Factor LLC

Historical Trading Performance

I believe that individuals and firms that present specific market and trading ideas to the
public have an ethical responsibility to provide some form of actual performance history.
This would include web-based market letter and trading services, bloggers, promoters of
trading systems, media talking heads, and the like. It is out of this conviction that I
present my own proprietary trading record.

I founded Factor LLC at the Chicago Board of Trade in 1981 as a proprietary trading
firm.

Accurate reporting of multi-year trading performance can be complicated by several

factors, including the exact calculation method used and the effect of additions and
withdrawals on rates-of-return.

For the purpose of full disclosure, Factor LLC’s proprietary trading performance is
presented in five formats

• Month-by-month and year-by-year VAMI performance table

• Performance capsule for last 12 months, last two years, last five years and life of
the proprietary trading program
• Table of pertinent performance data from VAMI tables
• Table of pertinent performance data from Factor LLC federal tax reporting
• Graph on the growth of initial investment of $1,000 since 1981, based on federal
tax reporting

VAMI Performance Table

Federal regulations provided by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)

specify that trading performance must be calculated as a Value Added Monthly Index, or
VAMI. VAMI is calculated with a starting Net Asset Value (NAV) of $1,000. The monthly
(or annual) rates-of-return are applied to each subsequent month (or year) to track the
value of an initial $1,000 investment over time. The following performance table reports
the month-by-month and year-by-year VAMI for the proprietary trading record of Factor
LLC.
 Factor LLC

Actual Proprietary Performance Capsule

Month 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 2007 2008

January - -18.74% 71.18% -12.62% 3.32% 14.59% 122.98% -3.41% 8.79% -1.20% -11.05% -2.55% -1.62% -1.24% 0.00% -1.25% 14.05%

February - 2.71% 2.43% -4.77% 74.99% 29.54% 43.48% -7.22% -9.91% -8.20% -2.23% 0.89% 2.29% -0.78% -0.66% -7.86% 24.59%

March - -7.11% -7. 08% 15.37% -2.06% 65.64% 32.31% -5.79% 31.26% 19.03% -1.22% -2.66% -1.91% 0.24% -0.73% -11.76% -5.95%

April - 12.27% -0. 49% 0.47% -14.07% -20.57% 9.25% -3.07% -11.58% -2.41% -1.50% 0.50% 3.95% -3.59% 2.91% 1.41% -9.53%

May - 44.08% 6.96% 7.00% 16.17% -7.39% 3.60% 11.10% 38.89% -4.67% -1.58% -0.93% 0.51% -2.70% - 3.00% -5.36%

June - 32.65% -5. 88% 19.37% -18.69% 1.02% 11.65% 23.90% 2.26% 14.50% 6.44% 1.90% -0.46% -3.14% - 7.64% 13.31%

July - -26.33% 16.75% 29.72% 40.30% -8.82% 16.04% -3.65% 4.84% 2.35% 0.22% -0.07% -1.58% 0.80% - -9.48% -4.61%

August - 6.64% 24.08% 10.85% -11.87% 34.56% 27.55% 3.06% 1.73% 17.92% -1.10% 0.68% -0.04% -1.00% - -1.30% 14.21%

September - -4.07% 12.33% -1.34% 9.21% -3.72% -12.27% -7.92% 5.64% 51.85% -1.41% 4.31% 0.07% 0.53% - 62.94% 12.18%

Oc tober 4.34% 9.09% -1. 06% -11.54% 3.06% 0.14% -2.69% 4.66% -4.56% -16.25% 2.27% -3.19% 0.11% 5.06% - 15.37% -

November 21.77% 106.46% 12.37% 6.19% 39.14% 1.65% -0.45% -10.22% 2.90% -8.81% 4.64% -1.51% -0.01% -1.72% - -1.37% -

Dec ember -14.50% 8.90% -1. 73% 6.78% 15.18% 3.20% 4.73% -1.58% 5.28% -0.55% 6.86% -2.44% -0.14% -0.89% - 34.14% -

Year 8.64% 207.48% 190. 20% 75.29% 220.57% 126.70% 604.67% -4.74% 88.22% 60.06% -0.95% -5.21% 1.04% -8.36% 1.49% 100.60% 58.48%

Worst D.D. -14.50% -26.33% -7. 54% -16.79% -18.69% -32.26% -15.02% -18.16% -11.58% -24.06% -16.73% -6.98% -2.07% -10.93% -1.39% -19.71% -19.47%

PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDI CATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS

Note on the VAMI table that Factor LLC was not in the trading business from 1995
through 2006 during which time Peter Brandt pursued full-time engagement of non-profit
philanthropic and social endeavors. The proprietary trading operations of Factor LLC
recommenced in 2007 through late 2008, at which time Factor LLC’s assets were
merged into a pooled investment account with other investors. Factor LLC’s assets
represented less than 10 percent of the pooled account.

