Interpretive Notices

9031 - STANDARD LIST OF DOCUMENTS TO BE EXCHANGED UNDER SECTION 8 OF NFA'S CODE OF ARBITRATION

(Board of Directors, December 1, 1997; revised April 15, 2011 and July 1, 2024)

INTERPRETIVE NOTICE

Section 8 of NFA's Code of Arbitration requires the parties to automatically exchange certain documents early in the discovery process. Under this procedure, NFA will identify the standard documents that are routinely relevant for the causes of action alleged in a particular case from this list of documents approved by NFA's Board of Directors as set forth below. NFA will then notify the parties that they must automatically exchange the standard documents with each other no later than 15 days after the last pleading is due, whether such documents are maintained electronically or otherwise. Except for the list showing the customer's investment experience, a party is not required to obtain or exchange any documents that do not exist or that are not in the party's possession or control.

The parties may ask for other documents and information within 30 days after the last pleading is due. The parties may ask for documents and information on the list which have not been identified for automatic exchange if they believe those documents and information are relevant to the claim or defense.

A Customer May be Asked to Provide Any or All of the Following:

• All contracts or written agreements between the firm and any party named in the arbitration, including but not limited to account opening documents and forms for the customer's account such as account applications, account agreements, acknowledgment forms, margin agreements, option agreements, option disclosure statements, and other risk disclosure statements.

• Records (including telephone bills) of all communications between the customer and any party named in the arbitration, any employee of a party named in the arbitration or the trading advisor trading the account, including but not limited to video and audio recordings, transcripts of in-person meetings and video and oral communications, emails, texts, social media messages and chat messages.

• Any notes made by the customer concerning the customer's account or any transactions in the account.

• Any correspondence or agreements concerning the strategy to be used in trading the account.

• All powers-of-attorney giving someone other than the customer the right to trade the account.

• Daily confirmation statements for the customer's account.

• Monthly activity statements for the customer's account.

• A list, to be prepared by the customer, showing the customer's investment experience. For each type of investment the customer has made, the list must contain the type of investment, the names of the firms the customer has done or is doing business with, the account numbers for accounts at each firm, the dates the accounts were opened and, if applicable, the dates the accounts were closed.

• Research or marketing materials concerning any trading recommendations made to the customer or concerning any transaction made in the customer's account, including but not limited to newsletters, emails, presentations (whether in-person or virtual) and commentary letters.

• Any disclosure document, private placement memorandum, offering memorandum or similar document that is relevant to the dispute.

• All notifications the customer received from any party (or employee thereof) named in the arbitration proceeding regarding any price adjustments or system operational difficulties that allegedly occurred on the dates in question.

A Member and/or Associate May be Asked to Provide Any or All of the Following:

• All contracts or written agreements between the firm and any party named in the arbitration, including but not limited to account opening documents and forms for the customer's account such as account applications, account agreements, acknowledgment forms, margin agreements, option agreements, option disclosure statements, and other risk disclosure statements.

• Records (including telephone bills) of all communications between the customer and the broker,¹ other firm personnel or the trading advisor trading the account, including but not limited to video and audio recordings, transcripts of in-person meetings and video and oral communications, emails, texts, social media messages and chat messages.

• Any notes made by the broker concerning the customer's account or any transactions in the account.

• Any correspondence or agreements concerning the strategy to be used in trading the customer's account.

• All powers-of-attorney giving someone other than the customer the right to trade the account.

• Daily confirmation statements for the customer's account.

• Monthly activity statements for the customer's account.

• Margin calls for the customer's account.

• Registration applications, biographies, resumes, or similar documents showing employment history and educational background of the broker and any trading advisor.

• Order tickets, electronic trade and order logs, and any similar information relevant to the transactions made in the customer's account.

• Research and marketing materials prepared or distributed by the firm, the broker, or the trading advisor concerning any trading recommendation made to the customer or any transaction made in the customer's account, including but not limited to newsletters, emails, presentations (whether in-person or virtual) and commentary letters.

• The index to the firm's compliance manual and an index or summary list of any written compliance policies.

• Agreements, contracts or other documents, including guarantee agreements, governing the relationship between the firm and any other individual or entity introducing, carrying or advising the account or operating the pool of which the customer is a participant in.

• Commission runs for the broker who serviced the customer's account.

• Any disclosure document private placement memorandum, offering memorandum or similar document that is relevant to the dispute.

• All notifications provided to the customer regarding any price adjustments or system operational difficulties that allegedly occurred on the dates in question, notifications the firm received from the applicable counterparty or liquidity provider and the notes or internal correspondence regarding the disputed transactions.

• The firm’s electronic Trading System Procedures required by NFA Interpretive Notice 9060 – NFA Compliance Rule 2-36(e): Supervision of the Use of Electronic Trading Systems for the period the customer’s account was open.

¹ In this context, "broker" refers to the individual AP (or APs) who serviced the account.