Business Continuity Plan Disclosure

Penson GHCO - Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity Overview

The purpose of this document is to provide an overview of the Penson GHCO (PGHCO) Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery plan. The purpose of the plan is to identify the strategies, resources and activities necessary to resume essential business function for the essential functional groups within the firm, in the event of a disaster. Penson GHCO’s DR/BCP plan has been developed, documented, and is being exercised to ensure a full business recovery of critical operations in the event that a facility is lost or disaster occurs.

The implementation of Penson GHCO’s Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity Plan incorporates:

  • Regionally located recovery sites, leveraging existing facilities.
  • Redundant power supplies (generators) at key facilities for support of critical business functions.
  • Failover capabilities for critical for critical systems and hardware.
  • A telecommunications strategy designed to transfer critical voice and data lines to a recovery facility in the event of a disaster.
  • Secure remote networks access is available to key Penson GHCO employees.
  • Ongoing and regular review of the plan.

Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity Plan (DR/BCP) Creation

The creation of Penson GHCO’s DR/BCP is focused on the creation of business impact analysis (BIA) documentation, which outlines the critical business activities for each of the functional areas within the firm. The PGHCO disaster recovery manager coordinates the creation of BIAs with assistance and guidance from each functional area’s management team.

Each BIA is to include the following elements as applicable:
  • Key Employees & Contact Details
  • Key Business Processes & Activities
  • Critical Hardware & Software Requirements
  • Telecommunications Requirements
  • Essential Supplies
  • Reporting/Notification structure
  • Critical Assets & Methods of Access
  • Required Records
  • Calling/Notification Trees
  • Critical Vendors & Contact Details
  • Critical Documents
  • Required Customer Information
  • Operational Procedures
  • DR/BCP Test Results, as available
  • Critical Equipment (exclusive of computer & telecommunication hardware)

DR/BCP Upkeep

Plan Upkeep/Maintenance consists of ongoing maintenance and enhancement activities, including at least one exercise per business unit per year. Additional exercises can be scheduled if significant changes are made to a business units operations or technology. The Disaster Recovery Manager and each business unit’s management team will be responsible for conducting their DR/BDP exercises and will make modifications to their plans as necessary.


DR/BCP Plan Management

DR/BCP Plan Management incorporates comprehensive project management assistance during the initial and ongoing plan maintenance phases of the DR/BCP effort.

The manager of each business unit is responsible for the ultimate approval their respective area’s completed and approved DR/BCP.

The Penson GHCO Management team and staff are committed to maintaining and improving comprehensive disaster recovery and business continuity planning. The Penson GHCO DR/BCP is a workable document designed to provide immediate and subsequent recovery from a disaster or unplanned business interruption.

The following list outlines the type of unplanned business disruptions considered:
  • Firm-only disruption
  • City-wide business disruption
  • Regional disruption
  • Business district disruption
  • Building only disruption