PROTECTION OF ASSETS
The ability of the Company to meet our commitments to clients, customers, suppliers, Associates, investors and the community depends on efficient use of resources and assets – including technology, data (i.e., information), buildings, land, equipment, money and the time and talent of Associates. No Associate shall participate or assist in, or condone by inaction, the misuse of Company assets.
The backbone of the Company as a competitive business is our ability to represent our clients. As part of our representation, our clients (and sometimes our customers) entrust us with funds, information and other assets of their own. Therefore, all standards, which relate to the protection of Company assets apply equally to assets entrusted to us by others.
Client funds are an example that requires special note. All client funds and other property shall be used solely for the benefit of that client. All disbursements must be lawful and consistent with instructions provided by the client and with the Company’s accounting policies and procedures. Transactions concerning the funds or account of a client, including the purchase and distribution of premiums, must be clearly authorized and properly and promptly recorded.
Diverting client products is also a form of misappropriation of client assets. Diversion occurs when products sold by the Company are distributed into markets or sold to customers other than as originally intended in violation of a contract, law or regulation. The Company forbids knowingly engaging in transactions that facilitate or result in unlawful diversion. Any questions or concerns an Associate may have about product diversion should be directed to their immediate supervisor, management team member, Human Resources contact, the General Counsel or the Company’s Ethics Line.
Also essential to our success as a Company is our ability to develop and increasingly use state-of-the art technology in day-to-day operations. Failure to maintain control of our technological edge could cause us irreparable harm. As Associates, we are all responsible for guarding our technology against unauthorized disclosure. This applies to technology developed or purchased by us or entrusted to us by clients, customers or suppliers.
People often don’t think of intangibles – such as information – when they think about property which has to be protected. However, failure to protect information can have disastrous consequences. Strictly prohibited is the unauthorized possession, use, alteration, destruction or disclosure of confidential information (such as business strategies, unannounced new products, marketing strategies, research results, financial projections, customer lists, or Associate information), whether Company information or information of a client, customer or supplier that has been entrusted to us. Confidential information may not be given or released, without proper authority, to anyone not employed by the Company or to an Associate who has no need for such information. It may also not be used for the personal profit of the Associate or of anyone as a result of association with the Associate (for example, such information may not be used in connection with the buying or selling of stock or other securities in any company). These
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