Disclaimer and Privacy Policy


As a technology hub for financial professionals, FPPad.com is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered at the time of publication. It is published with the understanding that the author is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, financial, or other professional service. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

Disclosure and Conflict of Interest Statement

Last updated on October 5, 2020

FPPad and Bill Winterberg always strive to operate with the highest levels of integrity and transparency. As such, here are the key components of FPPad’s disclosure policy.

Disclosure

  • When any content creator for FPPad writes about a company that he or she has an ownership position or beneficial interest in, that fact is disclosed at the beginning of the article, not at the end where nobody reads.
  • FPPad is 100% owned and operated by Bill Winterberg. No investments in FPPad have been made by related or unrelated individuals or any third party entities.
  • Neither Bill Winterberg nor any entities owned or controlled by Bill Winterberg have stock, equity ownership, or financial interest of any kind in any of the companies mentioned and/or reviewed on the FPPad.com website.
  • Bill Winterberg is not retained as a director or advisor to any financial services company mentioned and/or reviewed on the FPPad.com website

Business Partners

We have business relationships with an ever-changing assortment of companies, including technology vendors, advertisers, and the restaurants up the street from FPPad headquarters in Atlanta. Many of these companies are public companies operating in industries that we follow. There may be instances in which one of our content updates recommends a company with whom we have a business relationship, or we may write an article about such a company on FPPad. These occurrences are unintentional and coincidental.

Below are some of our major partners with whom we’ve done business over the last twelve months. (This list is subject to change and is updated periodically, see above for the date of the most recent update)

Keynote Speaking

Bill Winterberg was compensated for keynote speaking by the following companies over the last twelve months:

  • FPA National Capital Chapter
  • Financial Planning Association of Orange County
  • XY Planning Network (to be a judge at their annual fintech competition)
  • BAM Advisor Services

Consulting Partners

Bill Winterberg provides technology consulting services to financial technology vendors for a fixed fee. Consulting partners over the last twelve months include:

  • Michael Kitces, Nerd’s Eye View
  • Carson Group
  • YCharts

Promotional Demos

Bill Winterberg produces promotional demos highlighting technology solutions financial advisers can implement in their business. Promotional consideration has been provided by the following vendors over the last twelve months:

  • Starburst Labs, creators of Wealthbox CRM (October 2019)

Advertisers

FPPad generates revenue for advertisements placed on the FPPad.com website and in online content including the FPPad YouTube channel and the FPPad Fintech Flash Briefing.

Creative Marketing Partners

Bill Winterberg works with Steve Biermann, owner of Creative Marketing Solutions in Omaha, NE, to provide creative marketing and content production services to a variety of partners across many industries, including companies in financial services. Relevant for this disclosure are the following financial services companies that have paid for creative marketing services over the previous twelve months:

  • Morningstar, Inc.
  • Envestnet | Tamarac
  • RIA in a Box

Affiliate Links and Affiliate Revenue

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. We use affiliate links for most of the camera and video production gear identified on this site, much of which we own and use in our own video and content production. As an Amazon Associate, we earn a small commission from your qualifying purchases.

We are a participant in the Soundstripe Referral Program, an affiliate program that earn fees when users purchase an annual subscription to the Soundstripe music licensing service using our affiliate link. Bill Winterberg has subscribed to Soundstripe since January 2017 and uses it prolifically in content production.

We are a participant in the Voice Apps Referral Program, an affiliate program that earn fees when users purchase a subscription to the Voice Apps Alexa Skill Building service using our affiliate link. Bill Winterberg has subscribed to Voice Apps since January 2019 and uses it to host the FPPad Fintech Update Alexa Flash Briefing.

Other than the programs identified above, we do not participate in affiliate advertising programs from any other third party provider, including financial technology products and services. When you purchase subscriptions to financial technology software and services that may be mentioned on this website, we receive no compensation or remuneration of any kind.

Compensation for consulting and marketing services to third parties that are unrelated to product purchases are disclosed above.


FPPad Privacy Policy

This privacy policy has been compiled to better serve those who are concerned with how their ‘Personally identifiable information’ (PII) is being used online. PII, as used in US privacy law and information security, is information that can be used on its own or with other information to identify, contact, or locate a single person, or to identify an individual in context. Please read our privacy policy carefully to get a clear understanding of how we collect, use, protect or otherwise handle your Personally Identifiable Information in accordance with our website.

What personal information do we collect from the people that visit our blog, website or app?

When ordering or registering on our site, as appropriate, you may be asked to enter your name, email address or other details to help you with your experience.

When do we collect information?

We collect information from you when you subscribe to a newsletter or enter information on our site.

How do we use your information?

We may use the information we collect from you when you register, make a purchase, sign up for our newsletter, respond to a survey or marketing communication, surf the website, or use certain other site features in the following ways:
 To send periodic emails regarding your order or other products and services.

How do we protect visitor information?

We do not use vulnerability scanning and/or scanning to PCI standards.

We do not use an SSL certificate
We only provide articles and information, and we never ask for personal or private information

Do we use ‘cookies’?

Yes. Cookies are small files that a site or its service provider transfers to your computer’s hard drive through your Web browser (if you allow) that enables the site’s or service provider’s systems to recognize your browser and capture and remember certain information. Cookies are used to help us understand your preferences based on previous or current site activity, which enables us to provide you with improved services. We also use cookies to help us compile aggregate data about site traffic and site interaction so that we can offer better site experiences and tools in the future.

We use cookies to:

Compile aggregate data about site traffic and site interactions in order to offer better site experiences and tools in the future. We may also use trusted third party services (e.g. Google Analytics) that track this information on our behalf.
You can choose to have your computer warn you each time a cookie is being sent, or you can choose to turn off all cookies. You do this through your browser settings. Each browser is a little different, so look at your browser’s Help menu to learn the correct way to modify your cookies.

If you disable cookies, some features of our site will be disabled.

Third Party Disclosure

We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer to outside parties your personally identifiable information.

Third party links

Occasionally, at our discretion, we may include or offer third party products or services on our website, such as Amazon affiliate links. These third party sites have separate and independent privacy policies. We therefore have no responsibility or liability for the content and activities of these linked sites. Nonetheless, we seek to protect the integrity of our site and welcome any feedback about these sites.

Google

We have not enabled Google AdSense on our site but we may do so in the future.

California Online Privacy Protection Act

CalOPPA is the first state law in the nation to require commercial websites and online services to post a privacy policy. The law’s reach stretches well beyond California to require a person or company in the United States (and conceivably the world) that operates websites collecting personally identifiable information from California consumers to post a conspicuous privacy policy on its website stating exactly the information being collected and those individuals with whom it is being shared, and to comply with this policy. – See more at: http://consumercal.org/california-online-privacy-protection-act-caloppa/#sthash.0FdRbT51.dpuf

According to CalOPPA we agree to the following:
Users can visit our site anonymously. Once this privacy policy is created, we will add a link to it on our home page, or as a minimum on the first significant page after entering our website.
Our Privacy Policy link includes the word ‘Privacy’, and can be easily be found on the page specified above.
Users will be notified of any privacy policy changes:
       On our Privacy Policy Page
Users are able to change their personal information:
       By emailing us
How does our site handle do not track signals?
We honor do not track signals and do not track, plant cookies, or use advertising when a Do Not Track (DNT) browser mechanism is in place.
Does our site allow third party behavioral tracking?
It’s also important to note that we do not allow third party behavioral tracking

COPPA (Children Online Privacy Protection Act)

When it comes to the collection of personal information from children under 13, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) puts parents in control. The Federal Trade Commission, the nation’s consumer protection agency, enforces the COPPA Rule, which spells out what operators of websites and online services must do to protect children’s privacy and safety online.

We do not specifically market to children under 13.

Fair Information Practices

The Fair Information Practices Principles form the backbone of privacy law in the United States and the concepts they include have played a significant role in the development of data protection laws around the globe. Understanding the Fair Information Practice Principles and how they should be implemented is critical to comply with the various privacy laws that protect personal information.

In order to be in line with Fair Information Practices we will take the following responsive action, should a data breach occur:
We will notify the users via email within 7 business days
We also agree to the individual redress principle, which requires that individuals have a right to pursue legally enforceable rights against data collectors and processors who fail to adhere to the law. This principle requires not only that individuals have enforceable rights against data users, but also that individuals have recourse to courts or a government agency to investigate and/or prosecute non-compliance by data processors.

CAN SPAM Act

The CAN-SPAM Act is a law that sets the rules for commercial email, establishes requirements for commercial messages, gives recipients the right to have emails stopped from being sent to them, and spells out tough penalties for violations.

We collect your email address in order to:
       Market to our mailing list or continue to send emails to our clients after the original transaction has occurred
To be accordance with CANSPAM we agree to the following:
       NOT use false, or misleading subjects or email addresses
       Identify the message as an advertisement in some reasonable way
       Include the physical address of our business or site headquarters
       Monitor third party email marketing services for compliance, if one is used.
       Honor opt-out/unsubscribe requests quickly
       Allow users to unsubscribe by using the link at the bottom of each email

If at any time you would like to unsubscribe from receiving future emails, you can
       Follow the instructions at the bottom of each email.

Contacting Us

If there are any questions regarding this privacy policy you may contact us using the information below.

FPPad.com
PO Box 98074
Atlanta, GA 30359 USA
Last Edited on August 31, 2016

Do You Post Hot Stock Tips?

This site may include, but is not limited to, references to financial planning and investment information. All ideas, opinions, and/or forecasts, expressed or implied herein, are for informational purposes only and should not be construed as a recommendation to invest, trade, and/or speculate in the markets. Any investments, trades, and/or speculations made in light of the ideas, opinions, and/or forecasts, expressed or implied herein, are committed at your own risk, financial or otherwise.

Who’s Really Posting Ideas Here?

The posts and opinions expressed on this blog are solely the personal opinions of Bill Winterberg. They do not reflect (nor are they intended to represent or reflect) the positions, opinions, viewpoints, policies and/or statements of my employer or any other entity in which I have any ownership interest, with which I have any contractual or other legal relationship, or which is, was or might be my client or customer.

Is FPPad.com a Paid Shill for Technology Companies?

I receive no compensation from any manufacturer or distributor nor do I receive remuneration for the coverage of any product or service in any posted content. Per FTC guidelines, this website may be compensated by companies mentioned through advertising, affiliate programs or otherwise.

Thank you for reading.

FPPad is not affiliated with, maintained by, or in any way officially connected with the T3 Technology Hub or any of its business units. FPPad is owned and operated by Winterberg Advisory Group, LLC.