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Asset Consulting Group Privacy Notice

Effective: January 2022

WHO WE ARE

This Privacy Notice describes the data protection practices of Asset Consulting Group, LLC for visitors to the websites where this Notice is posted. Asset Consulting Group as used herein refers to the affiliated investment, securities and other businesses of Asset Consulting Group, LLC (collectively, “ACG,” “we,” “us,” or “our”).

Guggenheim Partners, LLC, principally located at 227 West Monroe Street, Chicago, Illinois 60606, where relevant, is the data controller for your information. Guggenheim affiliates who are also controllers of certain of your information are listed here.

APPLICATION OF THIS PRIVACY NOTICE

Certain affiliates of ACG, such as Guggenheim Investments have their own privacy policy with respect to their business or practices. Such policy will apply to information collected specifically by such entity only. Except as noted above, this Privacy Notice applies to anyone who visits or uses ACG’s website where this Policy is posted or otherwise provides personal data to ACG in the course of business with ACG.

THE INFORMATION WE COLLECT AND HOW WE USE IT

We may obtain information about you through the means discussed below when you use our websites. Please note that we may need certain types of information so that we can provide the websites to you. If you do not provide us with such information, or ask us to delete it, you may no longer be able to access or use certain parts of the websites.

1. Information You Provide to Us

We collect information that you choose to provide us with when you use our websites. This could include identifying contact information, such as your name and email address, as well as any other information you choose to provide when you contact us.

We use identifying contact information for our business purposes, including to:

  • Respond to your requests or questions. For example, we might use your information to respond to your customer feedback, to send you newsletters that you have requested, and/or to provide you with more effective and efficient customer service.
  • Improve our websites, products and services. For example, we may use your information to make our website and products better. We might use your information to customize your experience with us, customize content on our websites, and help us better understand your interests and needs so that we can improve our websites.
  • Secure our website and related services. For instance, we may use your information to protect ACG and our customers and potentially third parties, if necessary.
  • Communicate with you. For example, we may contact you about your feedback, this Privacy Notice, and/or to enroll you in or unsubscribe you from an email newsletter.
  • Customize the advertising or content that you see on the websites.
  • Help us better understand your interest and needs and improve the websites, including through research and reports, and to test and create new website features and services.
  • Comply with any procedures, laws, and regulations which apply to us where it is necessary for our legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of others.
  • Establish, exercise or defend our legal rights where it is necessary for our legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of others.
2. Information We Collect Through Automated Means

When you use our websites, we and our service providers (which are third party companies that work on our behalf), may use a variety of technologies, including cookies and similar tools, to assist in collecting certain network activity and device usage information about you through automated means.

Websites. When you use our websites, we may collect and analyze information, network activity, and device usage information, such as your IP address, browser types, browser language, operating system, the state or country from which you accessed the websites, software and hardware attributes (including device IDs) referring and exit pages and URLs, platform type, the number of clicks, files you download, domain names, landing pages, pages viewed and the order of those pages, the amount of time spent on particular pages, the terms you use in searches on our websites, the date and time you used the websites and upload or post content, error logs, and other similar information.

We and our service providers may use network and device usage information for our or our service providers' business and operational purposes, including to:

  • Improve our websites, products and services as described above.
  • Secure our website and related services and described above.
  • Customize the advertising or content that you see on the websites.
  • Help us better understand your interest and needs and improve the websites, including through research and reports, and to test and create new website features and services.
  • Comply with any procedures, laws, and regulations which apply to us where it is necessary for our legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of others.
  • Establish, exercise or defend our legal rights where it is necessary for our legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of others.
Location Information.

When you use the websites, we and our service providers may automatically collect general location information (e.g., IP address, city/state and or postal code associated with an IP address) from your computer or mobile device.

We and our service providers may use location information for our or our service providers’ business and operational purposes, including to:

  • Improve our websites, products and services as described above.
  • Secure our website and related services as described above.
  • Customize the advertising or content that you see on the websites.
  • Help us better understand your interest and needs and improve the websites, including through research and reports, and to test and create new website features and services.
  • Comply with any procedures, laws, and regulations which apply to us where it is necessary for our legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of others.
  • Establish, exercise or defend our legal rights where it is necessary for our legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of others.
3. Information We Collect from Others

We may receive additional information such as demographic and statistical information from third parties, such as business partners, marketers, researchers, analysts, social media platforms and other parties that we may attribute to you based on your assignment to certain statistical groups. We and our service providers may use this information for our and our service providers' business and operational purposes, including to supplement the information that we collect directly from you in order to derive your possible interests and to provide more relevant experiences for you and improve our products, analytics, advertising, and products.

