The CAT NMS Plan contemplates a funding model in which both Participants and Industry Members contribute to the funding of the CAT.  However, prior to the implementation of a CAT funding model, the Participants paid the full cost of the creation, implementation and maintenance of the CAT since 2012.  On September 6, 2023, the Commission approved an amendment to the CAT NMS Plan which established a funding model (the “Executed Share Model”) that allocates CAT costs among Participants and Industry Members through the use of executed equivalent share transaction-based fees that will be assessed by Consolidated Audit Trail, LLC (“CATLLC”) (the “2023 Funding Model”). (See FAQ V5 for definition of “executed equivalent shares.”)  On July 25, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (the “Court”) issued an opinion vacating the SEC order approving the 2023 Funding Model and remanding the matter to the Commission for further proceedings consistent with its opinion.  On March 16, 2026, the Commission approved an amendment to the CAT NMS Plan to establish an Executed Share Model similar to the 2023 Funding Model with the addition of a provision related to direct pass-through fees (the “CAT Funding Model”).  The CAT Funding Model includes a time limitation provision that prohibits billing Prospective CAT Fees or Historical CAT Assessments after March 31, 2028.

The Participants will separately file fee filings pursuant to Section 19(b) of the Exchange Act to implement the fee rates for one or more Historical CAT Assessments and for Prospective CAT Fees to be charged by CATLLC to CAT Executing Brokers.