Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

Acer Tree Investment Management LLP (‘Acer IM’) is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales (Company Number: OC430068) and authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number: 937794).

For the purposes of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (‘UK GDPR’), Acer Tree Investment Management LLP will be the ‘controller’ of the personal data you provide.

This notice summarises the Firm’s policies with respect to personal information that it processes of the following who are natural persons: (i) investors, (ii) the principals, beneficial owners and beneficiaries of institutional clients and investors and (iii) representatives of clients, investors, and other businesses who the Firm interacts with (the “Data Subjects”).

Please read the following information carefully in order to understand the Firm’s practices in relation to the treatment of your personal data. Should you have any questions, please email the Firm at: robert.galione@acerim.com

What data privacy principles does the Firm adhere to?

  • The Firm will process all personal data in a lawfully, fair, and transparent manner.
  • The Firm will only collect personal data where it is necessary:
    • For the Firm to provide a service to you;
    • For you to provide a service to the Firm;
    • For the Firm to keep you informed of its products and services; or
    • For the Firm to comply with its legal and regulatory obligations.
  • The personal data collected by the Firm will be adequate, relevant, and limited to what is necessary in relation to the specific purpose for which your data will be processed.
  • The Firm will take all reasonable steps to ensure that personal data is accurate and, were necessary, kept up to date.
  • The Firm will maintain personal data in a form that permits identification no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the personal data has been collected for processing, in accordance with the Firm’s record retention requirements as mandated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
  • The Firm will hold and process person data in a manner that ensures appropriate security.
  • The Firm will only share personal data where it is necessary to provide the agreed service or where it is necessary for the Firm to comply with its legal and regulatory requirements.
  • The Firm will only utilise a service provider based outside of the UK for the processing of personal data where this is strictly necessary to facilitate our services to you. In all cases, the Firm will ensure service providers are fully compliant with UK GDPR ahead of transferring any personal data.

What personal data does the Firm collect?

In the course of providing products/services to you, the Firm or our legal advisors or administrators may collect information that is considered personal information, this will include:

  • Category 1 – Contact information, such as name, title, address, business and/or personal telephone number, and business and/or personal email address.
  • Category 2– Verification information, such as passport, driving licence, utility bill, credit or bank card statement, wire transfer information, country of residence, country of origin/nationality, country of domicile/tax residency, tax reference number, date of birth, and occupation.
  • Category 3– Finance-related information, such as the amount invested and details of the investment made, and name of the organisation the Data Subject works for and/or are a controlling person for.
  • Category 4– Work contact information, such as name, title, name of the business the Data Subject works for, business address, business telephone number, and business email address.
  • Category 5– Data gathered by our website(s) and/or investor login site visited by Data Subjects that pertains to Data Subjects’ usage of such website(s) and/or investor login site.

Some of this information may be necessary in order for the Firm to provide its services. For example, the Firm will not be able to make an offer of interests in Funds, accept subscriptions in Funds, and facilitate transactions without obtaining your personal details and some information about your assets and investment experience, as well as having your account information. With respect to making investments in funds, the Firm would not be able to conduct appropriate diligence and ongoing monitoring without obtaining personal information regarding the principals, other employees, and representatives of the fund general partners with which the Firm considers and/or undertake investments.

Why does the firm collect this personal data?

The Firm uses the personal data held about Data Subjects for the following purposes:

  • Categories 1 and 5– To carry out its obligations arising from any agreement entered into with the Firm by or on behalf of Data Subjects, including to contact such individuals (including with information or messages about the investment), and for administrative purposes.
  • Category 2– To complete anti-money laundering checks and other checks as are required by law, which, if not conducted, means that the Firm will be unable to carry out its obligations arising under any agreement.
  • Category 3– To tailor its advice and services to Data Subjects; to accept Data Subjects as a member of the Fund and to process transactions in the Fund
  • Category 4– To communicate with its institutional clients, investors, and other businesses through their natural person representatives.

What is the lawful basis for processing personal data?

