Business Continuity Procedures
DirectEdge ECN LLC has developed a Business Continuity Plan designed to be activated upon the occurrence
of events that significantly disrupt our business. With such an occurrence
DirectEdge ECN, trading will
be suspended, and during the time of outage will reject any incoming order.
Contacting Us — If a business disruption occurs, there are two ways to contact us:
1) Telephone: 201.942.8200; or
2) E-mail at
service@directedge.com.
The operation of
DirectEdge ECN is such that no customer cash or securities are maintained at
DirectEdge ECN
(or our clearing firm). If for any reason our clearing firm holds your cash and securities and you cannot access
us through either of the above means, you should contact our clearing firm, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner &
Smith Incorporated at
www.broadcort.com or 201.557.4291 for instructions on
how to promptly access to your funds and securities, enter closing orders, and process other trade-related cash
and security transfer transactions.
DirectEdge ECN's Business Continuity Plan is designed to permit our clients to have access to
DirectEdge
ECN as they normally would and for
DirectEdge ECN to resume operations as quickly as possible, given the
scope and severity of the significant business disruption. We plan to quickly recover and resume business
operations after a significant business disruption and to respond by safeguarding our employees and property,
making a financial and operational assessment, protecting the firm's books and records, and allowing our
clients to transact business.
Our business continuity plan addresses the following: data backup and recovery; all mission critical systems;
financial and operational assessments; alternative communications with clients, employees, and regulators;
alternate physical location of employees; critical supplier, contractor, bank and counter-party impact;
regulatory reporting; and assuring, if applicable, our clients' prompt access to their funds and securities
if we are unable to continue our business.
Our clearing firm, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, backs up most of our trade-related
records in a geographically separate area. While every emergency situation poses unique problems based on
external factors, such as time of day and the severity of the disruption, we have been advised by our
clearing firm that their objective is to restore their own operations and be able to complete existing
transactions and accept new transactions and payments within one (1) business day. Please be advised
that any orders and requests for funds and securities could be delayed during any recovery period.
Varying Disruptions — Significant business disruptions can vary in their scope, and
may affect only our firm, a single building housing our firm, the business district where our firm is located,
the city where we are located, or the whole region. Within each of these areas, the severity of the disruption
can also vary from minimal to severe. In the event of a disruption to only our firm or a building housing our
firm, we will transfer our operations to a local site when needed and expect to recover and resume business
within 24 hours. In a disruption affecting our business district, city, or region, we will transfer our operations
to a site outside of the affected area, and recover and resume business within 72 hours. In either situation,
we plan to continue in business, transfer operations to our clearing firm if necessary, and notify you through
our Web site,
www.directedge.com, or our client emergency
number, 201.942.8200. If the clearing firm for
DirectEdge ECN holds and maintains clients' cash and securities,
and if the significant business disruption is so severe that it prevents us from remaining in business, we
will endeavor to obtain prompt access to client funds and securities.
For more information — For more information about our business continuity planning,
please contact Client Service at 201.942.8200 or e-mail us at
service@directedge.com.