BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLAN DISCLOSURE
The purpose of this letter is to inform you our clients that Investment Placement Group has developed a Business Continuity Plan in the event of a significant business disruption. Since the timing and impact of a disaster 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
IPG’s headquarters is located at 501 West Broadway, Suite 1350, San Diego, CA 92101. In the case of a significant business disruption, you should contact IPG by telephone at our general phone number of (619) 326 1200 or by email at [email protected]. To reach a specific IPG associate, please use the person’s first name followed by the email domain ipgsd.com. If we are unable to assist you during a significant business disruption, then we use our best efforts to direct you to departments with our clearing firm that may be able to assist you. Investment Placement Group is IPG’s FINRA member broker-dealer of IPG and Investment Placement Group engages the clearing firm, Pershing LLC, as its custodian and clearing firm. In that capacity, your securities and cash are custodied at Pershing LLC who maintains SIPC coverage for cash and securities in your investment accounts in addition to additional insurance coverage above the thresholds of SIPC, information regarding the SIPC and additional insurance coverage Pershing LLC maintains on your investments please visit their website at https://www.pershing.com/us/en/what-we-provide/clearing-custody-and-settlement.html .
Pershing LLC also provides their own customer service number to assist customers if IPG cannot be contacted during significant business disruptions; you may choose to either call (201) 413-3635 for Pershing’s recorded instructions to assist you or you may refer to the Pershing phone number provided in their disclosure pages of your Pershing investment account statement.
IPG Investment Advisors is IPG’s SEC registered Investment Advisory firm; IPG Investment Advisors does not maintain custody of cash of securities, instead your investment advisory account cash and securities are custodied at qualified custodians such as Pershing, Morgan Stanley, Pictet, UBP, and others. IPG Investment Advisors uses qualified custodians to maintain custody of your cash and securities. Should IPG Investment Advisors experience a significant business disruption, you should contact IPG by telephone at our general phone number of (619) 326 1200 or by email at [email protected]. To reach a specific IPG investment advisory associate, please use the person’s first name followed by using the email domains ipgsd.com or ipgia.com. If we are unable to assist you during a significant business disruption, then we will use our best efforts to direct you to departments with the custodian firms who may be able to assist you further.
For any questions regarding this disclosure, please either contact your IPG registered representative or IPG investment advisory representative. You may also email IPG’s Compliance Department at: [email protected]
OUR BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLAN
In the event of an emergency or major disruption, the safety of our employees is a vital concern for IPG. The firm will communicate with its employees via telephone, in person or any other available means to us. We will use a direct-targeted outreach. General closures and operation hours will be posted in the Firm’s website or a recorded update when available. Protecting our primary facilities is high priority. Since Investment Placement Group (IPG) does not maintain custody of customer’s funds or securities, which are maintained by our clearing firm, our account executives will still be able to service our clients in the event of a major physical disruption to our facilities. In the event of a significant business disruption, (SBD). Investment Placement Group will immediately regroup to an alternate location where we will have telephones, computers and systems available which will enable us to continue the business. 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, employers and regulators; alternate physical locations of employees; critical suppliers, contractors and counter-party impact; regulatory reporting; and assuring our customers prompt access to their funds and securities if we are unable to continue business.
DISCLAIMER
The Firm’s comprehensive business continuity strategy is designed to enable us to meet our existing obligations to our clients, even in the event of an emergency or significant business disruption; however it is not infallible. The plan is designed to work in various emergency situations; but emergencies are sometimes by nature, unpredictable and it is impossible to anticipate every scenario that could cause a business disruption. Furthermore, although we are confident with our own preparedness, IPG has no control over the various entities we must depend upon in the event of an emergency. Our business continuity plan will be tested periodically to ensure readiness; but such test might not be able to replicate the actual conditions of a real emergency. This BCP is subject to change without notice. Clients will receive copy of this statement at account opening and may obtain a hard copy upon written request.