Legal & Privacy

Business Continuity Planning

Hightower has developed a Business Continuity Plan on how we will respond to events that significantly disrupt our business. Since the timing and impact of disasters and disruptions is unpredictable in responding to actual events as they occur. With that in mind, we are providing you with this information on our business continuity plan.

Contact Us

If after a business disruption you cannot contact us as you usually do at (312) 962-3800, you should contact your Financial Advisor at their local office number or your custodian (National Financial, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (Schwab), IWS, JP Morgan, etc.) for instructions on how you may receive prompt access to information on your accounts, enter orders and process other trade-related, cash, and security transfer transactions.

Custodian Phone Numbers

JP Morgan 800-634-1428

National Financial 800-801-9942

Fidelity 800-544-6666

Schwab 800-515-2157

Pershing 877-870-7230

Our Business Continuity Plan

We plan to quickly recover and resume business operations after a business disruption of any sort. Our first priority will be the safety of our employees and the privacy of your personal information. In addition, we will take immediate steps to safeguard our property, make a financial and operational assessment, protect the firm’s books and records, and take necessary steps to allow our customers to transact business as normal. In short, our business continuity plan is designed to permit our firm to resume operations as quickly as possible, dependent upon the scope and severity of the business disruption.

Our business continuity plan addresses: data back-up and recovery; all mission critical systems; financial and operational assessments; alternative communications with customers, employees, and regulators; alternate physical location of employees; critical supplier, contractor, bank and counter-party impact; regulatory reporting; and assuring our customers prompt access to their funds and securities if we are unable to continue our business.

While every emergency situation poses unique problems based on external factors, such as time of day and the severity of the disruption, we have been advised by our clearing firms that their objective is to restore their own operations and be able to process necessary transactions within one day. Your orders and requests for funds could be delayed during this period.

Varying Disruption

Business disruptions can vary in their scope and severity and may have only a minor impact or delay (such as a power outage of short duration). Others may be far more severe and may impact multiple Hightower office locations or a large city or regional area. We have plans in place to continue operating at nearly full capacity within 24 hours of a severe business disruption to our headquarters or within our city. If necessary, our clearing firms will be able to take your calls and process your requests with only minimal disruption to our current service levels.

Order Flow

SEC Rule 606 Reports

These reports (the “Reports”) are pursuant to Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 606, which requires all broker-dealers to make publicly available quarterly reports on their order routing practices. The Reports provide information on Hightower Securities’ routing of “non directed orders,” which are orders that customers have not specifically instructed to be routed to a particular venue for execution. For these non-directed orders, Hightower has selected the execution venue on behalf of its customers. The SEC’s final adopting release, along with the text of Rule 606, can be found at http://www.sec.gov/rules/final/34-43590.htm. The SEC’s Frequently Asked Questions about Rule 606 can be found at http://www.sec.gov/interps/legal/mrslb13a.htm.

The PDFs below provide required information on Hightower order flows for orders by customers whose accounts are carried by National Financial Services.

Required Information on Hightower Order Flows

2024
Hightower Q2 2024 606 Report
Hightower Q1 2024 606 Report

2023
Hightower Q4 2023 606 Report
Hightower Q3 2023 606 Report
Hightower Q2 2023 606 Report
Hightower Q1 2023 606 Report

2022
Hightower 606 Report Q4 2022
Hightower 606 Report Q3 2022
Hightower 606 Report Q2 2022
Hightower 606 Report Q1 2022

2021
Hightower 606 Report Q4 2021
Hightower 606 Report Q3 2021
Hightower 606 Report Q2 2021
Hightower 606 Report Q1 2021

2020
Hightower 606 Report Q1 2020
Hightower 606 Report Q2 2020
Hightower 606 Report Q3 2020
Hightower 606 Report Q4 2020

Terms of Use, Certain Information and Disclaimers

By using this website, hightoweradvisors.com (the “Website”), you agree to be bound by the Terms of Use and Disclaimers set forth below, which may be modified by Hightower at any time without prior notice.

