Disclaimer

Please read these terms and conditions carefully:

By accessing, reading and using the website of SMA and partners Ltd. SMA (Deutschland) GmbH and SMA (France) SAS (“SMA” and “SMA Site”), you agree to be bound by these terms and conditions. The content of the SMA Site, including the following terms and conditions, is subject to change and regular updates. You are bound by the most current version of the terms and conditions and should consult this disclaimer every time you open the SMA Site. This disclaimer must be read every time the SMA Site is being visited.

No warranties or representations, no professional advice

The purpose of the SMA Site is to provide information about SMA, its services and offers. SMA uses all reasonable effort to ensure the accuracy of the SMA Site. However, it is possible that the SMA Site is incomplete or not up to date for a short period of time. SMA does not guarantee for the individual parts of the SMA Site to perform flawlessly, be error-free or free from viruses. Everything on the SMA Site is provided to the user “as is” and neither SMA nor its employees accept any warranty as to the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of the page contents. No warranties or representations of any kind, implied, express or statutory, are given with respect to the information and services described on the SMA Site. In accessing the SMA Site, no advisory or other professional relationship is established and neither SMA nor its employees are, in connection with the SMA Site, engaged in rendering any professional service or advice.

Limitation of Liability

SMA shall not be liable for any direct, indirect or consequential damages which may arise in any way in connection with the use of the World Wide Web and/or the SMA Site to users and/or third parties due to the use of software, information or material from the SMA Site or by way of access via links to other websites. This disclaimer also applies to errors and/or possible non-compliance with legal requirements. SMA expressly disclaims any liability for failures of the World Wide Web of all kinds (data loss, viruses, etc.) and for the misuse by third parties (unauthorized data viewing, copying, etc.). The user assumes full responsibility and risk for the use of information on the SMA Site.

Data Protection Statement

General Information

SMA und Partner AG (hereinafter also referred to as ‘we’, ‘us’ or ‘the company’) collects and processes personal data relating to you or other individuals (e.g. work colleagues; ‘third parties’). The term ‘data’ is used interchangeably with ‘personal data’ or ‘personal information’. The terms ‘processing’ and ‘handling’ are used synonymously.

In this privacy policy, we describe how we process your data when you use www.sma-partner.com (hereinafter “website”), purchase our services or products, are otherwise in a contractual relationship with us, communicate with us or otherwise have dealings with us. This privacy policy may be supplemented by other documents, such as terms and conditions or additional specific privacy policies.

If you provide us with data relating to third parties, we assume that you are authorised to do so and that this data is accurate. By submitting data relating to third parties, you confirm this and ensure that these third parties have been informed of this privacy policy. Our own information obligations under the applicable data protection laws remain unaffected by this.

The Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (‘FADP’) and the Data Protection Ordinance (‘DPO’) generally apply to the processing of your personal data. In some cases, for example if you access our website from a Member State of the European Union (‘EU’) or the European Economic Area (‘EEA’), the EU General Data Protection Regulation (‘GDPR’) and, where applicable, further national laws of your country also apply. Where specific reference is made to an article of the GDPR, this relates exclusively to the processing of data of individuals residing in the EU or the EEA.

Data Controller

Unless otherwise stated, the data controller responsible for the data processing activities of SMA und Partner AG described in this privacy policy is:

SMA und Partner AG (CHE-106.183.230)
Gubelstrasse 28
8050 Zurich
Switzerland
Tel.: +41 44 317 50 60
E-Mail: info@sma-partner.com
Website: www. sma-partner.com

Categories of data processed

We primarily process personal data that you provide to us or that we collect whilst operating our website. We may also receive personal data from third parties. The personal data processed may fall into the following categories:

Technical data (cookie ID, IP address, etc.);
Communication data (telephone number, email address, etc.);
Master data (name, address, date of birth, etc.);
Contractual data (contractual services to be provided, contract duration, etc.);
Behavioural and preference data (use of the website, selection of products and services, etc.);
Other data.

Legal basis for data processing

Where we ask for your consent for specific processing activities, we will inform you separately of the relevant purposes of the processing. You may withdraw your consent at any time by emailing info@sma-partner.com, with effect for the future.

Where we do not ask for your consent, we base the processing of your personal data on the fact that the processing is necessary for the initiation or performance of a contract with you (pursuant to Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR) or that the processing is necessary on the basis of other legitimate interests of ours or of third parties and there is no reason to assume that you have an overriding interest in the data not being processed (pursuant to Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR), in particular to pursue the purposes described below and to be able to implement the corresponding measures.

