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Business Continuity Plan (BCP) I. Emergency Contact PersonsViant Capital, LLC’s (“Viant” of “Firm”) two emergency contact persons are: Scott Smith John Batdorf Rule: NASD Rule 3520. II. Firm PolicyOur Firm’s policy is to respond to a Significant Business Disruption (SBD) by safeguarding employees’ lives and firm property, making a financial and operational assessment, quickly recovering and resuming operations, protecting all of the firm’s books and records, and allowing our customers to transact business. A. Significant Business Disruptions (SBDs)Our plan anticipates two kinds of SBDs, internal and external. Internal SBDs affect only our firm’s ability to communicate and do business, such as a fire in our building. External SBDs prevent the operation of the securities markets or a number of firms, such as a terrorist attack, a city flood, or a wide-scale, regional disruption. B. Approval and Execution AuthorityScott Smith, a registered principal, is responsible for approving the plan and for conducting the required annual review. Scott Smith, CEO, has the authority to execute this BCP. C. Plan Location and AccessOur Firm will maintain copies of its BCP plan and the annual reviews, and the changes that have been made to it for inspection. III. Business DescriptionViant is a broker/dealer focused on providing emerging, high-growth companies with merger and acquisition advisory services and with institutional financing through private placements. We do not hold customer funds or securities. Our firm services only institutional customers. As an introducing firm engaging in private placements, we do not hold client funds or have client accounts. During a transaction, client funds are maintained in an escrow account with a bank or other escrow agent selected for the transaction. The escrow is intended to hold customer funds short term to facilitate the closing. IV. Office LocationsWe have one office located at 500 Washington Street, Suite 325, San Francisco, CA 94111. Its main telephone number is (415) 820-8100. Our employees may travel to that office by means of foot, car, and bus. All of our business functions are performed at this address. V. Alternative Physical Location(s) of EmployeesIn the event of an SBD, we will move our staff to: Rule: NASD Rule 3510(c)(6). VI. Customers’ Access to Funds and SecuritiesOur Firm does not maintain custody of customers’ funds or securities. In the event of an internal or external SBD occurs during a private placement, if telephone service is available, our registered persons will inform our clients how they may contact the escrow agent to access their funds. The firm will make this information available to customers through its disclosure policy. The terms of the specific escrow agreement for the transaction will govern the customer’s access to their funds. Rules: NASD Rule 3510(a); Securities Exchange Act Rule 15c3-1; 15 U.S.C. 78eee (2003). VII. Data Back-Up and Recovery (Hard Copy and Electronic)Our firm maintains its primary hard copy books and records and its electronic records at 500 Washington Street, Suite 325, San Francisco, CA 94111. Scott Smith, a registered Series 24 principal, (415) 820-8105, is responsible for the maintenance of these books and records. Backup copies of the firm’s electronic correspondence would be accessed by contacting its e-mail retention provider SECCA at 212-242-9308. Electronic backups (mirrored server) are also kept. Scott Smith, a registered Series 24 principal, (415) 820-8105, is responsible for the maintenance of these back-up books and records. The firm backs up its electronic records daily via electronic back-up, and keeps a copy at: If our primary site is inoperable, we will continue operations from our back-up site or an alternate location. For the loss of electronic records, we will either physically recover the storage media or electronically recover data from our back-up site, or, if our primary site is inoperable, continue operations from our back-up site or an alternate location. Rule: NASD Rule 3510(c)(1). VIII. Financial and Operational AssessmentsA. Operational RiskIn the event of an SBD, we will immediately identify what means will permit us to communicate with our customers, employees, critical business constituents, critical banks, critical counter-parties, and regulators. Although the effects of an SBD will determine the means of alternative communication, the communications options we will employ will include telephone, voice mail, and e-mail. In addition, we will retrieve our key activity records as described above. Rules: NASD Rules 3510(c)(3) & (f)(2). B. Financial and Credit RiskIn the event of an SBD, we will determine the value and liquidity of our investments and other assets to evaluate our ability to continue to fund our operations and remain in capital compliance. We will contact our bank to apprise them of our financial status. If we determine that we may be unable to meet our obligations to those counter-parties or otherwise continue to fund our operations, we will request additional financing from our bank or other credit sources to fulfill our obligations to our customers and clients. If we cannot remedy a capital deficiency, we will file appropriate notices with our regulators and immediately take appropriate steps. Rules: NASD Rules 3510(c)(3), (c)(8) & (f)(2). IX. Mission Critical SystemsOur firm’s “mission critical systems” are those that ensure prompt and accurate notification of our clients. We have primary responsibility for establishing and maintaining our business relationships with our customers. In the event of an internal or an external SBD, we would have the NASD member firm and/or its clearing firm deal directly with our customers. X. Alternate Communications Between the Firm and Customers, Employees, and RegulatorsA. CustomersWe now communicate with our customers using the telephone, e-mail, fax, U.S. mail, and in person visits. In the event of an SBD, we will assess which means of communication are still available to us, and use the means closest in speed and form (written or oral) to the means that we have used in the past to communicate with the other party. For example, if we have communicated with a party by e-mail but the Internet is unavailable, we will call them on the telephone and follow up where a record is needed with paper copy in the U.S. mail. Rule: NASD Rule 3510(c)(4). B. EmployeesWe now communicate with our employees using the telephone, e-mail, and in person. In the event of an SBD, we will assess which means of communication are still available to us, and use the means closest in speed and form (written or oral) to the means that we have used in the past to communicate with the other party. We will also employ a call tree so that senior management can reach all employees quickly during an SBD. The call tree includes all staff home and office phone numbers. We have identified persons, noted below, who live near each other and may reach each other in person: The person to invoke use of the call tree is: Scott Smith
