Notice of Business Continuity Plans At Franklin Templeton Investments, we recognize how heavily our clients rely on our services. We also recognize that the unexpected can and does occur, from simple outages to major incidents affecting multiple sites. Franklin Templeton Investments has successfully supported critical business activities during disruptions of normal business processes from both natural and man-made disasters, including hurricanes, fires and other events. Franklin Templeton Investments wants you to know that we have plans in place to help safeguard your assets and protect vital account information in the event of a business disruption.

Franklin Templeton Investments and its affiliated companies, including Fiduciary Trust Company International , Franklin/Templeton Distributors, Inc. , Templeton/Franklin Investment Services, Inc., and Fiduciary Financial Services Corp. , ("Franklin Templeton") have business continuity and technology disaster recovery plans. In addition, Franklin Templeton Investments has dedicated business continuity planners on staff to prepare and help in testing its plans.

Franklin Templeton Investments Contingency Planning Guidelines

Franklin Templeton has developed plans that include the ability to recover from various situations including, but not limited to, unplanned evacuations, power outages, fire, severe weather, intentional acts, and facilities failures that may cause interruptions to our business. Our plans address the ability to recover critical functions according to their time criticality. In order to maintain secure and effective plans, Franklin Templeton Investments does not provide the specific details in this notice, but you should be aware that Franklin Templeton Investments' corporate disaster recovery planning includes the following:

  • Replication, back-up and recovery for critical information.
  • Identification and recovery of mission critical systems.
  • Alternate communications between Franklin Templeton and its customers.
  • Alternate communications, and alternate physical location of, employees.
  • Regulatory reporting and communications with regulators.
  • Systems and telecommunications accessibility.
  • Review of financial and operational risks.
Franklin Templeton Investments Contingency Planning and Business Recovery

Franklin Templeton actively identifies and seeks to mitigate risks to reduce potential issues and their impact. In the event of an outage or other site specific problems, Franklin Templeton has plans in place to support recovery of its critical business systems and functions. In addition to the guidelines stated above, Franklin Templeton's recovery plans also include the following:

  • Designated Contingency Sites - There are pre-established, tested processes for rerouting of critical telephone and computer systems. In the event of a site outage, customers should experience minimal downtime in their ability to contact Franklin Templeton.
  • Access to Your Funds - A site outage should not impact your ability to have access to your available funds, as Franklin Templeton Investments business continuity plans are designed to help ensure sustained service. However, factors outside Franklin Templeton's control, such as the market closure following the September 11 tragedy, may impact our ability to service our customers.
Please note that Franklin Templeton Investments' Business Continuity Plans are reviewed as necessary, and at least annually, to ensure they account for technology, business and regulatory changes. The plans are subject to change, and material changes to our approach will be reflected in an updated "Notice of Business Continuity Plans" which will be posted on our website www.franklintempleton.com. You may obtain a current written copy of this notice by contacting a Franklin Templeton representative or by visiting our web site.
Footnote
1. Offered and administered by the New Jersey Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA); managed and distributed by Franklin Templeton Distributors, Inc., an affiliate of Franklin Resources, Inc., which operates as Franklin Templeton Investments. No federal or state guarantee. Principal value may be lost, and investing in the plan does not guarantee admission to college or sufficient funds for college. Please refer to the Investor Handbook for more complete information.