Various privacy laws apply to Vanguard. These laws regulate the way organisations:
- collect
- use
- disclose
- keep secure
- and give people access to their personal information. (This is information about an individual that identifies them).
This policy tells you what information we collect and keep, what we do with it, and what your rights are in relation to that information.
Your personal and account information
In order to provide investment management and superannuation services to our clients we need to retain some personal information. We consider all information about our clients to be private and confidential.
What kind of information will we collect?
In order to establish and administer your account, we collect all or some of the following:
- your name, date of birth, gender and contact details;
- your contribution details and investment choice;
- your preferred beneficiary;
- your email address (if you have one);
- details about authorised signatories;
- your tax file number; and
- bank account details.
If you authorise us to provide information to your financial adviser, we will act in accordance with your instructions.
In order to gather demographic information about people who are interested in our services, if you call to make enquiries about our services, in addition to recording your name and contact details, you may be asked questions about services you are interested in, and about your investment needs.
Competitions
Vanguard may use an agency to run competitions or promotions on the Vanguard website. They may request your name, address and email address where it is necessary to ensure your eligibility, and meet Lottery and Gaming regulations. These agencies must return all records of this information to Vanguard. Vanguard retains ownership of this information and will ask you if you do not wish to receive further information.
Information we collect from the web
We do not identify people who visit our website. Each time someone visits our site, our web server collects raw data, to enable collation of the following type of information for statistical purposes:
- The number of users who visit the website;
- The number of pages viewed; and
- Traffic patterns.
We use this data to evaluate our website performance and to improve the content we display to you.
Cookies
We do not use cookies on our website except when you are accessing your account information via Vanguard Online™. The Vanguard Online™ application uses session cookies to track your login details for the duration of the session.
When we will release your information to others
A. General:
We will not release information about clients or their Vanguard accounts unless one of the following conditions is met:
- We receive their prior written consent;
- We believe the recipient to be the client or their authorised representative;
- We are required or authorised by law to release information to the recipient.
B. Service Providers:
In order to provide some investor services, such as;
- Administering your personal Superannuation account;
- and mailing your distribution statements to you,
we may provide information to our service providers. This information will only be used for the purpose of providing the service.
C. Research companies:
We may also provide some information to market research companies for the purpose of analysing our client base. We may provide our clients' or prospective clients' contact details to market research companies to undertake research on behalf of Vanguard. For example, we may run client satisfaction surveys, or run focus groups on proposed products.
This information will not be used for any other purpose, and account information will not be provided.
We may use your information to tell you about our products
Your information may be used by Vanguard to enable us to inform you about new and existing products and services that will enhance our relationship with you. If you provide us with your address or e-mail address, we may use it to send our regular communications such as updates on new and existing products and services.
Security on our system
All client information is protected from unauthorised access through the use of secure passwords, user log ons or other security procedures. Developments in security and encryption technology will be reviewed regularly.
Where necessary, we will remind our clients that the Internet is an insecure medium.
Correcting Information
You may request access to any personal information we hold about you. If it is incorrect, we will correct it at your request.
Questions
If you have any further questions relating to this privacy statement, or concerns about the way in which we have handled your personal information, please do not hesitate to contact us.