Performance Capsule

Factor LLC Proprietary Trading Record

160%
135%
140%
120%
Percentage

100% Annualized
77% ROR
80% 68%
60%
-37% Worst
40% -20% -20% 23% -30% Draw Dow n
20% (m inus)
0%
Last 12 Last 2 Years Last 5 Years Life of
Months Program
PAST PERFORMANCE NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS
Based on VAMI - see discussion
Pertinent Performance Data from VAMI Table

Category Performance Measure*

Number of tax years 17
Number of profitable years 13
Number of unprofitable years 4
Best year +604.7%
Worst year (8.4%)
Average compounded rate of return +77.8%
(Monthly VAMI basis)
Average compounded rate of return +68.2%
(Annual VAMI basis)
Worst drawdown (36.7%)
Oct. 1990 – May 1991
MAR Ratio (annual compounded ROR 1.86
using annual VAMI/worst drawdown)
Average of worst annual drawdowns (15.4%)
Modified Calmar Ratio (average annual 4.43
compounded / average annual worst
drawdown)
*1981 through 2008

Pertinent Data from Factor LLC Federal Tax Filings

The following statistics are derived from an attestation by an auditing firm of Factor
LLC’s proprietary trading record based on federal IRS tax form 6781 from Section 1256
transactions (Contracts and Straddles) and a review of brokerage statements.

Category Performance Measures*

Number of trading years 18
Number of profitable years 14
Number of unprofitable years 4
Ratio—Size of average dollar gain in 14 profitable 7.6 to 1
years divided by size of average dollar loss in 4
unprofitable years
Ratio – Size of average dollar gain of entire 18 year 4.0 to 1
period divided by dollar loss in worst year
Ratio—Total gains in 14 profitable years divided by 26.8 to 1
total losses in 4 unprofitable years
Growth of $1,000 of initial investment (without $318,206 (without interest
adjustments for additions or withdrawals) income)
$334,817 (with interest
income in accounts)
Average annual compounded rate-of-return 41.59%
*Ratios do not include interest income in trading accounts
Growth of each $1,000 initial investment of proprietary funds

Factor Trading LLC Proprietary Performance

October 1981 through January 2011
$401,000

$351,000
NAV per initial $1,000
$301,000 Value per Intial
$1,000
$251,000

$201,000

$151,000

$101,000

$51,000

$1,000
1981 Year 2010
PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS
Actual performance based on attestation of federal tax returns and brokerage statements

Notes to Factor LLC proprietary trading performance:

PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS. THE

RISK OF LOSS IN TRADING COMMODITIES CAN BE SUBSTANTIAL

1. The performance data presented herein represent the composite proprietary accounts of
Factor LLC. There is no guarantee that the proprietary performance was or could have been
duplicated in non-proprietary accounts.
2. Factor LLC traded proprietary accounts from October 1981 through April 1995, at which time
Peter Brandt pursued full-time non-profit philanthropic and social endeavors. From April 1991
through April 1995 another trader assumed power-of-attorney over Factor LLC’s assets through a
joint account arrangement. The trading performance during this period is reported because Factor
LLC was a 50 percent stakeholder in the trading account.
3. Factor LLC began trading its full program again in January 2007 and continued through
September 2008. In September 2008 the proprietary trading program was discontinued and the
funds necessary to trade the proprietary program were withdrawn from the account.
4. Factor LLC began trading a pool account in 2009. Factor LLC is a 9 percent stakeholder in the
account. Factor LLC does not currently trade a proprietary account, believing that trading a full
proprietary program would be a conflict of interest with trading client funds.
5. The review of Factor LLC’s performance based on IRS tax filings consisted of an “attestation”
process and not an audit. The accounting firm employed by Factor LLC reviewed IRS records
based on Form 6781 filings (commodity futures and forex gains and losses) and compared the
6781 data against brokerage statements and the Factor LLC Performance Capsule table included
herein.
6. The graph of the NAV of each $1,000 of proprietary capital covers the composite of Factor’s
proprietary accounts from 1981 through 2008 and then the performance of an exempt pool in
which Factor is an investor starting in 2009.
Discussion

The calculation of performance data is an imperfect challenge and is much more difficult than one
might imagine. For example, the standard method to calculate performance required by the
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is a method called Value Added Monthly Index
(VAMI) whereby the monthly rates-of-return are applied to a hypothetical $1,000 starting value.
However, Factor LLC believes VAMI can be grossly misleading because it does not adjust the
VAMI for profits withdrawn over time. Based on the strictly defined VAMI method, each $1,000 of
Factor LLC proprietary capital in 1981 converted to $6.8 million by the end of 2008. Yet, Factor
LLC knows this calculation is inaccurate – in fact, each $1,000 of initial capital produced profits of
about $320,000 without adjustments for additions and withdrawals or additions for interest
income.

The last graph shown (Growth of each $1,000 initial investment of proprietary funds) attempts to
reconcile the VAMI approach with what Factor LLC knows to be factual about actual dollar
performance of its proprietary trading.

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