# Chicago Fed NFCI Rights Clarification — send-ready email

**To:** information.chi@chi.frb.org  
**Subject:** Rights clarification request — use of the Chicago Fed NFCI for an ASSET SHIFT derived research classification

Hello,

We are developing ASSET SHIFT, a public research dashboard for individual investors. It organizes official economic data into medium- and long-term current-state classifications. It is not a trading-signal service and does not issue buy, sell, or asset-allocation instructions.

For the Cash component, we are considering using the Chicago Fed National Financial Conditions Index (NFCI), together with official Federal Reserve Board and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics series.

We would not publish or redistribute the underlying NFCI observations or historical table. The planned public output would be only a materially derived, non-price current-state classification, accompanied by explanatory metadata and attribution. The service may begin as a free Research Preview and may later be supported by advertising or paid subscriptions.

For audit and release-control purposes, could you please provide a written response to each of the following points?

1. May we obtain and use the official NFCI Raw data for internal research, model development, reproducibility testing, and prospective Forward Validation?

2. May we retain timestamped copies of the downloaded NFCI Raw source file internally for audit and reproducibility purposes?

3. May we publicly display only a materially derived, non-price Cash state or classification in a free Research Preview, without publishing or redistributing the underlying NFCI observations or historical table?

4. May the same materially derived classification be displayed in a commercial service, including a service supported by advertising or paid subscriptions?

Please also identify the exact attribution wording and any restrictions that would apply. If any part of the NFCI contains third-party material for which the Chicago Fed cannot grant permission, please identify the relevant rights holder and the appropriate contact or licensing route.

Until these points are resolved in writing, ASSET SHIFT will not ingest the NFCI Raw data into its public model and will not publish a Cash classification derived from it.

Thank you for your assistance.

Regards,

ASSET SHIFT  
Name: naoyasu saitou  
Email: na046_1014@yahoo.co.jp  
Country: Japan