MJ Whitman 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 1-800-880-8442, you should
visit our web site at www.mjwhitman.com. If you cannot access us
through either of those means, you should contact our clearing firm,
Bear Stearns Securities Corp., at 347-643-4927 for liquidating orders,
check and wire requests, and ACAT transfers only.
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, Bear Stearns Securities Corp., backs up their
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 12 hours. 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 4 to 12 hours.
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 12 to 24 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.mjwhitman.com. 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 or would
like a copy of our business continuity plan, you can contact us
at 1-800-880-8442