LEGAL BASES FOR USE OF YOUR INFORMATION

The legal bases for using your information as set out in this Privacy Notice are as follows:

  • Where use of your information is necessary to perform our obligations under a contract with you or in order to take steps at the request of the data subject prior to entering into a contract (for example, to comply with the terms of service of our websites which you accept by browsing the websites;
  • Where use of your information is necessary for our legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of others (for example, to provide security for our website; operate our websites; comply with legal requirements and defend our legal rights; prevent fraud and to know the user to whom we are providing the website; or
  • Where required by law, and in some other cases, we handle personal data on the basis of consent.

COOKIES AND SIMILAR TECHNOLOGIES

To collect the information in the “Information We Automatically Collect” section above, we and our service providers may use Internet server logs, cookies, tracking pixels, and other similar tracking technologies. We use these technologies in order to offer you a more tailored experience in the future, by understanding and remembering your particular browsing preferences. Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer or mobile device when you visit a website, that enables us to: (i) recognize your computer; (ii) store your preferences and settings; (iii) understand the pages of the websites you have visited; (iv) enhance your user experience by delivering and measuring the effectiveness of content; (v) perform searches and analytics; and (vi) assist with security and administrative functions. Some cookies are placed in your browser cache while those associated with Flash technologies may be stored with your Adobe Flash Player files.

As we adopt additional technologies, we may also gather information through other methods. Please note that you can change your settings to notify you when a cookie is being set or updated, or to block cookies altogether. Please consult the “Help” section of your browser for more information (e.g., Internet Explorer; Google Chrome; Mozilla Firefox; or Apple Safari). You can also manage the use of Flash technologies, including flash cookies and local storage objects with the Flash management tools available at Adobe's website. Please note that by blocking, disabling, or managing any or all cookies, you may not have access to certain features or offerings of the websites.

ONLINE ANALYTICS AND MARKETING

1. Analytics

We may use third-party web analytics services (such as those of Google Analytics) on our websites to collect and analyze usage information through cookies and similar tools; engage in auditing, research, or reporting; assist with fraud prevention; and provide certain features to you. To prevent Google Analytics from using your information for analytics, you may install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on by clicking here.

If you receive email from us we may use certain analytics tools, such as clear GIFs to capture data such as when you open our message or click on any links or banners our email contains. This data allows us to gauge the effectiveness of our communications and marketing campaigns.

2. Marketing

The website may integrate third-party marketing technologies that allow for the delivery of relevant marketing content to visitors to our websites and recipients of our emails. This content may be based on various factors such as the content of the page you are visiting, your searches, demographic data, user-generated content, interaction with email newsletters you receive, and other information we collect from you.

We neither have access to, nor does this Privacy Notice govern, the use of cookies or other tracking technologies that may be placed on your device you use to access the websites by such non-affiliated third parties. If you are interested in more information about how you can generally control cookies from being put on your device, you may visit the Network Advertising Initiative's Consumer Opt-Out link, the Digital Advertising Alliance's Consumer Opt-Out link, or if you are resident of a Member State located in the EU, Your Online Choices to opt-out of certain tracking cookies being put on your device. We do not control these opt-out links or whether any particular company chooses to participate in these opt-out programs. We are not responsible for any choices you make using these mechanisms or the continued availability or accuracy of these mechanisms.

INFORMATION WE COLLECT AND THE WAYS WE USE IT

ACG may share the information we collect as described above in the following ways:

