Legal

This Privacy Policy applies to information that GTC™ collects through the Site, including information submitted through inquiry forms, the Partner Resource Center login, and information collected automatically through cookies and analytics. It does not apply to information collected through formal engagement letters, separate confidentiality agreements, or direct professional communications outside the Site, which are governed by those documents and any applicable advisor-confidentiality rules.

This Privacy Policy applies to information about individuals only. Information about institutional advisor firms (CPAs, family offices, RIAs, PE deal teams, M&A counsel) is generally treated as business contact information, subject to the same general protections described here.

GTC™ collects the following categories of information:

GTC™ does not knowingly collect sensitive categories of personal information (Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, health information, or similar) through the Site. Such information, if relevant to a specific engagement, is collected only through formal engagement processes governed by separate engagement letters and confidentiality agreements.

GTC™ uses the information collected through the Site for the following purposes:

• Responding to inquiries. Reviewing your inquiry, contacting you, scheduling a partner conversation, and providing the written preliminary analysis or written read described in the relevant intake pattern.
• Delivering Partner Resource Center materials. Authenticating Resource Center access, providing methodology references, CPE materials, capital deployment strategies, exit-path planning materials, and platform partner documentation to vetted partners.
• Coordinating engagements. If an engagement is established, coordinating with the client's CPA firm, family office, transaction counsel, or other independent advisors as the engagement requires.
• Internal analytics. Understanding Site usage, content performance, and audience engagement to inform ongoing content and methodology development.
• Compliance and legal obligations. Meeting applicable legal, regulatory, and professional-standards obligations, including responding to lawful requests from authorities or court orders.
• Communications. Sending you confirmations, calendar links, and other communications related to your inquiry, engagement, or Resource Center access.

GTC™ does not sell personal information. We share information only as described below:

• Platform partners. Where an engagement requires coordinated work with one of GTC™'s platform partners (Berkeley Research Group for §482 substantiation, Mezrah Consulting for deferred-compensation deployment, Schechter Wealth for premium-finance structures, or independent counsel for entity formation and structural validation), information specific to that work-product is shared under the engagement-specific confidentiality framework. No information from inquiry submissions is shared with platform partners absent a formal engagement.
• Service providers. GTC™ uses third-party service providers to operate the Site and related infrastructure, including: Zoho (CRM and form processing), WP Engine (hosting), Google (Analytics and Search Console), and similar institutional service providers. These providers are bound by their own contractual confidentiality obligations and use information only as needed to provide their services.
• Existing CPA, counsel, or advisors. Where you are introduced to GTC™ through an advisor referral, the existence and general nature of the inquiry may be communicated with the referring advisor as part of normal engagement-coordination practice.
• Legal requirements. GTC™ may disclose information when required by applicable law, court order, subpoena, or other valid legal process, or when necessary to protect GTC™'s legal rights, the safety of others, or to investigate suspected violations of Site terms or applicable law.
• Business transfers. In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of substantially all of GTC™'s business or assets, information may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to standard confidentiality protections.

Fact patterns submitted to GTC™ under a written non-disclosure agreement are handled separately from general Site inquiries and are subject to the specific confidentiality terms of the applicable NDA. Such submissions:

• Are not shared with platform partners absent a formal engagement;
• Are not used for general marketing purposes or aggregated into any public-facing case study or illustration;
• Are retained per the terms of the applicable NDA and GTC™'s internal data-retention practices, typically for the duration of the preliminary analysis plus a reasonable period thereafter unless the NDA specifies destruction or return;
• Are not subject to attorney-client privilege or accountant-client privilege absent a separately executed engagement letter.

The Site uses cookies and similar tracking technologies in three categories:

• Essential cookies. Required for the Site to function (session management, security, Resource Center authentication). These cannot be disabled.
• Analytics cookies. Google Analytics 4 cookies that help GTC™ understand how the Site is used. Analytics data is aggregated and used to inform content and engagement decisions.
• Functional cookies. Used to remember your preferences (such as Resource Center login state) for convenience.

