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Disclosure

An investment in the units issued by United States Heating Oil Fund, LP ("USHO") involves risks. These risks can significantly impact the market value of the units. Some of the risks you may face are summarized below.

  • USHO is not a registered investment company so unitholders do not have the protections afforded by the Investment Company Act of 1940.
  • Unlike mutual funds, commodity pools or other investment pools that actively manage their investments in an attempt to realize income and gains from their investing activities and distribute such income and gains to their investors, USHO generally does not expect to distribute cash to limited partners
  • Investing in Heating Oil Interests subjects USHO to the risks of the heating oil industry and this could result in large fluctuations in the price of USHO’s units.
  • The price of USHO’s units may be influenced by factors such as the short-term supply and demand for heating oil and the short-term supply and demand for USHO’s units.  This may cause the units to trade at a price that is above or below USHO’s Net Asset Value (NAV) per unit.  Accordingly, changes in the price of units may substantially vary from the changes in the spot price of heating oil.  If this variation occurs, then investors may not be able to effectively use USHO as a way to hedge against heating oil-related losses or as a way to indirectly invest in heating oil.
  • Changes in USHO’s NAV may not correlate with changes in the price of the Benchmark Futures Contract.  If this were to occur, investors may not be able to effectively use USHO as a way to hedge against heating oil-related losses or as a way to indirectly invest in heating oil.
  • Certain of USHO’s investments could be illiquid which could cause large losses to investors at any time or from time to time.
  • Investing in USHO for purposes of hedging may be subject to several risks including the possibility of losing the benefit of favorable market movement.
  • USHO engages in the trading of futures contracts and options on futures contracts (collectively, “derivatives”). USHO is exposed to both market risk, which is the risk arising from changes in the market value of the contracts, and credit risk, which is the risk of failure by another party to perform according to the terms of a contract.
  • Futures contracts involve, to varying degrees, elements of market risk (specifically commodity price risk) and exposure to loss in excess of the amount of variation margin.
  • Risks associated with the use of futures contracts are an imperfect correlation between movements in the price of the futures contracts and the market value of the underlying securities and the possibility of an illiquid market for a futures contract.
  • If USHO were to enter into non-exchange traded contracts, it would be subject to the credit risk associated with counterparty non-performance.
  • USHO has credit risk under its futures contracts since the sole counterparty to all domestic and foreign futures contracts is the clearinghouse for the exchange on which the relevant contracts are traded.  In addition, USHO bears the risk of financial failure by the clearing broker.
  • USCF invests a portion of USHO’s cash in money market funds that seek to maintain a stable net asset value.  USHO is exposed to any risk of loss associated with an investment in these money market funds.
  • The insolvency of the custodian could result in a complete loss of USHO’s assets held by that custodian, which, at any given time, would likely comprise a substantial portion of USHO’s total assets.
  • USHO’s exposure to market risk depends on a number of factors, including the markets for heating oil, the volatility of interest rates and foreign exchange rates, the liquidity of the Futures Contracts and Other Heating Oil-Related Investments markets and the relationships among the contracts held by USHO.  Drastic market occurrences could ultimately lead to the loss of all or substantially all of an investor’s capital.
  • When USHO enters into Futures Contracts and Other Heating Oil-Related Investments, it is exposed to the credit risk that the counterparty will not be able to meet its obligations.  The counterparty for the Futures Contracts traded on the NYMEX and on most other futures exchanges is the clearinghouse associated with the particular exchange.
  • In the future, USHO may purchase over-the-counter contracts (“OTC Contracts”).  Unlike most exchange-traded Futures Contracts or exchange-traded options on such futures, each party to an OTC Contract bears the credit risk that the other party may not be able to perform its obligations under its contract.
  • Trading on non-U.S. exchanges is often in the currency of the exchange’s home jurisdiction.  Consequently, USHO is subject to the additional risk of fluctuations in the exchange rate between such currencies and U.S. dollars and the possibility that exchange controls could be imposed in the future.  Trading on non-U.S. exchanges may differ from trading on U.S. exchanges in a variety of ways and, accordingly, may subject USHO to additional risks.
  • Trading in the interbank market also exposes USHO to a risk of default since failure of a bank with which USHO had entered into a forward contract would likely result in a default and thus possibly substantial losses to USHO.
  • There is a risk that USHO will not earn trading gains sufficient to compensate for the fees and expenses that it must pay and as such USHO may not earn any profit.
  • If USCF causes or permits USHO to become leveraged, you could lose all or substantially all of your investment if USHO's trading positions suddenly turned unprofitable
  • USCF may manage a large amount of assets and this could affect USHO’s ability to trade profitably.
  • An unanticipated number of redemption requests during a short period of time could have an adverse effect on the NAV of USHO.
  • Regulation of the commodity interests and energy markets is extensive and constantly changing; future regulatory developments are impossible to predict but may significantly and adversely affect USHO
  • USCF is leanly staffed and relies heavily on key personnel to manage trading activities.
  • USHO may experience substantial losses on transactions if the computer or communications system fails.
  • The success of USHO depends on the ability of USCF to accurately implement trading systems, and any failure to do so could subject USHO to losses on such transactions.
  • USCF’s trading system is quantitative in nature and it is possible that USCF might make a mathematical error.  In addition, it is also possible that a computer or software program may malfunction and cause an error in computation.
  • USHO and USCF may have conflicts of interest, which may permit them to favor their own interests to the detriment of unitholders.
  • USHO could terminate at any time and cause the liquidation and potential loss of an investor’s investment and could upset the overall maturity and timing of an investor’s investment portfolio.

*Some risks listed above may be mitigated due to rules proposed by the CFTC and SEC as promulgated under the Dodd-Frank Act.  For a discussion of these risks and others, please see the current Prospectus U.

For a copy of the Prospectus contact: ALPS Distributors, Inc., 1290 Broadway, Suite 1100, Denver, Colorado 80203 or call 800.920.0259 or click here .

UHN is not a mutual fund or any other type of Investment Company within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and is not subject to regulation thereunder.

Commodities and futures generally are volatile and are not suitable for all investors. UHN is speculative and involves a high degree of risk. An investor may lose all or substantially all of an investment in UHN. Funds that focus on a single sector generally experience greater volatility.

For further discussion of these and additional risks associated with an investment in UHN units, click here.

Investing in UHN subjects you to the risks of the heating oil industry. These risks could result in large fluctuations in the price of UHN's units. An investor could lose all or substantially all of his/her investment.

The price of units may not accurately track the spot price of heating oil and you may not be able to effectively use UHN as a way to hedge the risk of losses in your heating oil-related transactions or as a way to indirectly invest in heating oil.

Investors buy and sell units in the secondary market (i.e., not directly from UHN). Only "authorized purchasers" may trade directly with UHN, in minimum blocks of 100,000 units.

The United States Heating Oil Fund is distributed by ALPS Distributors, Inc.

© Copyright 2008-2012 | United States Heating Oil Fund | All rights reserved.