More About Hightower

Hightower Holding, LLC is a privately-owned limited liability company located in Chicago, Illinois. Hightower Holding, LLC is the sole owner of Hightower Securities, LLC ("Hightower Securities"), and Hightower Advisors, LLC ("Hightower Advisors"). Hightower Securities is a broker dealer member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) (www.finra.org) and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), as well as a registered broker dealer with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and certain states. Hightower Advisors is a registered investment advisor with the SEC and certain states. In connection with Hightower’s business activities, broker dealer services, securities are provided through Hightower Securities, and registered investment advisory services are provided through Hightower Advisors. All references herein to “Hightower” shall mean Hightower Holding, LLC, Hightower Securities and Hightower Advisors, collectively; provided any disclosures relating to broker dealer activities shall be deemed to refer only to Hightower Securities and any disclosures relating to registered investment advisory services shall be deemed to refer only to Hightower Advisors. In addition, unless otherwise expressly stated herein, all references to persons serving as officers, directors or advisory board members refer solely to such persons serving in such capacities for Hightower Holding, LLC.

No Solicitation

This Website is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase any security or investment product or services. The content of this Website is provided solely for your personal use and shall not be deemed to provide access to any particular transaction or investment opportunity. Hightower does not intend the information on this Website to be investment advice, and the information presented on this website should not be relied upon to make an investment decision.

The information provided on this Website is not intended for distribution to, or use by, any person or entity in any jurisdiction or country where such distribution or use would be contrary to law or regulation or which would subject Hightower, its affiliates, employees, directors, officers or agents to any registration requirement within such jurisdiction or country.

Disclaimer of Warranty and Limitation of Liability

The content of this website is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind (express or implied). Hightower does not assume any obligation to update the information and data on this website and does not guarantee that it is accurate, current, valid, complete or suitable for any particular purpose.

Hightower makes no representations concerning this website, or to any websites to which this website may be linked and disclaims all express, implied and statutory warranties of any kind, including warranties of merchantability, noninfringement or fitness for a particular purpose, to the fullest extent allowed by applicable law. In no event shall Hightower or any of its affiliates, manager members, members, partners, directors, officers, employees, or other representatives be liable or have any responsibility of any kind for any direct, indirect, special, consequential, multiple, punitive or other damages arising from information on this website or the use of this website.

Our Custodians

These materials have been independently produced by Hightower. Hightower is independent of and has no affiliation with our custody and clearing firms. Our custody and clearing firms have not created, supplied, licensed, endorsed, or otherwise sanctioned these materials nor have conducted any independent verification of the facts and representations underlying these materials.

Hightower Privacy Policy

Hightower Holding, LLC is a privately-owned limited liability company located in Chicago, Illinois. Hightower Holding, LLC is the sole owner of Hightower Securities, LLC ("Hightower Securities"), and Hightower Advisors, LLC ("Hightower Advisors"). Hightower Securities is a broker dealer member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) (www.finra.org) and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), as well as a registered broker dealer with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and certain states. Hightower Advisors is a registered investment advisor with the SEC and certain states. In connection with Hightower’s business activities, broker dealer services and securities are provided through Hightower Securities, and registered investment advisory services are provided through Hightower Advisors. All references herein to “Hightower” shall mean Hightower Holding, LLC, Hightower Securities and Hightower Advisors, collectively. Hightower is committed to protecting the privacy of personally identifiable information (“PII”) of identifiable individuals who visit www.hightoweradvisors.com (the “Site”) and inquire about or use services associated with our business available through our Site (the “Service/s”), or express interest in our business. This Privacy Policy discloses the privacy practices for Hightower and for its Site, and localized versions of that site, including the type of PII collected and tracked, how the information is used, and with whom the information is shared.

In order to provide you with Services you may request, it is necessary for us to possess some PII of yours. Similarly, without some of that information, we cannot inform you about the Services we have available or that you may request (though if you are currently receiving marketing communications from us, you may opt-out of receiving further communications at any time). This Privacy Policy explains our PII policies and practices. It includes, but is not limited to, explanations of the types of PII we may collect about you, the purposes for collecting such information, the circumstances under which we may disclose such information to third parties, the measures we take to secure the confidentiality of such information, your rights regarding your PII, and the way to contact us to exercise those rights.

Amendments to this Privacy Policy and/or the Services will be posted to the Site and will be effective when posted. Your continued use of the Services following the posting of any amendment to the Privacy Policy shall constitute your acceptance of such amendments.

Information We Collect from You

This section explains the PII that may be collected when using our Services, and the other information we may receive from other sources. In this Privacy Policy, the term “PII” refers to the types of information we may collect and use. Some examples are listed below:

• Contact details, such as your name, address, social security number and date of birth;
  

• Payment and financial information such as your income, assets, investment preferences, etc.;

• Comments, feedback and communication preferences (whether that is electronic, telephone, written or in person)
  

• Usernames, passwords, and account information such as purchases, sales, account balances, inquiries, etc.; and
  

• Information to process transactions or to conduct online transactions; or
  

• If you apply for life insurance, we may receive information on your health or habits.
  