Rule: NASD Rule 3510(c)(5). C. RegulatorsWe are currently members of the following SROs: NASD. We communicate with our regulators using the telephone, e-mail, fax, U.S. mail, and in person. In the event of an SBD, we will assess which means of communication are still available to us, and use the means closest in speed and form (written or oral) to the means that we have used in the past to communicate with the other party. Our regulator is: FINRA Rule: NASD Rule 3510(c)(9). XI. Critical Business Constituents, Banks, and Counter-PartiesA. Business constituentsWe have contacted our critical business constituents (businesses with which we have an ongoing commercial relationship in support of our operating activities, such as vendors providing us critical services), and determined the extent to which we can continue our business relationship with them in light of the internal or external SBD. We will quickly establish alternative arrangements if a business constituent can no longer provide the needed goods or services when we need them because of a SBD to them or our firm. Utilities: PG&E Rules: NASD Rule 3510(c)(7). B. BanksWe have contacted our banks and lenders to determine if they can continue to provide the financing that we will need in light of the internal or external SBD. The bank maintaining our operating account is: Bank of America Rules: NASD Rule 3510(c)(7). C. Counter-PartiesWe have contacted our critical counter-parties, such as institutional customers, to determine if we will be able to carry out our transactions with them in light of the internal or external SBD. Where the transactions cannot be completed, we will work with our counter-parties directly to make alternative arrangements to complete those transactions as soon as possible. Rules: NASD Rules 3510(a) &(c)(7). XII. Regulatory ReportingOur firm is subject to regulation by: SEC, NASD and the State of California. We now file reports with our regulators electronically using the Internet. In the event of an SBD, we will check with the SEC, NASD, and other regulators to determine which means of filing are still available to us, and use the means closest in speed and form (written or oral) to our previous filing method. In the event that we cannot contact our regulators, we will continue to file required reports using the communication means available to us. Rule: NASD Rule 3510(c)(8). XIII. Disclosure of Business Continuity PlanWe disclose in writing a summary of our BCP to customers on or prior to the closing of their first transaction with us and regularly thereafter. We also mail it to customers upon request. Our summary addresses the possibility of a future SBD and how we plan to respond to events of varying scope. In addressing the events of varying scope, our summary (1) provides specific scenarios of varying severity (e.g., a firm-only business disruption, a disruption to a single building, a disruption to a business district, a city-wide business disruption, and a regional disruption); (2) states whether we plan to continue business during that scenario and, if so, our planned recovery time; and (3) provides general information on our intended response. Our summary discloses the existence of back-up facilities and arrangements. Viant Capital, LLC Summary Disclosure StatementOur firm’s policy is to respond to a Significant Business Disruption (SBD) by safeguarding employees’ lives and firm property, making a financial and operational assessment, quickly recovering and resuming operations, protecting all of the firm’s books and records, and allowing our customers to transact business. In the event of a firm only business disruption we will continue to do business, with a planned recovery time of 4 hours. We will move to our alternative offices located at In the event of a single building business disruption we will continue to do business, with a planned recovery time of 4 hours. We will move to our alternative offices located at In the event of a district or city-wide business disruption we may or may not continue to do business. If we are able to safely leave the city and reach our alternative offices, we will continue business. If not, we will postpone until it is safe to do so. Our planned recovery time is one full business day. We will move to our alternative offices located at
In the event of a regional business disruption we will not continue to do business. We will suspend operations until it is safe to resume. We will notify our clients via phone and a posting on our website. Our planned recovery time will depend upon the situation, but will anticipate it will take one business day to recover after the point that the regional business disruption has ended. We do have back up facilities for our books and records, and an alternative office at which to resume business. If you would like a copy of this disclosure statement, please call us at (415) 820-6100 to request a copy. Rule: NASD Rule 3510(e). XIV. Updates and Annual ReviewOur firm will update this plan whenever we have a material change to our operations, structure, business or location or to those of our clearing firm. In addition, our firm will review this BCP annually, on or about June 1st, to modify it for any changes in our operations, structure, business, or location or those of our clearing firm. Rule: NASD Rule 3510(b). XV. Senior Manager ApprovalI have approved this Business Continuity Plan as reasonably designed to enable our firm to meet its obligations to customers in the event of an SBD. Rule: NASD Rule 3510(d).
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