South Dakota has the top privacy statutes in the U.S. for trusts. Supplementing these statutes, South Dakota Trust Company (SDTC) has very powerful privacy safeguards as well.
This Privacy Policy sets forth the policies of the Trust Company with respect to the use, safeguarding and disclosure of nonpublic personal information collected by the Trust Company, in order to assure compliance by the Trust Company with federal and applicable state laws and regulations concerning privacy of consumer financial information. We respect the financial privacy of our clients and consumers (clients and consumers hereafter collectively called “clients”). We will comply with laws and regulations designed to secure that privacy, including all federal and applicable state privacy laws and regulations, as well as the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act to the extent it may apply to our business practices. Each client’s relationship with us is important, and we want the client to understand our policies and practices about handling nonpublic personal information. We recognize the client’s right to privacy and that each client has the right to expect his or her nonpublic personal information to remain private and secure. We will maintain standards to ensure that each client’s nonpublic personal information is private and secure at all times.
We want each client to be aware of this Privacy Policy, which outlines how the Trust Company safeguards nonpublic personal information.
Scope of Policy
This Policy applies to our relationships with clients who inquire about or obtain products or services from us for personal, family and household purposes. For clients who are citizens and residents of the European Union or the United Kingdom, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) applies to our collection and retention of your information and your rights under the GDPR. Information regarding our compliance with the GDPR can be found at our website: www.sdplanco.com/european-data-protection
We respect the privacy of our business clients, and will take steps necessary to protect their information. We will separately follow all of our policies and procedures to assure that we meet all fiduciary obligations with respect to the privacy of our clients’ information entrusted to us.
Strict Security Measures
We take the security of information very seriously. We have established security standards and procedures to prevent access to client information. We maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards to guard client information. We educate our employees about the importance of confidentiality and client privacy. We take appropriate disciplinary measures to enforce employee responsibilities regarding client information.
Limited Employee Access
We will establish procedures to limit employee access to information to only those employees with a business reason for accessing such information. All of our employees sign confidentiality agreements, and we will also educate our employees about the importance of confidentiality and client privacy. We will take appropriate disciplinary measures to enforce employee responsibilities regarding client information.
We collect information about our clients to:
- Comply with certain laws and regulations
- Accurately identify our clients
- Protect and administer client records, accounts and funds
- Help us design or improve our products and services
- Save time when a client applies for new products and services
- Offer quality products and services
We collect and maintain personal information so that we can provide trust administration services to our clients. The types and categories of information that we collect and maintain include:
- Information we receive to open an account or provide other services (such as a client’s name, date of birth, home address, social security number, telephone numbers, financial information and investment objectives)
- Information we generate to service and maintain the integrity of the client’s accounts or from our transactions with our clients (such as account statements and other financial information)
- Information on transactions with non-affiliated third parties
We have established procedures so that the information we collect is accurate, current and complete. We are committed to working with our clients to promptly correct any inaccurate information.
The Trust Company shall provide written notice to all new customers subject to the gathering and verification of information. The notice will be provided either as part of the new account opening form or as a separate notice.
Our Selective Sharing of Information
We may share information with any affiliated party, as well as with unaffiliated third parties external to us only in the limited circumstances that this Policy describes.
In order for us to provide trust administration and other desired services, we do disclose personal information in very limited instances, which include:
- Disclosures to nonaffiliated companies as permitted by law, including those who help us service client accounts (such as providing account information to banks, tax preparers/advisors, investment managers/advisors and custodians)
- Other limited disclosures as permitted by law; for example, required reports to government entities
We will not share clients’ nonpublic personal information with third parties for marketing purposes. We will not sell client information.
Former clients:
Should a client end his or her relationship with us, our privacy policies and practices described in this notice continue to apply.