Protecting Your Privacy. Financial Network Registered
Representatives respect your right to privacy and are committed to protecting
it. Whether you are a current customer or just visiting us online, we are
dedicated to keeping any confidential financial information you provide us with
secure and confidential. A summary of how we use and how we protect your
information both online and in general is set forth below. You should be aware that linked sites
(either to or from this web site) may contain privacy or confidentiality
provisions that differ from the provisions provided herein. Your use of linked sites is governed by the
privacy policies and other terms and conditions of those sites.
Privacy Online
Our web
site is a great way for current and potential customers to find out more about
Financial Network’s products and services. It also offers users some handy
"financial calculator" tools and market information. Rest assured that when you visit our site
we will not try to gather any personal
identifiable information from you without you knowing it. The following
summarizes the extent to which we gather and use information obtained through
our web site:
Cookies. A "cookie" is a small piece
of information that our web site may provide to your browser while you are
visiting. Most browsers are defaulted to accept and maintain cookies; however
you do not have to accept cookies from our site. If your browser is set to not accept cookies, you may not be
able to participate in certain areas of the web site. When you visit the areas of our web site
that require registration, your browser will be supplied with cookies that
contain a unique identifier. This
information is used to help the web host better understand web site usage in
the aggregate, track which areas of Registered Representative sites users
prefer, determine how frequently certain items are accessed or changed, and
collect other such statistical information.
These cookies are not linked to any personally identifiable information
that may be provided elsewhere on our site. Financial Network Registered
Representatives do not have access to this information.
Statistical Domain
and Access Data.
Please note that when you visit our web site, no personally identifiable
information about you, such as your e-mail address, will be automatically
collected by us. In fact, unless you choose otherwise, the only information we
may collect from your visits is some information regarding the domain from
which you are connecting to our web site, (i.e., msn.com if you are connecting
from Microsoft Network, or aol.com if you are connecting from America Online)
and the pages you view while on our site. This information is collected solely
for statistical purposes and is not used to identify individuals.
"E-mail
Us" and "Request Information" Forms. In some cases, you may actually
choose to provide us with your e-mail address or other personal information
such as your address or phone number. For example, when you complete our
"Request Information" form, we request certain contact
information from you so that we may properly respond to your inquiry. Likewise,
if you send us an e-mail for any reason, you are by default providing us with
an e-mail address.
Your inquiry, whether it is an e-mail or a
"Request Information" form, will be addressed by a Financial
Network Registered Representative who is licensed in your state This is
necessary to help insure that your specific inquiry is answered in accordance
with the laws and regulations of your state of residence. E-mail addresses or
other information you voluntarily provide while visiting our web site are used
solely for the purpose of responding to your questions and concerns, and will
only be shared with others in accordance with applicable laws and regulations,
which in some instances may require sharing such correspondence with our legal
and compliance departments or with state and/or federal regulators.
"Tell-A-Friend" Link. If you choose to complete this
form and send to an e-mail address which you specify, you will in effect be
submitting several pieces of information to the contact e-mail specified on our
"Home" page. This information includes, your e-mail address,
the e-mail address of any recipients of the e-mail, and the entire content of
the e-mail. This information may be used as a means to contact either you
or the recipient of your message via e-mail.
Portfolios. When you visit our site, you may
build a portfolio, then monitor and update it using an e-mail address and a
password that you have created. We do not have access to the username and
password database, which is maintained by a third party host. The database is
stored on a secure server to protect information from unauthorized access using
carefully developed security procedures and practices. Information is not shared with Financial
Network Registered Representatives at any time.
Portfolio Checkup. If you select the "Portfolio
Checkup" option while visiting, you have elected to send via e-mail, to
the contact e-mail address listed on the site, the e-mail address and password
necessary to access your portfolio information. A Registered Representative may
then review the portfolio and contact you via e-mail. No other contact information
is provided to the Representative when you select this option. Your
password can be changed
Protecting our children. We do not knowingly solicit data
from children, and we do not knowingly market to children. We recognize that
protecting children's identities and privacy online is important and that the
responsibility to do so rests with both the online industry and with parents.
Protecting Customer Information In
General
Collection, Use and Retention of
Customer Information. In the course of doing business, we collect and use various types of
information, including information provided by customers through personal
interviews, account applications and other forms, as well as information about
your transactions with us and our agents and affiliates. We use this
information to service your accounts and to help you determine the types of
financial products that are best suited to your financial needs and goals. We
may also access information about you when considering a request from you for
additional services or when exercising our rights or responsibilities under the
law or any agreement with you.
Maintaining the Accuracy of
Customer Information. Keeping your account information accurate and up to date is very
important. If you ever find that your account information is incomplete,
inaccurate or not current, please call or write to us at the telephone number
or address listed on your account statement. We will correct any erroneous
information as quickly as possible.
Protection of Information via
Established Security Procedures. We value your privacy and maintain physical, electronic
and procedural safeguards to protect your nonpublic personal information.
Access to such information is restricted to our employees, representatives and
agents with a business reason for access to such information. We safeguard
information according to established security standards and procedures, and
train our employees and representatives to understand and comply with these
protections.
Restrictions on the Disclosure of
Account Information with Non-Affiliated Third Parties. Financial Network and Financial
Network Registered Representatives will only provide personally identifiable
nonpublic customer information to non-affiliated third parties when: 1)
required by law, or by rules or regulations that govern Financial Network, its
affiliates, or the financial institutions that Financial Network has contracted
with to provide financial services , 2) required in order to process a
transaction with you (such as information provided to our Clearing Brokers or
Product Sponsors in order to process a transaction you have requested); or 3)
you have been provided with an opportunity to stop us from sharing such
information (“opt-out”) and you have not exercised such opportunity.
Furthermore, whenever we share personally identifiable customer information
with non-affiliated third parties, we will insist that the third party agrees
to maintain the confidentiality of this information in accordance with all
applicable laws.
Sharing information with Financial
Network affiliates. As part of ING, one of the
nation’s largest financial services companies, Financial Network has numerous affiliates, including several state
chartered insurance agency subsidiaries. Please note that we will continue to
share some account information among the ING family of companies as permitted
by law. We may do so for internal purposes, in order to process a transaction
for you, or to provide you with more value or better service.
Disclosure of Privacy Principles
to Customers. We
believe that our customers have a right to know how their personal information
is collected, maintained and used. To this end, we are committed to providing
each of our customers with a summary of our privacy policies each time an account
is opened and once a year thereafter. If
you ever have any questions regarding these policies, please contact us by
selecting the "E-mail Us" link on our site.