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Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

Background

This privacy policy of Alpha Associates AG (“Alpha” or “us” or “we”) (hereinafter “Privacy Policy”) explains how Alpha processes personal data within the scope of its business activities and your rights in relation to your personal data.

All personal data are processed strictly in compliance with the provisions under the Swiss Data Protection Act (“DPA”) and, where applicable, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR“), as amended from time to time (collectively “Regulation“).

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. Your acceptance of the Privacy Policy is deemed to occur upon your first use of the website of Alpha (www.alpha-associates.ch) (“Website”). If you do not accept and agree with this Privacy Policy, you must stop using our Website immediately.

1. What Personal Data do we collect?

Personal Data” is any information relating to you or that we can otherwise link to you. The Personal Data we collect include (but is not limited to) your name, postal address, e-mail address, phone and fax number, company name, title, function, position, role and area of responsibility, and business affiliations as well as our contact history with you and your investment preferences, if any.

2. How do we collect data?

2.1. Collection of Personal Data

We collect Personal Data that you voluntarily provide to us, for example when (i) you communicate with us via e-mail or other channels, (ii) when you ask us to send you (non-marketing) materials and/or (iii) when you sign up for an event. In some cases your Personal Data has been supplemented by information retrieved from other sources, including searches via publicly available search engines, sector-specific newsletters, social media and your employer’s website, for the purpose of confirming your current professional position.

2.2. Visiting our Website

During your visit on the Website, general information is automatically recorded. such as the frequency of your visits, the average length of your visits, the pages you view or share or the links you click during your visit, the time you spend viewing specific content of the Website, periods of inactivity, the time zones you access the Website from, your language preferences and IP address. Some of this data is required in order to correctly deliver and optimize the contents of the Website, to guarantee the long-term operability of our IT systems and of the Website and to provide law enforcement authorities with the information they need for criminal prosecution in the event of a cyber-attack. However, none of this information allows Alpha to draw any conclusions about your personal identity.

SSL Encryption

This Website uses SSL encryption for security reasons and to protect the transmission of confidential content. You can recognize an encrypted connection by the fact that the address line of the browser changes from “http://” to “https://” and by the lock symbol in your browser line.

Server Log Files

The provider of this Website automatically collects and stores information in so-called “server log files”, which your browser automatically transmits to Alpha. In particular, these are:

  • Browser type and browser version;
  • the operating system used;
  • referrer URL;
  • Host name of the accessing computer;
  • time of the server request;
  • IP address.

This data is not assigned to a specific person and it is not merged with other data sources. Alpha reserves the right to analyse this data retrospectively and, if possible, to allocate it if concrete indications of illegal use become known.

Cookies

For information on Website usage, Alpha primarily collects information through cookies. Cookies are small text files that help your browser navigate through our Website. The cookie file is generated when you access the Website and is accepted and processed by the browser software of your computer. The cookie is stored in the folder or subfolder of your browser. Most browsers are initially set to accept cookies. You can disable cookies if you wish, generally through changing your internet browsing settings. It may also be possible to configure your browser settings to enable acceptance of specific cookies or to notify you each time a new cookie is about to be stored on your computer. Unless you have adjusted your browser setting so that it will reject cookies, the Website will issue cookies when you access or use the Website. Please note that if you reject the use of cookies, you may not be able to use the full functionality of this Website.

This Website may use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. (“Google”). Google Analytics uses cookies. The information generated by the cookie about your use of the Website (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States. Google will use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of the Website, compiling reports on Website activity for Website operators and providing other services relating to Website activity and internet usage. Google may also transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on Google’s behalf. Google will not associate your IP address with any other data held by Google.

You can prevent Google’s collection and use of data (cookies and IP address) by downloading and installing the browser plug-in available under https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en. Further information concerning the terms and conditions of use and data privacy can be found at http://www.google.com/analytics/terms/gb.html

3. How do we use your Personal Data?

The Personal Data Alpha collects, we use for:

  • communication purposes;
  • the performance of a contract to which you are a party or in order to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract;
  • compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject;
  • the purposes of recruitment; and
  • other legitimate business purposes.

4. The purposes of processing your Personal Data

We process the Personal Data for the following purposes:

  • to comply with internal guidelines;
  • to check the identity and suitability of clients for certain products and services;
  • to establish a basis for future information on the products and services offered by Alpha and to improve their quality;
  • to ensure the security and operation of our IT environment;
  • to analyse and monitor the usage, user behaviour and navigation while using the Website to improve the content, functionality and performance;
  • to facilitate client administration;
  • to improve our customer service;
  • to assess and manage risk and fulfil our legal and regulatory requirements; and
  • for any other legitimate business purposes.

