Following the
attacks on 11 September 2001, the U.S. government enacted the USA
PATRIOT Act, which is designed to prevent the use of the U.S. financial
system to help fund terrorism and other crimes. The Act imposes a series
of new anti-money-laundering requirements on brokerage firms and other
financial institutions. Koehler Financial Services, Inc. has had a
vigorous money-laundering prevention program in place for years. In
accordance with the Act, we have undertaken efforts to further enhance
these existing policies and procedures. We have dedicated ourselves to enhancing our existing efforts in the fight against money laundering around the globe. We have been working closely with all our business partners to ensure that we comply with all anti-money-laundering efforts wherever we operate.
Our Program We are implementing an enterprise-wide suspicious activity reporting system that will enable us to better report suspicious activity to the government. All of our employees have been trained in anti-money-laundering practices and procedures, as well as the details of the firm's policies. The regulations also impose new requirements regarding client information and verification of that information. Financial services firms are required to verify the identity of the clients with whom they do business, determine the source of funds in a client's account and obtain the information about a client's wealth. At Koehler Financial Services, Inc., we have always stressed the importance of knowing our clients. This tradition has developed not only from regulatory requirements but also from the belief that the better we know our clients, the better we can serve their financial needs. As part of our compliance with the new Act and in support of the fight against money laundering around the world, we may ask clients for additional information and documentation about certain accounts and transactions. This information may be used to verify client identity.
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