Information from Third Parties

If needed, we may obtain information from third parties to evaluate your application or verify your identity, including personal and credit information from consumer reporting agencies, or information from other companies about contracts or accounts transferred to us. For example, we may receive payment information from the organization you use to pay us in order to correct our records. Additionally, to promote protection of your identity, we also may collect credit or identity information which we use to help prevent and detect fraud.

Restricted Use Regarding Minors

This Site is not intended or designed to be used by children under the age of 13. We do not collect PII from any person we know to be under the age of 13 and instruct children under 13 not to send us any information.

Purposes for Collecting Your PII

You may provide your PII to Hightower in order to fulfill a Service. You are then entering a business relationship with Hightower and are agreeing to the use of that data by Hightower and its applicable worldwide affiliated companies, as stated in this Privacy policy. We request PII for a variety of purposes throughout your interaction with Hightower, some of which are listed below:

• Contacting you or your designated representative by phone, email, fax, or mail;
  

• Providing you or your representative with marketing communications;
  

• Creating and managing your account with us;
  

• Sharing information about our Services including investment research;
  

• Facilitating financial transactions related to your account;
  

• Fulfilling our legal and regulatory obligations;
  

• The performance of obligations under any applicable agreements;
  

• The administrative processes (and related communications) carried out by Hightower in preparing its services;
  

• Ongoing communication with you and/or your designated contacts;
  

• The ongoing administrative, reporting and other processes and communications required to operate the business in accordance with our client agreements and other related documentation
  

• Any legal or regulatory requirement to which Hightower is subject; or
  

• Any other purpose of which you have been notified, or has been agreed, in writing.
  

Lawful Basis

There is a need to process PII for the purposes set out in this privacy policy as a matter of contractual necessity under or in connection with your agreement(s) with us, and in the legitimate interests of Hightower to operate its businesses. From time to time, Hightower may need to process the PII on other legal bases, including: (1) to comply with a legal obligation; (2) if necessary to protect the vital interests of a client or other data subjects; or (3) if necessary for a task carried out in the public interest. For the purposes listed above, Hightower is relying on performance of a contract necessity and legitimate interests.

A failure to provide the PII requested to fulfill the purposes described in this Privacy policy may result in Hightower being unable to provide the services in connection with the terms of your agreement(s) with us.

Data Storage and Retention

Your PII will be retained only for as long as the information is needed to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected and processed. We reserve the right to retain and use your PII for as long as necessary to comply with our legal obligations and business requirements and/or to resolve ongoing disputes and enforce our agreements.

Our Site and Use of Cookies

We use various technologies to collect other types of information, including PII, automatically. For example, in order to measure the usefulness and efficiency of our Sites, we automatically track certain information from all visitors to our Sites. The types of information we might track may include the Internet address that you just came from, which Internet address you go to, what browser you are using, your IP address, your internet service provider, date and timestamp information, or clickstream information.

Additionally, like most interactive web sites, we use "cookies" on certain pages of our Sites. "Cookies" are small data files that are stored on your hard drive that store certain information, including certain PII, accessible to our Sites, such as your password and any information content preferences you may voluntarily set at our Sites. These technologies help us recognize you, customize your experience on the Sites and analyze your use of the Sites to make them more useful to you. By visiting our Sites, you agree to our use of cookies. For more details, please refer to our Cookie Policy below.

You can refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate browser setting. If you opt-out, please note that your experience using the Sites may not be optimal, and you may not be able to use certain features on our Sites. For information on how to remove or manage cookie functions and adjust your privacy and security preferences, access the “help” menu on your internet browser, or visit http://www.aboutcookies.org/how-to-control-cookies.

We also use analytics providers, such as Google Analytics to help us evaluate the Sites. To opt out of the aggregation and analysis of data collected about you on the Sites by Google Analytics, visit https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout and download and install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

Sharing Your PII – What Information We Disclose

We do not disclose your nonpublic personal information except: (i) in furtherance of our business relationship with certain providers necessary to affect transactions and services (broker-dealers, custodians, money managers, etc.); (ii) regulatory bodies; (iii) our attorneys, accountants, and auditors; or (iv) as otherwise provided by law. If you either terminate our services or become an inactive customer, we will continue to adhere to our privacy policy, as may be amended from time to time.

Opting Out of Third-Party Disclosures

If you prefer that Hightower not disclose the nonpublic personal information about you to non-affiliated third parties, you may opt of such disclosures – that is, you may direct us to not make those disclosures, other than those permitted by law. If you wish to so opt out, you may contact our Compliance Department at 312-962-3800, or send a written request to the firm address below.

