Under section 2.2.3R of the Conduct of Business Sourcebook (“COBS”) of the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”), AGC Equity Partners Limited (the “Firm”) being registered and authorised by the FCA with reference number 480570 is required to make a public disclosure in relation to the nature of its commitment to the UK Stewardship Code ( the “Code”). The Code is voluntary and was published by the Financial Reporting Council (“FRC”) in July 2010 and subsequently revised in September 2012.
Legal Disclaimers
1) Introduction
In accordance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation 2016 (ie “GDPR”), in particular Article 12-“Transparant information and communication”, Article 13- “Information to be provided where collected from Data Subjects” and Article 14-“Information to be provided where not obtained from Data Subjects”, this Privacy Notice explains how AGC Equity Partners Limited (ie “AGC”) processes, stores and shares the personal data information of individuals. Additionally, it explains the rights of individuals in relation to their personal information processed by AGC.
2) Who We Are
AGC Equity Partners Limited is an alternative asset investment firm and is authorised and regulated by the UK regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (licence FRN number 480570).
The registered address is 33 Davies Street, London, W1K 4LR, United Kingdom.
The telephone number is +44 20 7959 3450. For the purposes of the GDPR law, AGC is defined as the Data Controller.
3) Contact Us
If you have any questions or comments concerning this Privacy Notice, the name of our appointed Data Protection Officer is Sangeet Dhanani and the email address is sdhanani@agcequitypartners.com
4) The Purposes of the Processing Personal Information
4.1) If you are an existing or potential client or investor:
• Preparation and signing of investment contracts and / or fund applications
• Fulfilling our legal or regulatory obligations eg Anti-money laundering processes to prevent fraud or terrorist funding
• Distribution of investment report updates or private equity deals
• Processing requests received ·Managing of our relationships with clients / investors
• Recording of telephone conversations if discussing investment fund products
4.2) If you are an adviser of an existing or potential client or investor, or an employee of an institutional client, or you are exercising investment control on behalf of client / investor:
• Verifying your identity
• Fulfilling our legal or regulatory obligations
• Assessing and developing products with our institutional investors
• Managing the relationship with the advisors of our clients
• Emailing of marketing materials
Recording of telephone conversations if discussing investment fund products
4.3) If you are an existing or potential supplier:
• Verifying your identity
• Fulfilling our legal or regulatory obligations
5) The Source of the Personal Data
The majority of the information AGC processes comes directly from you, or your advisor, or your appointed intermediary.
AGC may also receive personal information concerning you from other sources such as:
• Events – whereby AGC attends or sponsors
• Compliance screening providers – whereby AGC undertakes anti-money laundering due diligence process controls
• Your employer – whereby AGC receives employee details as point of contacts from its institutional clients
6) The Lawful Basis for the Processing
Article 6-“Lawfulness of processing” of GDPR defines the various conditions to enable AGC to process your personal information legally when one or more of the following conditions have been satisfied:
| Legal Condition | Use of Your Information by AGC |
|---|---|
1) Consent Your consent must be provided freely, in an informed manner and given with a positive affirmative action manner. You can withdraw your prior consent at any time by contacting the Data Protection Officer of AGC. |
Your Consent will be requested if you select the email address on our Contact Us tab of the website. A pop up banner will appear requiring you to select the option “Consent to processing your personal information”. |
2) Performance of a Contract Your personal information is necessary to the processing of a contract. | Performing and / or administrating your investments such as : • Processing applications • Completing requests received from you eg change of personal details • Updating of your investments eg Fact Sheets or fund valuation statements Managing relationships with our institutional client investors or advisors of clients such as: • Contacting you for the effective performance of the contact • Relationship management eg queries or requests Administration of Suppliers such as: • If you are an employee of any of our Suppliers concerning the negotiation of a contract or relationship management. |
3) Compliance with a Legal Obligation Your personal information is necessary for the legal obligations of AGC concerning anti- money laundering obligations being registered and authorised by the UK financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (ie “FCA”). | Verification of Identity and the Prevention of Fraud such as: • Know Your Client (ie “KYC”) process controls relating to identification documents eg Passport / Driving Licence • Employee back ground checks eg references / criminal and credit searches Registration of Telephone Calls • Legal requirement under the MiFID II regulation to record the telephone lines of AGC for employees that undertake transmission and execution of investment orders for its fund products |
4) Legitimate Interests AGC my process personal information when it has a “legitimate interests” and such interests do not outweigh your privacy rights and freedoms. | Electronic marketing or telephone calling such as: • To promote effective communication of investments to existing investors • Market potential investments in private equity secondary programs to institutional client investors |
7) The “Legitimate Interests” for the Processing
For existing clients and investors, AGC will use “Legitimate Interests” as the lawful basis concerning electronic marketing or the communication of the pending launches of new fund products, or the raising of investor interest in private equity deals. As per Article 21 “Right to Object” of GDPR, you have the right to object to your personal information being processed for Legitimate Interests. AGC will evaluate your objections and assess which activities affect your interests, or fundamental rights and freedoms.