If we receive data requiring special protection, we may also process your data on other legal grounds, e.g. in the event of disputes due to the necessity of processing for any legal proceedings or the enforcement or defence of legal claims.

Purposes of data processing

We process your data in connection with communication with you, as well as for the establishment, management and fulfilment of contractual relationships. Furthermore, we may process data for marketing purposes, to organise events, to assert legal claims, to defend against legal disputes, for relationship management, market research and product development, as well as to comply with laws, directives and recommendations from authorities and internal regulations. The legal basis for processing is Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR. Where necessary and permitted by law, we process your data beyond the actual contractual purposes to fulfil legal obligations.

Use of our website

With regard to the use of our website, the following purposes of data processing arise in particular:

Log files

When you visit our website, we automatically collect general technical visit information in so-called log files. The information collected may include the browsers and versions used, the operating system used by the accessing system, the website from which an accessing system reaches our website, the sub-pages accessed on our website, the date and time of access to our website, the IP address of the device used to visit the website, the internet service provider of the accessing system, and other similar information that may serve to prevent attacks on our systems. These log files are collected and processed for the purpose of enabling the use of our website (establishing a connection), ensuring and enhancing the long-term security and stability of our systems, optimising our website, and for internal statistical purposes. The legal basis for data processing is Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR.

Email contact

You can contact us via email through our website. We process the data collected in this way to review your enquiry, get in touch with you and, for example, arrange an appointment or send you information about our products and services. The provision of further details – in particular the content of the enquiry submitted – is expressly on a voluntary basis and with your consent in the case of general enquiries, in accordance with Article 6(1)(a) of the GDPR, or on the basis of Article 6(1)(b) of the GDPR in the case of (pre-)contractual enquiries. Insofar as this involves details regarding communication channels (e.g. email address, telephone number), you also consent to us contacting you via this communication channel, if necessary, in order to respond to your enquiry. Your data, which we have received in the course of establishing contact, will be deleted as soon as it is no longer required to fulfil the purpose for which it was collected, your enquiry has been fully processed, and no further communication with you is required or desired by you. Please note that in the case of pre-contractual or contractual enquiries, we may be subject to statutory retention obligations and may only be able to delete your data once these have expired.

Online applications

You can apply for a job with us online. We process the data collected in this way in order to store, evaluate, categorise and forward your application, and thus to manage the application process. In particular, CVs and data provided as part of the application may contain information relating to sensitive personal data. If we or one of our group companies enter into an employment contract with you, we will process the data within the framework of the employment relationship. We will delete the data of applicants who have been rejected.

Cookies

Cookies are small pieces of information that help to uniquely identify your browser and in which further information, such as user settings, can be stored. When you visit our website, technically necessary cookies are automatically stored on your device. We only use cookies other than those that are technically necessary with your prior consent. Such cookies can help us to make your visit to the website easier, more pleasant and more meaningful.

The legal basis for processing is Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR. We use the following cookies:

Technically necessary cookies: These cookies are essential for the functioning of our website and cannot be disabled in our systems.
Functional cookies: These cookies enable us to provide enhanced features and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third parties whose services we use on our website.
Analytical cookies: These cookies enable us to count visits and identify traffic sources in order to assess and improve the performance of our website.
Marketing cookies: These cookies and other tracking technologies enable us to show you personalised advertising.

You can configure your browser in the relevant browser settings to automatically block cookies. However, this may result in some areas of the website not functioning.

We will inform you about cookies and similar technologies when you first visit our website and offer you the option on our website to view and adjust your current cookie settings at any time (www.sma-partner.com/de/cookies).

Tracking and analytics tools

We use various technical systems, predominantly from third-party providers such as Friendly Analytics, to measure and evaluate the use of our website. We process the data collected in this way for the purpose of designing our website to meet your needs and for its ongoing optimisation. These tracking and analytics tools use cookies and similar technologies; please refer to the section on cookies for further information on their use on our website.

It is possible that third-party providers may use the data for their own purposes to draw conclusions about your identity, create personal profiles and link this data to any user accounts you may have. If you consent to the use of the relevant services and their cookies, you explicitly consent to such processing, which may also involve the transfer of personal data (in particular website and app usage data, device information and individual IDs) to the USA and other countries.

Social media pages

We use social media and have our own pages on LinkedIn. We use our social media pages to share information about us, our services and other news. We also use these pages to communicate with you and third parties. When you visit our social media pages or interact with us, we receive data about you. We process this data for communication, marketing and market research purposes. We may further process content that you have published yourself. The legal basis for this processing is Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR.

