Customer Disclosure Statement

Heritage Financial Systems,

                                                         Business Continuity Plan

 

Heritage Financial Systems, Inc. plans to quickly recover and resume business operations after a significant business disruption (SBD) 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 company’s business continuity plan (BCP) is designed to permit us to resume operations as quickly as possible, given the scope and severity of the SBD. 

 

The BCP 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, RBC Correspondent Services, maintains files of important records at its own facilities and at the facilities of its supporting firms.  These vendors further create back up copies of these records daily and maintain them in a geographically separate location. While every emergency situation poses unique problems based on external factors, such as time of day and the severity of the disruption, our clearing firm has advised us that data can be restored from the servers very quickly through a process that has been fully documented and tested.  Your orders and requests for funds and securities could be delayed during this period. 

 

The product sponsor or issuer maintains all records related to your investments and account holdings and backs up important records in accordance with their business continuity plan. For more information on their contingency plan, please contact the sponsor or issuer directly at the telephone number provided on your statements or offering documents or through their website.

 

Significant Business Disruptions: The Company’s plan takes into account two kinds Significant Business Disruptions, internal and external.  Internal SBDs affect only the Company’s ability to communicate and do business, such as a fire or loss electrical power in the office or building. 

 

External SBDs prevent the operation of the securities markets or a number of firms, such as a terrorist attack, a natural disaster, or another event that causes a wide-scale, regional disruption in essential services.

 

Internal SBDs: In the event of a disruption in the Company’s business operations due an internal SBD, the Company will attempt to continue to conduct business as usual by utilizing alternative communication methods (if available), such as the Internet, cell phones, etc., or by moving its operations to an alternative location.

 If personnel or operations must be moved to an alternate location, the Company anticipates that it will resume regular operations within 4 hours.

 External SBDs: In the event of a disruption in the Company’s business operations due to an external SBD, the Company will attempt to continue to conduct business as usual by moving its operations to an alternative location outside the effected area, if possible, or by providing customers with alternative communication arrangements, as indicated below, to conduct business or to access their funds and securities.

 The Company will attempt to resume business within 24-48 hours and to keep its customers informed regarding relevant events to the best of its ability based on the circumstances.

 In all cases, the Company will resume normal business operations as soon as it is able to do so, based on the type and the extent of the disrupting event.

 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.

 Communications: In the event you are unable to reach the Company at our main number, please proceed as follows:  

 1. Contact the Company at the following alternate telephone number: 610-639-1044.

 

2.   Access the Company’s website at www.heritagefincorp.com.

 

3.   Contact the clearing firm directly at one of the following telephone numbers to  process transactions or for information on your holdings:  (612) 607-8903, (888) 462-1816, (612) 371-2363 or (212) 618-2575

 

4.  Access the clearing firm’s website for more information on contacting this entity and their            business continuity plans: rbccorrespondentservices.com.       

 

5.   Contact FINRA’s District office in Philadelphia at the following telephone number for more information on the company’s status and additional instructions:  (215) 665-1180.

Contact information: Any questions regarding the Company’s Business Continuity Plans should be addressed to:  Brian K. Lureen, 5 Great Valley Parkway, Suite 334, Malvern, PA 19355, (610) 889-2066.