8) The Categories of Personal Data Stored
AGC may collect and process the following personal information: A. Personal information ·This includes data such as name, date of birth and nationality. This type of information is required for legal obligations relating to Know Your Client (ie “KYC”) process controls. B. Unique Government Identifiers ·This includes identifier numbers on government documents such as passport or driving licence numbers and employee national insurance numbers. This type of information is required for legal obligations as per point A) above, or for the performance of contracts eg employees contracts. C. Contact Information ·This includes data such as email, postal address and phone number. This type of information is required for the performance of contract and managing relationships with our institutional client investors or advisors of clients. D. Financial Information ·This includes data such as bank account details in relation to payments of investments or payment of salaries to employees. This type of information is required for legal obligations as per point A) above, or for the performance of contract eg to invest in fund products or private equity deals. E. Third Party Information ·This includes data such as power of attorney information relating to the delegation of investments by clients or investors.
9) The Recipients of your Personal Information
A. AGC restricts the access of your personal information to only the relevant employees who require such data to conduct their day to day responsibilities. B. AGC may also share your personal information to third parties such as: ·Auditors and Legal advisors ·Service Providers eg Fund Administrators and Transfer Agents ·Financial regulators eg Financial Conduct Authority ·Governmental departments eg HM Revenue and Customs ·Credit and Fraud Prevention Agencies
10) The Transfers of Personal Information to Third Countries or International Organisations
AGC does not host Cloud storage in countries outside of the European Economic Area (EEA). However, AGC may disclose your data within the AGC Group which encompasses entities located outside the EEA. Where data is transferred outside the EEA, these entities will adhere to this policy. AGC has no direct contracts with Service Providers outside of the European Economic Area (EEA) which processes the personal information of EU citizens or residents. Concerning the investment fund products advised by AGC, it is possible that the Fund administrators servicing these products will share your data to countries outside of the European Economic Area (EEA). The sharing of your personal data by the Fund administrators may be required as part of the process to identify and verify your personal information for their legal and regulatory obligations. You are advised to read the prospectus and / or subscription fund documents concerning the significance of such arrangements.
11) Security of Data
The security of your personal information is important to us. Our security policy measures include: ·The transfer of all data to our backup services are encrypted ·Fire walls ·Only authorised employees have access to personal data
12) The Retention period for Personal Data
AGC will comply with Article 5- “Principles relating to processing of personal data” of GDPR, in particular clause (E) which states that “personal data shall be kept for no longer than is necessary for which the personal data is processed”. AGC retention period will be no longer than it’s governmental or regulatory obligations, or any specific contractual requirements. For the UK regulator, the FCA, the retention period (excluding pension transfers) of personal information is five years after the termination of client relationship. For the UK governmental department the HM Revenue and Customs, the retention period of personal information is six years plus the current year.
13) The Rights available to Individuals in respect of Processing
You can exercise your rights to the following by contacting the Data Protection Officer (DPO) at AGC. The DPO will respond to Subject Access Requests (ie SAR) of individuals within 30 days of receipt. 1) Right of Access to your Personal Information As per Article 15- “Right to Access by Data Subject” of GDPR, you have the right to obtain the data stored by AGC concerning your personal information. 2) Amending or Adding to your Personal Data Record As per Article 16- “Right to Rectification” of GDPR, you can have inaccurate or incomplete data stored by AGC corrected or added concerning your personal information. 3) Right to Erasure (ie Right to be forgotten) As per Article 17- ” Right to Erasure” of GDPR, you can ask AGC to delete your personal information in certain circumstances such as, AGC does not need to retain your information for legal or regulatory purposes, or you have withdrawn you Consent to process your information. 4) Restricting the processing of Personal Information As per Article 18- “Right to Restriction of Processing” of GDPR, you can contest the accuracy or the lawfulness of your personal information and stop the processing of this information until AGC has investigated your query. 5) Data Portability As per Article 20 “Right to Data Portability” of GDPR, you can request AGC to send a copy of your personal information in an electronic format to you or to another firm in its capacity as a Data Controller. 6) Right to Object As per Article 21 “Right to Object” of GDPR, you have the right to object to your personal information being processed for Direct Marketing purposes and for AGC to evaluate whether the processing of your personal information for Legitimate Interests affects your interests, or fundamental rights and freedoms.
