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To help ensure continuity of service and support for our clients and the health and safety of our associates, Robert W. Baird & Co. has a business continuity plan in place that addresses disaster preparedness, response, recovery and restoration. The plan may be invoked in whole or in part depending on the severity of the incident and the functional areas affected. The plan is multi-tiered and identifies the steps necessary to respond to any type of disaster, including when our facilities become inaccessible for long or short periods of time. If this were to happen, steps necessary to resume business and recover necessary client information have been identified. It is the firm’s intention to continue conducting business during any foreseeable disruptive event, and to provide clients prompt access to their funds and securities.
Baird’s wide area network is highly resilient, with two levels of redundancy. Virtually all mission critical systems have redundancy, which allows for continuous operation in the event of hardware or network failures. The remainder are readily recoverable at alternate sites. Complete system backups are performed on weekends and changes are backed up on weekdays. System backups are stored at a secure off-site location, along with installation media and documentation required for system rebuild. In addition, on-site copies are available for fast access. Full system rebuild procedures exist for all systems.
In the event of a power disruption at our corporate headquarters, we have alternate power generation capability sufficient to support our trading, information technology and critical clearance and settlement functions.
Our main telephone system is supported by multiple carriers. In the event of branch office outages, phone calls are redirected to our corporate headquarters where designated Financial Advisors can assist clients with their investment needs. Longer term disruptions may require relocating personnel to other Baird sites.
External alternative Baird sites with dedicated workspace can be used for the recovery of trading functions and related clearance and settlement functions, as well as for recovering the mainframe computer systems. This strategy allows for the recovery of trading and related functions within four hours and mainframe computer operations within 24 hours, subject to various circumstances beyond our control. Space will be provided at various Baird sites to accommodate certain other departmental recovery teams. The alternate Baird sites are at locations that give us the ability to recover from disruptions affecting our headquarters building and its surrounding area, as well as citywide and regional disasters. In addition, our primary service vendor is highly resilient and would give us the ability to process orders and otherwise serve our clients from Baird sites not experiencing a disruption. They also have a business continuity plan in place which provides for data backup and redundancy. They successfully test their recovery capability semi-annually.
Baird’s business continuity plan is tested regularly. The plan is reviewed by a designated senior manager on an annual basis, and is monitored by a full-time business continuity manager who updates the plan in the event of any material change to the firm’s operations, technology, structure, business or location.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your Financial Advisor, call us toll-free at 800-792-2473 and ask for the Business Continuity Manager or send an e-mail to . |
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