking short- to medium-term oil price exposure
- Market participants needing exchange-traded commodity access

## Geography

USL is organized in Delaware and operates from Walnut Creek, California, while its shares trade on NYSE Arca in the United States. Its portfolio references U.S. and foreign futures exchanges, including NYMEX and ICE Futures Europe, so the fund's economic exposure is tied to global crude oil markets rather than a single operating geography.

- Organized as a Delaware limited partnership
- Main business office in Walnut Creek, California
- Shares trade on NYSE Arca in the United States
- Uses NYMEX and ICE Futures markets for oil exposure
- Economic exposure is global through crude oil benchmarks

## Strategy

USL's core strategy is to track the daily percentage change in a 12-month basket of crude oil futures rather than physical oil prices directly. It may use other oil-related instruments when needed for liquidity, regulatory, or market-condition reasons, while keeping the portfolio aligned with its benchmark structure.

- **Maintain benchmark tracking** (short-term) — The fund is designed to mirror daily changes in a 12-month oil futures basket.
- **Preserve liquidity and execution flexibility** (medium-term) — Oil markets can become less liquid or dislocated, requiring alternative instruments.

- Track a 12-month crude oil futures benchmark
- Maintain equal weighting across 12 consecutive contract months
- Use other oil-related instruments when needed
- Preserve liquidity and regulatory flexibility
- Limit derivatives use to oil-linked instruments

## Risks

USL is exposed to sharp crude oil price volatility, futures curve effects such as contango and backwardation, and tracking error versus its benchmark. Because its returns depend on derivatives and market liquidity, disruptions in exchanges, clearinghouses, counterparties, or global oil markets can materially affect performance.

- **Crude oil price volatility** [high] — The fund's value is directly linked to oil futures prices, which can change rapidly.
- **Tracking error** [high] — Using a futures basket and occasional alternative instruments can cause returns to diverge from the target index.
- **Futures curve structure** [high] — Contango or backwardation affects roll yield and can reduce realized returns versus spot oil.
- **Market disruption and geopolitical shocks** [medium] — Wars, pandemics, tariffs, and supply disruptions can affect oil prices and liquidity.
- **Counterparty and infrastructure risk** [medium] — Derivatives depend on brokers, exchanges, clearinghouses, and service providers.

- Crude oil price volatility can drive large share price swings
- Contango and backwardation can hurt futures-based tracking
- Tracking error can cause returns to diverge from the benchmark
- Exchange, clearinghouse, and counterparty disruptions can impair execution
- Geopolitical and supply shocks can move oil prices abruptly

## Accounting

The most important accounting judgments are fair-value measurement of exchange-traded futures and valuation of OTC instruments that do not have quoted market prices. Daily estimates of interest income and the treatment of derivative gains and losses also affect reported NAV and period results, while the fund's structure can create meaningful quarter-to-quarter variation tied to market moves and contract rolls.

- **Fair value measurement of derivatives** — Affects NAV and reported gains/losses
- **Interest income accrual** — Can create small timing differences in reported income
- **Derivative gains and losses** — Major driver of period-to-period results

- Fair value of futures contracts drives reported asset values
- OTC swaps and forwards require model-based valuation
- Daily accrual of interest income affects NAV
- Derivative gains and losses can create large period swings
- Contract roll timing can affect quarterly comparability

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*Last updated: 2026-04-29T05:06:14.502308+00:00*