  • Affiliates and Subsidiaries. We may share information we collect within the ACG family of companies to deliver products and services to you, ensure a consistent level of service, and enhance our products, services, and your customer experience.
  • Service Providers. We provide access to or share the information we collect with select third parties who perform services on our behalf. They have access to perform these services but are prohibited from using your information for other purposes. They provide a variety of services to us, including marketing, product content and features, advertising, analytics, research, customer service, data storage, security, fraud prevention, and legal services.
  • Protection of ACG and Others. By using the websites, you acknowledge and agree that we may access, retain and disclose the information we collect and maintain about you if required to do so by law or in a good faith belief that such access, retention or disclosure is reasonably necessary to: (a) comply with legal process (e.g. a subpoena or court order); (b) enforce our Terms of Service, this Privacy Notice, or other contracts with you, including investigation of potential violations thereof; (c) respond to claims that any content violates the rights of third parties; (d) respond to your requests for customer service; and/or (e) protect the rights, property or personal safety of ACG, its agents and affiliates, its users and/or the public. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organizations for fraud protection, and spam/malware prevention, and similar purposes.
  • Business Transfers. As we continue to develop our business, we may buy, merge, or partner with other companies. In such transactions, (including in contemplation of such transactions) the information that we collect may be among the transferred assets. If a portion or all of our assets are sold or transferred to a third-party, customer information (including your email address) would likely be one of the transferred business assets. If such transfer is subject to additional mandatory restrictions under applicable laws, we will comply with such restrictions.
  • Aggregate/Anonymous/Deidentified Information. From time to time, we may share Aggregate/Anonymous/Deidentified Information about use of the websites, such as by publishing a report on usage trends. The sharing of such data is unrestricted.

RETENTION OF YOUR INFORMATION

We keep the information we collect for no longer than necessary for the purposes for which it is processed. The length of time for which we retain information depends on the purposes for which we collected and use it and/or as required to comply with applicable laws.

DATA SUBJECT RIGHTS AND YOUR CHOICES

You have certain rights with respect to your information as further described in this section.

1. Legal rights for users who are located in the European Union

If you would like further information in relation to your legal rights under applicable law or would like to exercise any of them, please contact us using the information in the “Contact Information” section below at any time. Your local laws (e.g., in the EU) may permit you to request that we:

  • Provide access to and/or a copy of certain information we hold about you
  • Prevent the processing of your information for direct-marketing purposes (including any direct marketing processing based on profiling)
  • Update information which is out of date or incorrect
  • Delete certain information which we are holding about you
  • Restrict the way that we process and disclose certain of your information
  • Transfer your information to a third-party provider of services
  • Revoke your consent for the processing of your information

We will consider all requests and provide our response within the time period stated by applicable law. Please note, however, that certain information may be exempt from such requests in some circumstances, which may include if we need to keep processing your information for our legitimate interests or to comply with a legal obligation. We may request you provide us with information necessary to confirm your identity before responding to your request.

2. Marketing Communications and Sharing for All Users

You may instruct us not to use your contact information to contact you by email, postal mail, or phone regarding products, services, promotions and special events that might appeal to your interests by contacting us using the information below. In commercial email messages, you can also opt out by following the instructions located at the bottom of such emails. Please note that, regardless of your request, we may still use and share certain information as permitted by this Privacy Notice as required by applicable law. For example, you may not opt out of certain operational emails, such as those reflecting our relationship or transactions with you, or important notifications.

THIRD PARTY LINKS AND FEATURES

The websites contain links to third-party websites such as social media sites. If you choose to use these sites or features, you may disclose your information not just to those third-parties, but also to their users and the public more generally depending on how their services function. We are not responsible for the content or practices of those websites or services. The collection, use, and disclosure of your information will be subject to the privacy policies of the third party websites or services, and not this Privacy Notice. We urge you to read the privacy and security policies of these third-parties.

CHILDREN'S PRIVACY

The websites are intended for general audiences and not for children under the age of 16. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected “personal information” (as defined by the United States Children's Online Privacy Protection Act) from children under the age of 13 without valid parental consent, or from children under the age of 16, we will take reasonable steps to delete it as soon as possible. We do not knowingly process data of EU residents under the age of 16 without parental consent. If we become aware that we have collected data from an EU resident under the age of 16 without parental consent, we will take reasonable steps to delete it as soon as possible. We also comply with other age restrictions and requirements in accordance with applicable local laws.

INTERNATIONAL USERS

The information discussed in this Policy is processed in the United States by Guggenheim Partners LLC, whose principal office in the United States is located at 227 West Monroe Street, Chicago, Illinois 60606. Your information will be processed in the United States for the purposes described herein. As described above, we also may subcontract the processing of your data to, or otherwise share your data with, other members within the ACG family of companies, service providers, and business partners in countries other than your country of residence, including the United States, in accordance with applicable law. Such third parties may be engaged in, among other things, the provision of the website to you and the provision of support services. BY PROVIDING US WITH YOUR INFORMATION, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND CONSENT TO ANY SUCH TRANSFER, STORAGE OR USE.

