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Anti-Money
Laundering Program Following the attacks on
September 11, 2001, the U.S. government enacted the
USA PATRIOT Act, which is designed to prevent the
use of the U.S. financial system to help fund
terrorism and other crimes. The Act imposes a series
of new anti-money-laundering requirements on
brokerage firms and other financial institutions. In
accordance with the Act, we have undertaken efforts
to further enhance these existing policies and
procedures.
Under the USA PATRIOT Act and other regulations,
financial services firms must establish a compliance
program, which includes policies and procedures to
detect and report suspicious transactions to the
government, as well as ensure compliance with the
new laws. Firms must also implement specialized
employee training programs, designate a special
compliance officer and conduct independent audits of
the effectiveness of the compliance program.
The regulations also impose new requirements
regarding client information and verification of
that information. Financial services firms are
required to verify the identity of the clients with
whom they do business, determine the source of funds
in a client's account and obtain the information
about a client's wealth.
As part of Asset Growth Associates' compliance with
the new Act and in support of the fight against
money laundering around the world, we may ask
clients for additional information and documentation
about certain accounts and transactions. This
information may be used to verify client identity.
Money laundering is the process of disguising
illegally obtained money so that the funds appear to
come from legitimate sources or activities. Money
laundering occurs in connection with a wide variety
of crimes, including terrorism, illegal arms sales,
drug trafficking and public official corruption.
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Business Continuity
Program
In the event of a business disruption, we have
plans designed to allow us to continue operations of
critical business functions, such as entering of
client orders, completing securities transactions
and providing clients access to their cash and
securities.
With regard to client assets, nearly all
market-traded securities are held in central
depositories or with custodian banks, rather than in
physical certificates. Ownership of the securities
is reflected on a book-entry record-keeping basis
with our custodian banks or depositories’
participants , maintaining on their records the
beneficial ownership positions of their customers.
This structure is recognized worldwide as providing
investors with an unsurpassed level of liquidity and
security for the assets they choose to custody with
major financial institutions.
Although we have taken significant steps to develop
and implement sound business recovery plans, we
cannot guarantee that systems will always be
available or recoverable after a disaster or
significant business disruption. Any material
changes to this statement will be available on our
website.
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Protecting Yourself
Against Identity Theft
You can help prevent common types of fraud if you
know what to look for. Be mindful of the following:
- Be cautious of unexpected e-mail links to
online forms or telephone calls that ask you to
submit or provide your sensitive personal
information.
- Check your account statements regularly and
be alert to any unrecognized transactions.
- Be aware of any missed or untimely delivery
of statements or other expected correspondence.
- If you have any questions or concerns about
your accounts please
contact us
immediately.
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