At Ascensus, we know how much our Partners and Plan Participants rely on our systems and services. We also recognize that business disruptions of varying scope can and do occur. Ascensus wants you to know that we have plans in place designed to safeguard your assets and protect vital account information in the event of a business disruption.
Ascensus and its affiliated companies have developed plans to recover from situations including, but not limited to, facilities failures that may cause business interruption. These plans are designed to account for interruptions of varying length and scope and require that Ascensus can recover mission-critical functions according to their time criticality. To maintain secure and effective plans, Ascensus does not provide the specific details in this notice, but you should be aware that Ascensus’ corporate business continuity and disaster recovery planning includes the following:
- Identification of all mission critical systems and backup facilities and arrangements
- Setup of alternate communication channels between Ascensus and its customer and business partners
- Alternate physical site location and preparedness
- An ongoing review of financial and operational risks
- Employee safety strategies and communications
Ascensus mitigates risks to reduce the potential impact on customer service. In addition to following the guidelines stated above, Ascensus’ recovery plans also include the following:
Designated Contingency Sites – Ascensus maintains designated contingency sites to provide for the backup and recovery of data and maintenance of mission critical applications. Ascensus relies on geographic diversity and remote work capabilities to ensure resumption activities for key business personnel and critical business functions.
Notification to Clients – Procedures for notifying Partners and Plan Participants have been established for Ascensus associates to follow in the event of an outage. Notification will include information regarding length of outage, instructions for contacting Ascensus, and support information (e.g., where to send faxes, and issues pertaining to data transmissions and communications).
Access to Your Funds – A site outage should not impact a Plan Participant’s ability to access your investments, as Ascensus’ business continuity and disaster recovery plans are designed to facilitate sustained service. However, your ability to trade securities may be impacted by market events outside of Ascensus’ control. Our business continuity plans are designed to ensure necessary personnel are available to assist with transactions.
Please note that Ascensus’ business continuity and disaster recovery plans are reviewed as necessary, and at least annually, to ensure they account for technology, business, and regulatory changes, operations, structure, or location.
