Southern Trust Securities, Inc, recognizes the importance of safeguarding the personal information of our customers. Therefore, it is the policy of Southern Trust Securities Inc, and our affiliates that customers must be protected in accordance with all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations. We share a commitment, to protect your privacy and the confidentiality of your personal and financial information.
Collection of Information
As providers of products and services that involve compiling personal - and sometimes, sensitive - information, protecting the confidentiality of that information has been, and will continue to be, a top priority throughout Southern Trust Securities, Inc. We believe that you should know about the information we collect, the measures we take to safeguard it, and the situations in which we might share information with select business partners. This letter explains how Southern Trust Securities, Inc. handles - and protect - the personal information we collect.
Southern Trust Securities, Inc. must collect a certain amount of information to provide customer service, offer new products or services, evaluate benefits, administer our products, and fulfill legal and regulatory requirements. Specific examples may not apply to all customers, and the information we collect varies accordingly. Examples include:
•Information on your account application and related forms, such as name, address, date of birth, Social Security number, gender, marital status, assets, income, and investment options elections;
•Information about your relationship with us, such as products or services purchased, account balances, and payment history;
•Information provided by your employer, benefits plan sponsor or association regarding any group product you may have, such as name, address, Social Security number, age, income, and marital status.
Sharing and Use of Information
We may share the personal information described for business purposes with the following companies affiliated with us:
•Financial service institution, such as mutual fund companies, securities brokers, clearing brokers and banks, with whom we have joint agreements (such as agreement to market financial services or products that they jointly offer, endorse or sponsor with us);
OR
•Companies under contract to perform services for us or on our behalf.
We will share personal information with non-affiliated companies only when they
agree to uphold and maintain our privacy standard when handling a customers'
personal information.
Also, we may disclose personal information with non-affiliated companies and regulatory authorities as permitted by applicable law. For example, we may disclose personal information to cooperate with regulatory authorities and law enforcement agencies as necessary to protect our rights or property. Except as described in this privacy policy, we will not use your personal information for any other purpose unless we describe how such information will be used at the time you disclose it to us or we obtain your permission to do so.
Maintaining Accurate Information
We continually strive to maintain complete and accurate information about you and your accounts. If you believe that our records contain inaccurate or incomplete information about you, please let us know immediately. We will correct any inaccuracies as quickly as possible.
Protecting the information
We are committed to maintain the security of our customers personal information. To ensure such information is used only in the manner we have described in this policy, we have instituted the following safeguards:
•Employees are required to comply with our privacy policies and procedures, which exist to project the confidentiality of customer information. Any employee who violates our private policies will be subject to a disciplinary process.
•Employees access the information only on a business need-to-know basis, such as administration procedures and customer services requested.
•We use manual and electronic security procedures to maintain the confidentiality of the information we collect and to guard against its unauthorized access. Such methods include locked files, user files, user authentication, encryption and firewall technology.
Our Continuing commitment
We will continue to provide this notice at the frequency required by law and will notify customers at least annually. We will continue to follow the policies set forth in this notice even when a customer relationship no longer exists. However, that party will no longer be entitled to an annual notice.
