Qualified Eligible Participant - QEP

An individual who meets requirements to trade in different investment funds, such as futures and hedge funds. The rules for defining a QEP are outlined under Rule 4.7 of the Commodity and Exchange Act.

Some of the conditions that a person must meet in order to be classified as a QEP are:

- Must own securities and other investments with a market value of at least $2,000,000.
- Has or has had an account open with a futures commisssion merchant at any time during the preceding six month period (along with $200,000 or more initial margin and option premiums for commodity interest transactions).
- Has a combined portfolio of the investments specified in the two requirements above.