In trying to determine which option best fits your particular situation, please refer to the following general guideline:

Claimant	Type of Submission
Individual investor with a small number of transactions (50 or less) to claim	Paper Submission
Individual investor with a large number of transactions (more than 50) to claim	E-File for Individual Claims
Corporate investor with a small number of transactions (50 or less) to claim	Paper Submission
Corporate investor with a large number of transactions (more than 50) to claim	E-File for Individual Claims
Banks, portfolio managers and other nominees filing on behalf of their clients	E-File for Multiple Claims

Not all cases require claimants to provide their trading activity during the time period in question. Instead, the claim may be based on the number of shares of common stock held prior to a certain event. In such cases, it may be substantially easier to prepare a paper claim. All of such variables have to be considered, and you should prepare your submission in the most efficient way, both in terms of claim preparation and claim verification. 

The term “electronic filing” or “e-file” often implies submission of information over the Internet. This is not the case here. 

Those individuals or companies who have an extensive trading activity to report in connection with their claim need to provide BCA with a data file. The data file is an Excel file spreadsheet prepared in accordance with certain technical specifications. The file can be prepared manually by entering information from your brokerage statements into the spreadsheet. Alternatively, your data files can be obtained from your broker, portfolio manager or bank. 

Once prepared or obtained, your data file should copied onto a diskette or CD and mailed to the address indicated on the claim form together with the completed claim form and supporting documentation. 

Detailed instructions on how to properly prepare your data file are outlined in this PDF document: E-File for Large Individual Claims. 

Various banks, portfolio managers and other nominees file claims on behalf of their clients who appear to be eligible based on the case criteria. In such cases, the task of preparing multiple paper claims may become unnecessarily taxing, and multi-claim electronic submission is a very good alternative. 

E-filing for multiple claims should consist of two separate schedules (which can be part of the same Excel file): (1) claimant information and holding positions, referenced by their account numbers; and (2) trading activity, also referenced by the account numbers.