14) The Right to Withdraw Consent
As per Article 7 “Conditions for Consent” of GDPR, you have the right to withdraw your prior consent of processing your personal information at any time.
15) The existence of Automated decision making including Profiling
AGC does not process the personal information of potential or existing clients or investors using machine learning algorithmic programmes such automated decision making rules or profiling.
16) The Right to lodge a complaint with the Supervisory Authority
If you are unsatisfied with how AGC is processing your personal information data, or how AGC has responded to your Data Rights explained in Point 11 above, as per Article 77- “Right to lodge a complaint with a Supervisory Authority” of GDPR, you have the right to contact:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House, Water Lane,
Wilmslow, Cheshire,
SK9 5AF, UK.
Telephone number: 0303 123 1113 (local charge rate)
The Code aims to enhance the quality of engagement between institutional investors and companies to assist in improving long-term risk-adjusted returns to shareholders and the efficient exercise of governance responsibilities. It sets out good practice on engagement with investee companies and is to be applied by institutional investors on a “comply or explain” basis. The Code is directed in the first instance to institutional investors, such as asset managers with equity holdings in UK listed companies. The FRC recognises that not all parts of the Code will be relevant to all asset managers and that smaller institutions may judge some of the principles and guidance to be disproportionate. Furthermore, the FRC further recognises as legitimate that some institutional investors will not engage with companies, depending on their investment strategy and in such cases, institutional investors are required to “explain” why it is not appropriate to comply with a particular principle.
The seven principles of the Code state that institutional investors should:
1. Publicly disclose their policy on how they will discharge their stewardship responsibilities;
2. Have a publicly disclose a robust policy on managing conflicts of interest in relation to stewardship
3. Monitor their investee companies;
4. Establish clear guidelines on when and how they will escalate their stewardship activities;
5. Be willing to act collectively with other investors where appropriate;
6. Have a clear policy on voting and disclosure of voting activity; and
7. Report periodically on their stewardship and voting activities.
Relevance
The Firm only acts as an adviser to AGC Equity Partners Investment Management Limited, which is an exempted company with limited liability registered in the Cayman Islands in relation to their managed accounts and investment fund mandates. In this capacity, the investment decision process of the Firm is not engaged in Stewardship activities. As such, while the Firm generally supports the underlying objectives of the Code, the Firm does not consider it must commit to this UK voluntary practice for UK listed equities.
Should any of the above change, the Firm will review its commitment to the Code at that time and make appropriate disclosures.
Legal Disclaimer (the “Disclaimer”)
The information contained on this website (the “Website”) is not for use within any country or jurisdiction or with any persons where such use would constitute a violation of applicable law. The term ‘you’ refers to any user or viewer of this Website.
This Website is operated and issued by AGC Equity Partners Limited (“AGC”), which is authorised and regulated in the conduct of its investment business by the Financial Conduct Authority (25 The North Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14 5HS) in the United Kingdom (authorisation number 480570). The investment products and services of AGC are not available to private investors.
AGC and AGC EQUITY PARTNERS are trademarks or registered trademarks of AGC, in the EU and the UK and you are not permitted to use it without the prior written approval of AGC. The presentation of AGC’s investment products on these web pages as well as the dissemination of the given information may depend on local regulations. This Website is not directed at individuals or organisations for whom the promotion of such investment products or information would be unlawful or prohibited under applicable domestic law. Funds mentioned on this Website are only available in jurisdictions where promotion and sales of their shares is permitted.
Important Information for US Citizens/Residents
Funds distributed by AGC are not offered for sale in the United States of America, its territories or possessions nor to any US person including citizens of the United States of America and companies established under the laws of the United States of America.
Risk Statement
All investments involve investment risk, the value of investments and any income from them may go down as well as up, is not guaranteed, and you may not get back all of your original investment. Past performance is not a guarantee or a reliable indicator of future performance or returns. If you are in any doubt as to the suitability of an investment to you, you should consult an appropriate professional advisor.
Expressions and opinions on this Website represent the views of AGC, which may be subject to change without notice. These views are provided for information purposes only and should not be construed as constituting financial, accounting, investment, legal, tax, consulting or other professional advice nor be relied upon in making an investment or other decision. You should obtain relevant and specific independent professional advice before making any investment decision.