The lawful basis/bases that the Firm relies upon to process personal information held about Data Subjects is as follows:

  • Category 1 – The Firm uses this personal information to carry out our obligations arising from the Subscription Agreement, or any other agreement entered into by Data Subjects, to take steps at Data Subjects’ request prior to entering into an agreement, and to send informational messages to clients and investors to the extent allowed by applicable law and which are in the Firm’s legitimate interests.
  • Category 2 – The Firm uses this personal information to comply with our legal obligations.
  • Categories 3 and 4– The Firm uses this personal information to carry out our obligations arising from the Prospectus and Offering Documentation, or any other agreement entered into by or on behalf of Data Subjects, and where it is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the Firm that are not overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of Data Subjects.
  • Category 5– The Firm uses this personal information to carry out our obligations arising from the Prospectus and Offering Documentation, or any other agreement entered into by Data Subjects, where it is necessary for our legitimate interests (or those of a third party) and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. For example, in order for the Firm to operate our website it is necessary for the Firm to collect certain data about you to improve your user experience and manage the website.  In addition, the Firm uses this personal information to send informational messages to clients and investors to the extent allowed by applicable law and which are in our legitimate interests.

Where does the Firm store my personal data?

The Firm has comprehensive policies and procedures in place to ensure your personal data is kept safe and secure, with these including:

  • Data encryption;
  • Firewalls;
  • Intrusion detection;
  • 24/7 physical protection of the facilities where your data is stored (i.e., Microsoft’s UK data centres);
  • Background checks for personnel that access physical facilities; and
  • Security procedures across all service operations.

How long does the Firm retain personal data?

As a regulated entity, the Firm is required to maintain its books and records for a prescribed period (five years from either the ceasing of a business relationship, or, in the case of non-clients, from the making of a record – or alternatively, for seven years, where specifically requested to do so by the Financial Conduct Authority). As such, information that falls in scope of either of these requirements is retained in line with the mandated timeframe.

With respect to any information that is outside the scope of this requirement the Firm will endeavour not to keep information that contains personal data in a form that allows a Data Subject to be identified for any longer than is reasonably necessary for achieving the permitted purposes, and, at the end of the applicable retention period, the Firm will destroy, erase, or anonymise personal information as part of such efforts.

Who is my personal data shared with?

The Firm does not disclose any personal information about Data Subjects to any third parties, except:

  • as reasonably necessary or appropriate in connection with the management of the funds;
  • to processors who are only permitted to use it to perform services for the Firm;
  • as required by law or any applicable regulatory authority; or
  • to protect the rights, property, or safety of the Firm, its clients or others.

In these cases, the Firm may share personal information with legal advisers, accountants, fund administrators, placement agents, tax advisers, other advisers, companies engaged to dispose of or store data including personal information, and adverse parties who have a legal right to receive such information and their counsel, experts, and legal advisers. These third parties may be located within or outside the UK.

The Firm will take reasonably necessary steps to ensure that where personal information is shared, it is treated securely and in accordance with this notice and applicable laws.

What are my rights?

Once you have provided your details to the Firm, you have certain rights which apply, depending on your relationship with the Firm, the information you have shared with the Firm and the Firm’s legal and regulatory obligations.

  • You may have the right to request a copy of the information that the Firm holds about you. If you would like to request a copy of some, or all, of your personal information, please email the Firm at: galione@acerim.com. The Firm will seek to provide this information to you within one month (with the ability to extend this by an additional two months where necessary).
  • You may have the right to request that the information the Firm holds about you is erased under certain circumstances including where there is no additional legal and/or regulatory requirement for the Firm to retain this information.
  • As a client, you may have the right to request that any information the Firm holds about you be provided to another company in a commonly used and machine-readable format, otherwise known as ‘data portability’.
  • You may have the right to ensure that your personal information is accurate and up to date, or where necessary rectified. Where you feel that your personal data is incorrect or inaccurate and should therefore be updated, please contact: galione@acerim.com.
  • You may have the right to object to your information being processed, for example for direct marketing purposes.
  • You may have the right to restrict the processing of your information, for example limiting the material that you receive or where your information is transferred.
  • You may have the right to object to any decisions based on the automated processing of your personal data, including profiling.

You have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (https://ico.org.uk/concerns/) if you are not happy with the way that the Firm manages or processes personal data.

Will the Firm make changes to this notice?

The Firm may, from time to time, review and update this notice, without prior notice. The Firm will maintain the latest version of this notice on its website.

Who should I direct questions to?

If you have any questions, concerns or complaints about the practices contained within this notice or how the Firm has handled your data, please email: robert.galione@acerim.com. Alternatively, you may write to:

Acer Tree Investment Management LLP
54 Jermyn Street London SW1Y 6LX