Compliance Manual & Written Supervisory Procedures > Table of Contents > Gifts/Non-Cash Compensation
Applies to:
· Investment Professionals
Definitions
Active military: Those on full-time duty with the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard. Those in full-time training or under active published orders for 31 days or more for the National Guard and Reserves are considered to be active military.
Business entertainment: Any social event, meal, leisure activity, sporting event, entertainment event or event of like nature or purpose, with or without an existing or prospective client and a representative of Harbour. Business entertainment includes entertainment offered in connection with a charitable event, educational event, or business conference and any transportation or lodging related to such event.
Client representative or prospective client representative: A natural person who has the authority to direct, or is in a position to influence, the opening or maintenance of securities accounts on behalf of an organization, corporation, partnership, Limited Liability Company, small business or individual securities account.
Examples include, but are not limited to:
• CEO
• President
• Executive vice president
• Director
• 401(k) plan sponsor
• HR director
• Individual or entities acting in a fiduciary capacity (e.g., bank, law firm or attorney in fact)
Covered official: Rules enacted by Congress and the Executive Branch govern gifts and business entertainment to members and staffers of the U.S. Congress as well as federal officials.
Examples of covered officials include:
• President, vice president and officers and employees of the Executive Office of the President, including those in an
• Executive Level I through V position and Schedule C employees
• Any member of the uniformed services serving at grade O7 or above
• Members of Congress
• An elected officer of either the House or the Senate
• An employee, or any other individual functioning in the capacity of an employee, who works in any capacity for Congress
De minimus: Items of little or insignificant value. Items considered to be de minimus should not exceed $25.
Training and education: A meeting where securities related topics or products and services of a product sponsor are presented, and neither attendance at the meeting, nor the payment for the meeting, is pre-conditioned on the achievement of a sales target.
ERISA plan fiduciary (Employee Retirement Income Security Act): A person is an ERISA fiduciary of any employee benefit plan to the extent that the person exercises discretionary authority or management control over such plan or any authority or control with respect to the management or disposition of its assets; renders or has authority or responsibility to render investment advice for a fee or has discretionary authority or responsibility in the administration of such plan. Neither title nor office controls the legal designation of fiduciary; however, persons who hold certain positions, such as plan administrator or trustee are commonly fiduciaries by virtue of the functions they are required to perform.
Examples of an ERISA plan fiduciary include, but are not limited to:
• Any individual or company who has the authority to hire or fire a service provider to the plan
• Individuals on a plan’s investment committee who are authorized to select plan investments and/or an investment consultant who is helping the investment committee to select plan investments
• The chief financial officer of the company sponsoring a 401(k) plan if he or she can choose the plan’s record keeper or investment line-up
• The trustee of a 401(k) plan is typically an ERISA fiduciary
Gift: Anything of value given that does not require some action on the part of the recipient.
Gifts of a personal or social nature: Gifts given for special occasions, in the context of a personal relationship not related to Harbour Investments. (For example, gifts given to friends or family members for weddings, birthdays, bar mitzvahs, birth of a child, hospitalization, etc.)
Immediate family: For the purpose of this section, means spouse or domestic partner, adult child, minor child, child-in-law, parent, parent-in-law, step-parent, grandparent, grandparent-in-law, sibling, sibling-in-law, niece, nephew, aunt, uncle, first cousin, or any other person you support, directly or indirectly, to a material extent.
Incentive: Anything of value that is given to a client or prospect on the basis of some business activity on their part.
Lavish: Means surpassing usual or proper limits; to impress beyond the ordinary; to be very generous or give in abundance.
Plan service provider: An entity that services an employer-sponsored retirement plan.
Product sponsor: An issuer or representative of a product company.
Promotional merchandise: Items with the company logo such as mugs, key chains, umbrellas, tote bags, inexpensive shirts and similar items of a value of $60 or less, provided they are not given on a frequent basis.
Refreshment: Snacks or small meal.
Retail client or prospective retail client: A natural person acting on his/her own behalf who is considering or does conduct securities related activity through an Investment Professional and/or Harbour. Certain family members who act on behalf of a relative or who are trustees of a revocable trust are considered retail clients for the purpose of giving or receiving gifts and making charitable donations.
Union official: A member agent, or official of a union who:
• Has authority over a pool of assets such as a union trust fund
• Is a trustee of a retirement plan trust fund governed by a board of trustees made up of half union and half employer representatives (also called a Taft-Hartley plan)
• Is a member of a governing committee (e.g., a plan’s administrative committee) of a nonunion trust fund
• Represents a teacher’s union
Examples of a union official could include1:
• Union office
• Union officer
• Employee of a union
• Shop steward
• Agent of a union
• Union representative or a union’s attorney
• For a Taft-Hartley benefit fund, a union official includes the fund office, union trustee, fund employee or any other individual representing the fund
1This is not a complete list. If you have questions about other situations, send an email to Harbour Compliance.
