1st Discount Brokerage (1DB) 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 1-888-576-8989, you should call our alternative
number 888-642-2811 (or go to our web site at www.1db.com). If you cannot
access us through either of those means, you should contact our clearing
firm, ADP
Clearing and Outsourcing Services at 212-747-1400 or www.ridgeclearing.com
for
instructions on how it may provide prompt access to funds and securities,
enter orders and process other trade-related, cash, and security transfer
transactions
for 1DB customers.
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, ADP Clearing and Outsourcing Services, 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 firm that
its objective is to restore its own operations and be able to complete existing
transactions and accept new transactions and payments within 4 hours, provided
that time may change depending on the severity and the cause of the disruption.
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 30 minutes. 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
4 hours. 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.1db.com
or our customer emergency number, 888-746-2925 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
or 888-576-8989.
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