5. Where is your Personal Data stored?

All your Personal Data will be held by EQS Group AG and/or third parties and processed and stored on servers in Switzerland, the European Union and selected other countries. In the case of such other countries, Alpha ensures that your Personal Data is treated as safely and securely as it would be if it was processed in Switzerland or within the European Union.

6. With whom do we share your Personal Data?

Alpha will not pass on your Personal Data to third parties unless

  • if is expressly stated otherwise in this Privacy Policy;
  • it is necessary to protect your interests;
  • it is necessary to maintain or uphold your business relation with Alpha;
  • you have given your prior consent.

In the context of the purposes mentioned above, we may share your Personal Data with third parties, such as parties that provide customer-relationship-management (CRM)or other IT services for us. Alpha will ensure that, where relevant, contractual safeguards are implemented to ensure the protection of your Personal Data when disclosing your Personal Data to a third party. Generally, we will enter into standard contractual clauses with the recipient of your Personal Data.

Personal Data and any other person related information you have communicated to us will not be sold, rented, distributed or otherwise made commercially available to any third party, except as described in this Privacy Policy.

As required by law or regulation, we may share your Personal Data with law enforcement agencies or other government organizations or institutions.

7. How long do we keep your Personal Data?

Your Personal Data will be saved for the specified purposes mentioned above for as long as you are a business contact to us. Your Personal Data will be deleted when it is no longer reasonably required for the specified purposes or you withdraw your consent and we are not legally required or otherwise permitted to continue storing such data. You can revoke any consent already given at any time. All you need to do is send us an informal message by e-mail. The legality of the data processing that took place up to the revocation remains unaffected by the revocation.

8. Data Security

Alpha is committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of your Personal Data. We limit access to your Personal Data to authorized Alpha employees, and our third party service providers and advisors are held to stringent standards of privacy. Alpha also maintains physical, technical and procedural safeguards and organizational measures according to applicable Regulations to protect your Personal Data against loss, misuse, damage, modification and unauthorized access, collection, processing or disclosure. Alpha implements strict security standards and procedures in order to help prevent unauthorized access to your Personal Data. Whilst Alpha makes reasonable efforts to safeguard your Personal Data, Alpha cannot and does not guarantee the absolute security of any Personal Data.

Alpha hereby expressly excludes, to the extent permitted by Regulations, any liability for loss or damage which you may suffer of have suffered, directly or indirectly, in connection with any breach of this Privacy Policy, data processing by Alpha, your use of the Website or information on the Website. This disclaimer exempts Alpha as well as their partners, directors, officers, employees and agents.

9. Your Rights

The Regulation, depending on the circumstances and applicable data protection laws, provides you with the right to request access to, and rectification or erasure of your Personal Data or to restrict or object to processing of your Personal Data as well as the right to data portability. To make such requests, please email us at: info@alpha-associates.ch. If you disagree with how Alpha processes your Personal Data, you are also entitled to report this to the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) and/or to other competent supervisory authorities in the European Union.

10. Third-party consent

If you are acting as an intermediary or otherwise on behalf of a third party or if you are providing Alpha with information about a third party, you hereby declare that you are an authorized representative or agent of that third party and/or that you have obtained all necessary consents (as required by applicable law) from that third party for the collection, processing, use and disclosure of their personal data to us or by us in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

11. Updates to this Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy was last updated in December 2020. Alpha reserves the right to update and change this Privacy Policy from time to time in order to reflect any changes to the way in which we process your Personal Data or changing legal requirements without prior notification. In case of any such changes, we will post the changed Privacy Policy on the Website or publish it otherwise. The changes will take effect as soon as they are posted on this Website. Alpha recommends that you review the Privacy Policy on a regular basis for changes.

12. Final provisions

If any one or more sections or parts of a section of this Privacy Policy shall be found to be illegal or unenforceable in any respect, the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby. The invalid, illegal or unenforceable provision(s) shall be replaced by valid provisions which best correspond to the economic purpose of the invalid provisions.

Subject to potential mandatory applicable data protection laws, this Privacy Policy shall be governed by, and construed and enforced in accordance with, the substantive laws of Switzerland, excluding its conflicts of law provisions. Subject to potential (additional) foreign places of jurisdiction which apply by mandatory foreign law, the exclusive place of jurisdiction shall be Zurich 1, Switzerland.

13. How to contact us

If you have any questions about how we process your Personal Data, please feel free to contact us at info@alpha-associates.ch.