Please note that this Disclaimer does not exclude or restrict any duty or liability to customers of AGC under the UK financial services regulatory system.
Liability
Information on this Website does not provide a complete summary or analysis of potentially relevant matters and may be based, among other things, on historic information or information available at a given time or unverified third-party information which may change or be or become inaccurate, and no assurance is given as to its accuracy, completeness or reliability.
Under no circumstances shall AGC be liable in contract, tort, negligence, statutory duty or otherwise (to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law) for any direct, indirect, special or consequential loss or damages (therefore including any loss whether or not it was in the contemplation of the parties) that result from the access, reliance on or use of, or the inability to access or use, the information on this Website or the information set out in this Disclaimer.
In particular, but without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, no representative or warranty is given as to the achievement or reasonableness of any future projections, forecasts, targeted or illustrative returns. Any past performance information contained with this Website is not an indication of future performance. It may not have been audited or verified by an independent party and should not be seen as an indication of returns which might be received by investors in any investment product. Similarly, where projections, forecasts, targeted or illustrative returns or related statements or expressions of opinion are given they should not be regarded by any recipient as a guarantee, prediction or definitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances are difficult or impossible to predict and will differ from assumptions. Any performance information provided on a ‘gross’ basis does not reflect any management fees, carried interest, taxes and allocable expenses borne by investors which in the aggregate may be substantial.
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law and regulatory requirements (which means that AGC does not seek to exclude or limit any statutory rights to which you are entitled, more information about which can be obtained from your local Trading Standards office), AGC specifically disclaims any liability for errors, inaccuracies or omissions on this Website and for any loss or damage resulting from its use. You agree to assume responsibility for determining whether any legal or regulatory considerations limit access to or use of information, services or investment products described on this Website and for the use of any information on this Website. AGC takes every care to ensure that the standard of this Website remains high and to maintain the continuity of it, the internet is not always a stable medium and errors, omissions, interruptions of service and delays may occur at any time, for which AGC accepts no responsibility.
Nothing in this Disclaimer shall or is intended to exclude or limit ‘s liability for personal injury or death resulting from its negligence or for fraudulent misrepresentation. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE USE TO WHICH YOU PUT THIS WEBSITE AND ALL THE INFORMATION YOU OBTAIN FROM IT AND THAT ALL WARRANTIES, CONDITIONS, UNDERTAKINGS, REPRESENTATIONS AND TERMS, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE, ARE HEREBY EXCLUDED TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW.
Copyright and Links
No part of this Website may be reproduced in any form, or referred to in any other publication without the express written consent of AGC. In some cases, AGC may provide links to third-party websites for your convenience or to provide further information. AGC endeavours to select the most appropriate websites to link with; however, AGC does not control the content of their websites, does not endorse them and cannot accept liability for the content, product offerings or the availability of those linked websites. Third-party links to this Website are permitted only with the prior written consent of AGC. AGC does not endorse nor have under its control the content of such links. AGC is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness and assumes no liability for the information contained on the linked sites. No representation or warranty is provided for any software that may be downloaded from this Website.
Amendments to this Website
AGC makes changes periodically to the information on this Website and may modify this Disclaimer at any time, without prior notice, by posting the modified version on this Website. Modifications to these terms will automatically be effective after they are initially posted on this Website: if you use this Website after AGC has posted the changes, you will be bound by the new Disclaimer as amended. Please check these terms periodically for changes. Your continued use of this Website following the posting of any changes constitutes acceptance of those changes.
Data Protection and Cookies
Cookies are small pieces of information stored by your browser on your computer’s hard drive. The Website uses cookies to allow us to understand who has seen which pages, to determine how frequently particular pages are visited and to determine the most popular areas of this Website. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, though you do not have to. AGC does not control the use of cookies by third parties. If you wish to disable cookies then you can do so by readjusting your browser settings although please note that by disabling cookies you may not be able to use all features of this Website.
For more information on cookies and how to disable them, you can consult the information provided by the Interactive Advertising Bureau at www.allaboutcookies.org.
Information that you provide to us via this Website, or when you contact us by email or phone, will only be used by AGC and other members of the AGC group where relevant for the purpose of responding to your enquiries and in accordance with relevant laws and regulations.
Your use of the services on this Website may be monitored by AGC, and the resultant information may be used for its internal business purposes or in accordance with the rules of any applicable regulatory or self-regulatory organisation.
Severability
If any provision of these terms is or becomes invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect under the law of any jurisdiction, the validity, legality and enforceability under the law of that jurisdiction of any other provision, and the validity, legality and enforceability under the law of any other jurisdiction of that or any other provision shall not be affected or impaired in any way thereby.
