JAMES I. BLACK & COMPANY PRIVACY NOTICE                                                                Revised 12/2004
 
A Unique Understanding of Your Financial Needs
At James I Black & Co, we believe our ability to offer sound investment recommendations and advice depends on our ability to know and understand your needs. Your investment representative plays a key role in developing that understanding. However, as a firm, we also use technology to manage, maintain and report timely and accurate information about your investments.
 
Confidentiality is the key in any strong financial relationship. We are very serious about our respon­sibility to protect your privacy by keeping information secure and confidential. We're providing this notice in accordance with the law requiring that we inform all clients of our processes for collecting, using, disclosing and protecting information.
 
For Your Protection
It is important that you know that:   James I Black & Co does not sell any information about our customers to anyone.
 
In addition, we take steps to protect the personal information we collect and maintain.  At our home office, access to personal information is granted to individuals only to provide investments and services to clients or to serve another legitimate business need. Information is protected by physical, electronic and procedural measures. Security measures are continually monitored and upgraded.
 
The following are the processes we use to collect information, as well as the steps taken to limit the ways in which that information is shared and communicated.
 
Information Collection
To better understand your financial needs and make you aware of new investments and services that could help you reach your goals, we collect personal information from a variety of sources. This information falls into three categories:

  1. Information we receive from you via applications, surveys or other forms. This information could include, but is not limited to, your name, address, Social Security number, and income.

  2. Information about your transactions and account experience with James I Black & Co or our affiliates. This information may include your account balance, account activity, and usage of various services.

  3.  Information about your transactions and account experience with nonaffiliated third parties, such as providers of mutual funds, annuities, and other investments and services offered through James I Black & Co.

Guidelines for Information Disclosure
We do not disclose any personal information about our customers or former customers to anyone, except as required or permitted by law. For example, we are occasionally required to provide information to consumer reporting agencies, to regulatory agencies or to third parties in response to court orders.
 
In addition, it is often necessary to share customer information with other companies, including our affiliates, that assist us with a variety of business activities, including:

  1. Account administration
  2. Customer service
  3. Transaction processing
  4. Processing and delivery of account statements; Research and analysis

  5. Delivery of investments and services

For example, we may disclose certain information to a mutual fund company, proxy company or transfer agent to complete a transaction you initiated.


An Ongoing Commitment
Clients will receive our privacy notice on an annual basis. We hope this information is useful to you. Confidentiality is key to a strong relationship between you and your investment representative, and we are committed to protecting your privacy. If  you need clarification regarding this policy, please contact James I Black & Co at 1-800-682-4163