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For Client Purposes
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Business Continuity Plan
Birkelbach Investment Securities, Inc. has developed a Business Continuity Plan
on how we will respond to events that significantly disrupt our business. Since
the timing and impact of disasters and disruptions is unpredictable, we will
have to be flexible in responding to actual events as they occur. With that
in mind, we are providing you with this information on our business continuity
plan.
Contacting Us – If after a significant business disruption
you cannot contact us as you usually do at 312-853-2820, you should call our
alternative number 800-408-4038 or go to our web site at www.my-broker.com.
If you cannot access us through either of those means, you should contact the
clearing firm that maintains your account, Pershing, LLC (“Pershing”),
at 888-367-2563, for instructions on how it may provide prompt access to your
funds and securities, enter orders and process other trade-related, cash and
security transfer transactions.
Our Business Continuity Plan – We plan to quickly recover
and resume business operations after a significant business disruption and respond
by safeguarding our employees and property, making a financial and operational
assessment, protecting the firm’s books and records, and allowing our
customers to transact business. In short, our business continuity plan is designed
to permit our firm to resume operations as quickly as possible, given the scope
and severity of the significant business disruption.
Our business continuity plan addresses: data back up and recovery; all mission
critical systems; financial and operational assessments; alternative communications
with customers, employees, and regulators; alternate physical location of employees;
critical supplier, contractor, bank and counter-party impact; regulatory reporting;
and assuring our customers prompt access to their funds and securities if we
are unable to continue our business.
Our clearing firm, Pershing, backs up our important records in a geographically
separate area. While every emergency situation poses unique problems based on
external factors, such as time of day and the severity of the disruption, we
have been advised by our clearing firms that their objectives are to restore
their own operations and be able to complete existing transactions and accept
new transactions and payments within a day. Your orders and requests for funds
and securities could be delayed during this period.
Varying Disruptions – Significant business disruptions
can vary in their scope, such as only our firm, a single building housing our
firm, the business district where our firm is located, the city where we are
located, or the whole region. Within each of these areas, the severity of the
disruption can also vary from minimal to severe. In a disruption to only our
firm or a building housing our firm, we will transfer our operations to a local
site when needed and expect to recover and resume business within a day. In
a disruption affecting our business district, city, or region, we will transfer
our operations to a site outside of the affected area, and recover and resume
business within a day. In either situation, we plan to continue in business,
transfer operations to our clearing firm if necessary, and notify you through
our web site www.my-broker.com or our customer emergency number, 800-408-4038,
how to contact us. If the significant business disruption is so severe that
it prevents us from remaining in business, we will assure our customer’s
prompt access to their funds and securities.
For more information – If you have questions about our business continuity
planning, you can contact us at 312-853-2820.
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