(a) No member shall permit a customer to engage in extended hours trading unless the member has furnished to the customer, individually, in paper or electronic form, a disclosure statement highlighting the risks specific to extended hours trading. In addition, any member that permits customers either to open accounts on-line in which such customer may engage in extended hours trading or to engage in extended hours trading in securities on-line, must post an extended hours trading risk disclosure statement on the member's Web site in a clear and conspicuous manner.
Model Extended Hours Trading Risk Disclosure Statement
You should consider the following points before engaging in extended hours trading. "Extended hours trading" means trading outside of “regular trading hours.” “Regular trading hours” generally means the time between 9:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
• Risk of Lower Liquidity. Liquidity refers to the ability of market participants to buy and sell securities. Generally, the more orders that are available in a market, the greater the liquidity. Liquidity is important because with greater liquidity it is easier for investors to buy or sell securities, and as a result, investors are more likely to pay or receive a competitive price for securities purchased or sold. There may be lower liquidity in extended hours trading as compared to regular trading hours. As a result, your order may only be partially executed, or not at all.
• Risk of Higher Volatility. Volatility refers to the changes in price that securities undergo when trading. Generally, the higher the volatility of a security, the greater its price swings. There may be greater volatility in extended hours trading than in regular trading hours. As a result, your order may only be partially executed, or not at all, or you may receive an inferior price when engaging in extended hours trading than you would during regular trading hours.
• Risk of Changing Prices. The prices of securities traded in extended hours trading may not reflect the prices either at the end of regular trading hours, or upon the opening the next morning. As a result, you may receive an inferior price when engaging in extended hours trading than you would during regular trading hours.
• Risk of Unlinked Markets. Depending on the extended hours trading system or the time of day, the prices displayed on a particular extended hours trading system may not reflect the prices in other concurrently operating extended hours trading systems dealing in the same securities. Accordingly, you may receive an inferior price in one extended hours trading system than you would in another extended hours trading system.
• Risk of News Announcements. Normally, issuers make news announcements that may affect the price of their securities after regular trading hours. Similarly, important financial information is frequently announced outside of regular trading hours. In extended hours trading, these announcements may occur during trading, and if combined with lower liquidity and higher volatility, may cause an exaggerated and unsustainable effect on the price of a security.
• Risk of Wider Spreads. The spread refers to the difference in price between what you can buy a security for and what you can sell it for. Lower liquidity and higher volatility in extended hours trading may result in wider than normal spreads for a particular security.
(b) In lieu of providing the model disclosure statement set forth in paragraph (a), a member may furnish customers with an alternative disclosure statement, provided that such alternative disclosure statement is substantially similar to the model disclosure statement set forth in paragraph (a) addressing, at a minimum, the above six risks.
(c) Members must consider whether to develop and include additional disclosures in the extended hours trading risk disclosure statement as necessary to address product-specific or other specific needs. For example, members may need to develop additional disclosures to address such issues as exchange-traded funds, options trading, options exercises, and the effect of stock splits or dividend payments during extended-hours trading.
