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Business Continuity Plan
Institutional Securities Corporation
Business Continuity Plan
ISC 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:
After a significant business disruption you should be able to
contact us as you usually do at (214) 520-1115, (800) 888-3520,
fax (214) 520-3203 or our website at
http://www.iscgroup.com.
If necessary our offices will be relocated to 12720 Hillcrest
Road, Suite 900, Dallas, TX 75230, which is designated in our
formal Business Continuity Plan and our phone numbers will be
transferred to this location. If you cannot access us by any of
these means, please contact our clearing firm, Southwest
Securities, at the posted phone numbers that will be listed on
our website, http://www.iscgroup.com, should such business
disruption occur. They will be able to handle the services of
accessing your funds and securities, enter orders and process
other trade related, cash, and security transfer transactions
for you. If your account is not held at Southwest Securities you
can contact the vendor (annuity company, mutual fund company,
etc.) that is listed on your account statements.
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, Southwest Securities, will back 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,
our clearing firm has advised us that its objectives are to
restore their own operations and be able to complete existing
transactions and accept new transactions and payments within a
reasonable period of time. 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
reasonable period of time. 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 the same
time period. In either situation, we plan to continue in
business, transfer operations to our clearing firm if necessary,
and notify you through our web site
http://www.iscgroup.com on
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.
Potential of Flu Pandemic such as Avian Flu:
Recognizing that flu pandemic is not a “normal” business risk,
our planning has focused on augmenting our existing plans and
practices to take into account the following aspects:
• Global impact with no differentiation by culture,
industry, geography.
• Potential to escalate quickly and continue for
several months in more than one wave.
• A high projected rate of infection potentially
causing heavy absenteeism.
• Overtaxed health care facilities, public health
agencies, and personnel.
This Firm is continually reviewing many strategic
options as part of our business continuity planning, such as:
assigning associates and management staff and other personnel
responsible for critical processes to multiple geographically
dispersed locations, providing personnel with electronic access to
work from home where appropriate, and assessing ways to make our
facilities more biohazard resistant.
Please call us at (214) 520-1115 or email us at
info@iscgroup.com if you have any questions regarding our
Business Continuity Plan. |
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