Safeguarding of Your Information

We maintain physical, electronic, and procedural security measures that comply with applicable legal and regulatory standards to safeguard your PII. We restrict access to your nonpublic personal information to those employees servicing your account. We train our employees to keep your information safe and confidential. We follow generally accepted standards to protect the PII you submit to us, whether that information is in transit or at rest. No method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure. Therefore, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

The following applies only to residents of the State of California:

PII Rights for California Residents

The California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) requires us to make certain additional disclosures and provides California residents with the ability to request additional information about their PII. If you are a California resident and it is determined that the CCPA applies to you, this section details those rights, how you may exercise them, and what Hightower will do in response.

Please note that the rights under the CCPA do not apply to PII collected, processed, sold or disclosed pursuant to Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (Public Law 106-102) and Fair Credit Reporting Act (12 CFR 1022).

If you are an individual who resides in California and whose PII is collected and processed by Hightower, you may have the right to:

• Request that we disclose, free of charge, the categories and specifics of the PII we collect about California residents, the sources from which the PII was collected (and/or, if applicable, sell or otherwise disclose to a third party), and the business purpose for collecting PII.
  

• Choose to opt-out of the sale of PII. Currently, however, Hightower does not sell PII.
  

• Request that we delete the PII we have collected. Following our verification of the request, we will comply with the request and delete any or all the PII in our possession that we collected from the California resident and/or any or all such PII in the possession of our service providers, unless otherwise restricted by law or regulation.
  

Non-Discrimination for Exercising Your PII Rights

We follow the requirements of California Civil Code §1798.125, and will not discriminate against any consumer who exercises the rights set forth in this privacy policy.

Verifying Your Identity

If you choose to contact us with a request, you will need to provide us with identifying information that matches the PII we currently have about you. For example, we may require identifying documents such as a copy of your drivers license, state identification card, passport or similar documentation.

Authorized Agent

You have the right to appoint an authorized agent to exercise your rights on your behalf. If you would like to do so, please contact dataprivacyrequest@hightoweradvisors.com or 888-587-2999.

Accessibility Information

For consumers with disabilities who need to access this policy in an alternative

format, please contact: dataprivacyrequest@hightoweradvisors.com or 888-587-2999.

The following applies only to residents of the European Union (EU), transmitting data from within the EU: Transfers of PII

Your PII may be transferred, processed and/or stored in a country other than the one in which your PII is collected. When transferring your PII to the US or other countries, we have implemented procedures to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect the PII regardless of where it is being transferred to.

In addition to disclosing PII amongst themselves, Hightower may disclose PII, where permitted by law, to other service providers, employees, agents, contractors, consultants, professional advisers, lenders, data processors and persons employed and/or retained by them in order to fulfill the purposes described in this Privacy Notice. In addition, Hightower may share PII with regulatory bodies having competent jurisdiction over them, as well as with tax authorities, auditors and tax advisors (where necessary or required by law, rule or regulation).

Your EU Data Subject Rights

The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) is a sweeping piece of legislation that grants EU residents increased control over their PII. The GDPR allows consumers to access their PII and find out details of how that data is processed, to rectify inaccurate PII, to have their data erased (when certain conditions are met), to restrict processing of their data, and more. It requires affected companies to create processes to comply with and facilitate consumer data requests, to update their privacy policies, and to ensure that PII is secured.

Specifically, the GDPR and other national privacy laws provide data subjects with certain rights regarding their PII. If you are an individual who resides in the EU and whose PII is collected and processed by Hightower, you have the right to:

• Request access to your data
  

• Rectify your data
  

• Take your data (in a readable, “portable” format) to another service provider
  

• Erase your PII
  

• Restrict or object to the processing of your PII
  

• Lodge a complaint with a Member State Supervisory Authority
  

• Withdraw previously given consent to collect and process PII (which will not impact PII processed before the withdrawal)
  

Questions or Concerns and Exercising Your Data Subject Rights

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the information in this privacy policy, or would like to exercise any of your rights set forth in this privacy policy, please contact this 888-587-2999, or through the contact information listed below. Please include a description of what right you want to exercise and the information to which your request relates. Please note that you may only make a disclosure request twice within a 12-month period.

ATTN: Compliance
Hightower
200 West Madison Street, Suite 2500
Chicago, IL 60606
312.324.3502
Compliance@hightoweradvisors.com