If we provide any information about you to third party information processors, we will take appropriate measures to ensure such companies protect your information adequately in accordance with this Privacy Notice. These measures include signing Standard Contractual Clauses in accordance with EU and other data protection laws to govern the transfers of such data. For more information about these transfer mechanisms, please contact us as detailed in the “Contact Information” section below.

If applicable, you may make a complaint to the data protection supervisory authority in the country where you reside. Alternatively you may seek a remedy through local courts if you believe your rights have been breached.

HOW WE PROTECT YOUR INFORMATION

ACG takes technical and organizational security measures to protect the information provided via the websites from loss, misuse, and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. However, no Internet or email transmission is ever fully secure or error free. Please keep this in mind when disclosing any information to ACG via the Internet.

CALIFORNIA PRIVACY RIGHTS

If you are a California resident, California law requires us to provide you with some additional information regarding how we collect, use, and share your “personal information” (as defined in the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”)). We describe the categories of information we collect, our business purposes for collecting such information, the sources and uses of such information and the entities to which we share such information in the INFORMATION WE COLLECT AND HOW WE USE IT and the HOW WE SHARE AND DISCLOSE YOUR INFORMATION sections of this Privacy Notice.

CCPA Rights. California residents can make certain requests about their personal information under the CCPA. Specifically, if you are a California resident, you may request that we:

  • provide you with information about: the categories of personal information we collect, disclose or sell about you; the categories of sources of such information; the business or commercial purpose for collecting or selling your personal information; and the categories of third parties with whom we share personal information. Such information is also set forth in this Privacy Notice.
  • provide access to certain information we hold about you;
  • correct or rectify certain information we hold about you;
  • delete certain information we have about you; and/or
  • provide you with information about the financial incentives that we offer to you, if any.

You can also designate an authorized agent to make such requests on their behalf. The law in California further provides you with the right to not be discriminated against (as provided for in applicable law) for exercising your rights.

If you are unhappy with our response to your rights request, you have the right to appeal any decision, action or inaction of ACG under state privacy laws. Please contact us as described below and clearly indicate that you are making a “Privacy Appeal” or use similar words.

Please note that certain information may be exempt from such requests, such as retail investor information that is protected by federal privacy laws. In addition, we need certain information in order to provide the websites to you.

We will take reasonable steps to verify your identity before responding to a request. If you would like further information regarding your legal rights under California law or would like to exercise any of them, please contact us via email at corporatedataprivacy@guggenheimpartners.com, or by calling 1-888-293-7342, or by filling the form below.

Sale or Sharing of personal information. California privacy law sets forth certain obligations for businesses that “sell” personal information. Pursuant to the definition of “sell” or “share” under the CCPA and current guidance, we do not engage in such activity and have not engaged in such activity in the past twelve months, including for minors under 16 years of age without affirmative authorization.

Shine the Light Disclosure. The California “Shine the Light” law gives residents of California the right under certain circumstances to request information from us regarding the manner in which we share certain categories of personal information (as defined in the Shine the Light law) with third parties for their direct marketing purposes. We do not share your personal information with third parties for their own direct marketing purposes.

Privacy Information for Nevada Residents Under Nevada law, certain Nevada consumers may opt out of the sale of “covered information” for monetary consideration (as such terms are defined under Nevada law) to a person for that person to license or sell such information to additional persons. We do not engage in such activity; however, if you are a Nevada resident and you have purchased services from us, you may submit a request to opt out of any potential future sales under Nevada law by email to corporatedataprivacy@guggenheimpartners. Please note we may take reasonable steps to verify your identity and the authenticity of the request. Once verified, we will maintain your request in the event our practices change.

CHANGES TO OUR PRIVACY NOTICE

We reserve the right to amend this Privacy Notice at any time to reflect changes in the law, our data collection and use practices, the features of our websites, or advances in technology. We will make the revised Privacy Notice accessible through the websites, so you should review the Privacy Notice periodically. You can know if the Privacy Notice has changed since the last time you reviewed it by checking the “Effective Date” included at the beginning of the document. If we make a material change to the Policy, you will be provided with appropriate notice in accordance with legal requirements. By continuing to use the websites, you are confirming that you have read and understood the latest version of this Privacy Notice.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about this Privacy Notice or our information practices. You can reach us via email at corporatedataprivacy@guggenheimpartners.

California Consumer Privacy Act

Data Access, Correction and Deletion Form

If you are a California resident, you have the right to request data access, data correction, or data deletion under the California Consumer Privacy Act. We may limit our response as permitted by applicable law. To exercise these rights, please submit the following information:

Type of Rights Request: