Cookies and Online Tracking Disclosure

At State Street Global Advisors (“SSGA” or ‘we’ or ‘us’), we are committed to handling cookies and online tracking methods responsibly and transparently. This Cookies and Online Tracking Disclosure (“Cookies Disclosure”) contains the following sections:

What are cookies?
What categories of cookies do we use?
- Strictly Necessary Cookies
- Performance Cookies
- Functionality Cookies
- Targeting Cookies
How we share the information we collect using cookies
Third party websites and cookies
Web beacons and other technologies
How do I refuse or withdraw consent to the use of cookies?
What are the most frequently used or a representative sample of the cookies on our Website?
Cookie lifespan

What are cookies?

Cookies are small text files downloaded to your computer or device by websites you visit. Cookies are widely used to allow websites to function properly, as well as to provide business and marketing information to the operators of the site.

In general, cookies can be classified depending on what purpose they serve, how long they endure, and their provenance.

What categories of cookies do we use?

We use the following four categories of cookies on our website www.ssga.com and its sub-domains (Website)."

Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are essential to enable you to navigate our Website and use its features, such as accessing secure areas. Without these cookies, we cannot provide the services you have requested.

Performance Cookies

These cookies are used to gather statistics on how visitors use our Website. This allows us to gain insight so that we may make improvements to its usability.

We categorize the following as performance cookies:

Referrer URL (internal page): used to store the URL of the previous page visited. Allows us to track how visitors navigate through our Website.
Referrer URL: used to store the URL which refers a visitor to our Website, so we may understand what URLs are referring visitors to our Website.
URL history: used to store the page visited by a user before that user submits a form. Also, used to display recently viewed articles by each visitor.
Unregistered visitor cookie: a unique identifier given to each visitor to allow analysis on how unregistered visitors use our Website.
Session management cookies: these cookies allow us to follow the actions of a user during a browser session. A browser session starts when a user opens the browser window and finishes when they close their browser window. Our session management cookies are created temporarily. Once you close your browser, our session management cookies are deleted.

Functionality Cookies

These cookies are used to enhance your experience when you visit our Website such as by capturing your preferences so that they are remembered for subsequent visits to improve your experience.

These cookies allow a site to remember choices you make (such as your username, language, or the region you are in) and provide enhanced, more personal features. For instance, a site may be able to provide you with local information by storing a cookie for the region in which you are currently located. These cookies can also be used to remember changes you have made to text size, font, and other parts of web pages that you can customize. They may also be used to provide services you have requested such as watching a video or commenting on a blog. In most cases we will not be able to track individuals by name. However, cookies may associate registered users with their names.These cookies cannot track your browsing activity on other websites. They do not gather any information about you that could be used for online advertising on other websites or remember where you have been on the internet outside our Website.

We categorize the following as functionality cookies:

Registered visitor cookie - a unique identifier given to each registered user to our Website, or each user who voluntarily provides Personal Data on our Website to request information from us, used to serve them content and offers based on their profiles. Also used for analysis and marketing purposes (see also Strictly necessary cookies above).

Targeting Cookies

These cookies are used for web analytics and intelligence about our Website. They are used to deliver online advertisements on third party websites that are more relevant to you and your interests. They are also used to limit the number of times you see such advertisements as well as help measure the effectiveness of the advertising campaign. They are usually placed by advertising networks with the site operator’s permission. We may use information collected from our cookies to identify user behavior and to serve content and information on products and services based on your profile.

How long can a cookie last?

Session cookies

These cookies are temporary and expire once you close your browser (or once your session ends).

Persistent cookies

This category encompasses all cookies that remain on your hard drive until you erase them or your browser does, depending on the cookie’s expiration date. All persistent cookies have an expiration date written into their code, but their duration can vary.

Please refer to the What are the most frequently used or a representative sample of the cookies on our Website? section for further details.

How we share the information we collect using cookies

We may share the information we collect with our affiliates for marketing or analysis purposes. We may also share with third parties, who provide services on our behalf, for similar purposes. You can opt out of receiving interest-based marketing communication from us by clicking on the unsubscribe link in any of our emails, letting your relationship manager know or by clicking here and following the “Contact us” option..

Third party websites and cookies

This Website may contain links to third party sites. Please review the cookie and privacy policies of these third-party sites to understand how they may use cookies and your information. We, we are not responsible for the contents, operations or security of other websites.

Third parties may also place cookies on their own. We do not have control over the placement of cookies by another website, even if you are directed to them from our Website. These companies use the data they process in accordance with their privacy policies, which may enable these companies to collect and combine information about your activities across website, apps, or online services. Please review the cookie and privacy policies of these sites to understand how they may use cookies and your information.

Web beacons and other technologies

We may also use web beacons and other technologies for analytics and intelligence about our Website to determine whether email messages have been opened or whether links on our Website have been accessed. Web beacons do not place information on your device but may work in conjunction with cookies to monitor online activity.

How do I refuse or withdraw consent to the use of cookies?

While we may automatically use some cookies that are strictly necessary to provide the services you request or enable communications, we request your consent for all other cookies used. If you want to remove existing non-essential cookies from your device, you may do so by selecting the options in the cookie banner. You may also refuse to accept cookies by changing your browser settings. For more information on managing cookies and other tracking methods see www.allaboutcookies.org/manage-cookies.

**** Please note that deleting and blocking cookies will have an impact on your user experience as parts of the Website may not function properly or be accessible.

What are the most frequently used or a representative sample of the cookies on our Website?

The following tables detail the most frequently used or a representative sample of the cookies our Website uses and explains their use.

Cookie Lifespan

Unless stated above, the lifespan of the cookies we use is limited and will not exceed 13 months.