Most browsers allow you to control cookies through browser settings. You can opt out of Google Analytics tracking by installing the Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-On (available at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout). Note that disabling certain cookies may limit Site functionality, particularly Partner Resource Center access.

The Site does not currently respond to Do Not Track browser signals. The Site does respond to Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals where required by applicable state privacy law, treating GPC signals as opt-out requests for sale or sharing of personal information for the purposes of cross-context behavioral advertising.

GTC™ retains information for the period necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this Privacy Policy:

• Inquiry information: retained for the duration of the inquiry process plus a reasonable follow-up period.
• Partner Resource Center access data: retained for the duration of access plus a reasonable period thereafter for audit and security purposes.
• NDA-protected fact patterns: retained per the terms of the applicable NDA, typically destroyed or returned upon conclusion of the preliminary analysis or formal engagement.
• Analytics data: aggregated and retained in accordance with Google Analytics 4 retention settings.
• Information related to formal engagements: retained per the terms of the engagement letter and applicable professional-standards obligations, which may extend beyond the standard Site retention periods.

GTC™ implements reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect information collected through the Site. These include encrypted data transmission (HTTPS), restricted access controls for the Partner Resource Center, and standard institutional information-security practices.

No information system is fully immune to unauthorized access. While GTC™ uses reasonable measures to protect information, GTC™ cannot guarantee absolute security and accepts no liability for unauthorized access that occurs despite the implementation of commercially reasonable safeguards. In the event of a material data breach affecting your information, GTC™ will notify you in accordance with applicable law.

Depending on the state or jurisdiction where you reside, you may have certain rights with respect to your personal information, including:

• Right to access. Request a copy of the personal information GTC™ holds about you.
• Right to correct. Request correction of inaccurate information.
• Right to delete. Request deletion of personal information, subject to GTC™'s legal, regulatory, and professional-standards retention obligations.
• Right to opt out of marketing communications. Withdraw consent to non-essential email or other communications.
• State-specific rights. Residents of California (under the California Consumer Privacy Act and California Privacy Rights Act), Virginia (under the VCDPA), Colorado (under the CPA), Connecticut (under the CTDPA), Tennessee (under the Tennessee Information Protection Act, effective July 2026), Texas (under the TDPSA), and similar states have additional specified rights including the right to access, correct, delete, limit the use of sensitive personal information, opt out of targeted advertising or sale of personal information, and the right to non-discrimination for exercising privacy rights.

To exercise any of these rights, contact GTC™ at the address in Section 14 (Contact). GTC™ will respond within the timeframe required by applicable law.

The Site is intended for institutional and professional users and is not directed to children under 13. GTC™ does not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If GTC™ learns that information from a child under 13 has been collected, that information will be deleted promptly.

GTC™ operates from Tennessee, United States. By accessing or using the Site from outside the United States, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to and processed in the United States, which may have data-protection laws different from those of your jurisdiction.

If you are accessing the Site from the European Union, United Kingdom, or another jurisdiction whose data-protection laws (such as the EU General Data Protection Regulation or UK GDPR) apply to GTC™'s processing of your personal information, you have additional rights under those laws, including the right to access, rectify, erase, restrict, port, and object to the processing of your personal information, and the right to lodge a complaint with your supervisory authority. To exercise these rights, contact GTC™ at the address in Section 14.

The Site links to or references websites operated by GTC™'s platform partners and other third parties. Those third-party sites have their own privacy practices, which GTC™ does not control or endorse. Review the privacy policies of any third-party site before submitting information to that site.

GTC™ may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The effective date at the bottom of this page reflects the most recent revision. Material changes will be brought to the attention of Partner Resource Center account holders by reasonable means (which may include posting an updated version on the Site, sending an email to the address associated with your account, or providing notice at next login). Continued use of the Site after the effective date of any updated Privacy Policy constitutes your acceptance.

Questions about this Privacy Policy, requests to exercise privacy rights, or other privacy-related inquiries may be directed to:

Guardian Tax Consultants® · Attn: Privacy · 554 Franklin Road, Suite 105 · Franklin, TN 37069 · info@guardiantaxconsultants.com · 615-333-7653

Effective Date: May 20, 2026