Governing Law and Jurisdiction
These terms and the rights and obligations of any recipient or viewer of the information on this Website (and any person that they represent) arising out of or in connection with it, this Website or the information on this Website, whether contractual, non-contractual, pre-contractual or otherwise, are governed by the laws of England and Wales and any disputes arising in connection with these terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
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Copyright © 2021 AGC Equity Partners Limited is registered in England and Wales with company no. 06445926 and has its registered office at: 33 Davies Street, London, W1K 4BP.
This statement is made by AGC EQUITY PARTNERS LIMITED (“AGC”) on behalf of its ultimate parent company, AGC Equity Partners Holding Ltd (incorporated in the Cayman Islands) and such company’s direct, wholly owned subsidiaries (together with AGC, the “Group”) pursuant to the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (the “Act”) and comprises the Group’s slavery and human trafficking statement.
The Group is fundamentally committed to ensuring that there is no slavery or human trafficking in its supply chains or in any part of its business. As a professional services supplier, the Group works to provide recipients of its services with the highest levels of service attainable and to deliver its business in a responsible and ethical way with integrity and transparency.
Aligned with these objectives is the Group’s wholehearted and active support for the aims of the Act.
In providing this annual statement, we are pleased to outline the steps that the Group has taken and is in the process of taking to meet these objectives.
Group Business
The Group holds certain private equity, liquid and real assets and also provides real estate leasing and operating services in the commercial real estate sector.
Group Supply Chains
Given the nature of the Group’s business, whilst cognisant and vigilant that the Group could be at risk of slavery or human trafficking within its own business, we consider that the perceived risk is principally through the Group’s supply chains either in procuring services to run its business or to deliver services to its clients. Those suppliers operate in numerous sectors, such as building and construction, facilities management, finance and utilities. The Group also works with other professionals, advisors and consultants, and contractors.
Group Policies on Slavery and Human Trafficking
The Group is committed to ensuring that there is no modern slavery or human trafficking in its supply chains or in any part of its business.The Group’s policy on anti-slavery reflects the Group’s commitment to acting ethically and with integrity and transparency in all its business relationships and to implementing and enforcing effective systems and controls to ensure slavery and human trafficking is not taking place anywhere in its supply chains or business.
Due Diligence Processes for Slavery and Human Trafficking
As part of the Group’s ongoing initiative to identify and mitigate risk, in those parts of its supply chains and business where it assesses or believes the potential risks of modern slavery to be higher, the Group uses a number of measures to mitigate and reduce such risks. These include:
- •conducting due diligence on suppliers, professionals, advisors and consultants, and contractors to identify and assess the risks of slavery and human trafficking as well as reviewing the measures already in place to address such risks, and any additional measures that may be warranted in light of such review;
- •developing a process for introducing appropriate contractual provisions in leases, supplier contracts and other commercial agreements and renewals of such existing contracts, which require a supplier, professional, advisor and consultant, or contractor to take steps to ensure that slavery and human trafficking are not taking place in its supply chains or in its business, and enable us to obtain information to confirm the foregoing;
- •the express or implied requirement on suppliers, professionals, advisors and consultants, and contractors to notify the Group of any breaches; and
- •engendering a business environment and working practices which are conducive to whistle blowers alerting us about actual or potential areas of concern or of their knowledge of instances where slavery and/or human trafficking is or is suspected of taking place.
Training
The Group adheres to an ongoing policy of training and reminding its partners, directors, officers and employees (and where appropriate, suppliers, professionals, advisors and consultants, and contractors) of their obligations to comply with the relevant workplace and business policies and we have asked the Group’s General Counsel and compliance advisers to work with other stakeholders in its business to develop a strategy and approach for specific training in relation to the Act, to understanding the risks of modern slavery and human trafficking in its supply chains and business and also to provide ongoing, real-time support wherever and whenever necessary or advisable.
Group Effectiveness in Combating Slavery and Human Trafficking
To date, the Group has not been aware of any instances of slavery and human trafficking in its supply chains or business.
In the event a report is received, the Group will act immediately and resolutely. This can include working with suppliers to remedy any breaches, but also instantly terminating contracts, reporting to the appropriate legal authorities and/or other bodies, as appropriate.
This statement is made pursuant to section 54(1) of the Act and constitutes each member of the Group’s slavery and human trafficking statement for the financial year ending 31 December 2021.
AGC Equity Partners Limited is Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. AGC Equity Partners Middle East is Regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority ©2021 AGC Equity Partners. All Rights Reserved.