For further details on how the platform operators process data, please refer to the platforms’ privacy policies. There you will also find out in which countries they process your data, what rights to information, erasure and other data subject rights you have, and how you can exercise these rights or obtain further information. We use plugins. When you click on a link to one of our pages on social media, a direct connection is established between your browser and the server of the relevant social media platform. This enables us to offer certain functions on the pages.

Contractual relationships with customers, suppliers and other business partners

In order to fulfil our contractual obligations, we process master data (e.g. names, addresses and contact details), contractual data (e.g. services used, names of contact persons, payment information) of customers, suppliers and other business partners with a view to fulfilling our contractual obligations and providing services to the best of our ability in accordance with Article 6(1)(b) of the GDPR, as well as for invoicing and communication purposes. With regard to the processing of our customer data, please refer to our separate privacy policy for customers.

Disclosure to third parties

We treat your personal data as confidential and only disclose it to those third parties listed in this privacy policy. This disclosure takes place in connection with our contracts, the website, our services and products, our legal obligations or to safeguard our legitimate interests, as well as for the purposes listed under letter E) above.

We use external service providers for various administrative tasks. These external service providers may, by virtue of their work, have access to your personal data , although they are contractually obliged to treat your personal data as confidential at all times. To this end, we have entered into data processing agreements with them where necessary.

We may disclose your personal data in particular to the following recipients:

Logistics service providers in connection with the dispatch of our products;
Banks and insurance companies, where this is necessary in connection with our contracts;
Our group companies in Switzerland and abroad;
IT service providers who supply the software programmes and services we use, as well as managing the website and related matters (e.g. web hosting providers, newsletter providers, and providers of tracking and analytics tools);
Debt collection agencies, should we need to enforce our claims through debt recovery proceedings;
Law firms, particularly in the event of a dispute;
Credit card acquirers, should you use our paid services;
Social media companies, if you access a link to one of our social media profiles via plugins;
Government departments, courts and other authorities, where we are legally obliged or entitled to do so, or where this appears necessary to safeguard our interests;
other service providers engaged in specific cases.

We will only disclose your data to the third parties listed above for these purposes if:

the disclosure is necessary under Article 6(1)(b) and, where applicable, Article 9(2)(b) of the GDPR for the establishment and performance of a contractual relationship;
there is a legal obligation to disclose the data under Article 6(1)(c) of the GDPR;
the disclosure is necessary pursuant to Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR to safeguard the legitimate interests of us and/or third parties, and there is no reason to assume that you have an overriding legitimate interest in the data not being disclosed.

Data disclosure and data transfer abroad

We are entitled to transfer your personal data to companies abroad, provided this is done for the purposes of data processing as set out in points E) above. We disclose your personal data to the following countries/regions: European Union.

Your rights

You have the right to exercise your data protection rights at any time and, upon request, to obtain information as to whether we are processing the relevant data. You also have the right to request that we return the data you have provided to us in a commonly used format (right to data portability). The legal basis for this is Article 15(3) of the GDPR. Upon request, we will also transfer the data to a third party of your choice.

In addition, you have the right to have inaccurate data rectified and, within the scope of the GDPR, to have your data completed, as well as the right to have your personal data erased at any time, provided that this is not prevented by a statutory retention obligation or a legal basis that permits us to process the data. In accordance with Article 18 of the GDPR, you have the right to request the restriction of the processing of your data.

You may object to the processing of your data on grounds relating to your particular situation. This general right to object applies to all processing purposes described in this privacy policy that are carried out on the basis of our legitimate interests. Where we process your data for the purposes of direct marketing, you have the right to object at any time in accordance with Article 21(2) of the GDPR.

Furthermore, you have the right to seek a judicial remedy or to lodge a complaint with the competent data protection authority regarding the processing of your personal data. You may do so with the data protection authority at your place of residence, place of work or the location of the alleged data protection breach. The competent data protection authority for Switzerland is the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (https://www.edoeb.admin.ch/edoeb/de/home.html).

In the case of data processing operations to which you have consented, you may withdraw your consent to the processing of personal data at any time. The lawfulness of the data processing carried out prior to the withdrawal remains unaffected by the withdrawal.

You can contact us for the aforementioned purposes via the email address info@sma-partner.com. We may require appropriate proof of your identity in order to process your requests.

Data security

We employ appropriate technical and organisational security measures to protect your personal data stored with us against accidental, unlawful or unauthorised manipulation, deletion, alteration, disclosure or use, partial or complete loss, and against unauthorised access by third parties. Our security measures are continuously adapted and improved in line with technological developments. We accept no liability for the loss of data or for its disclosure to and use by third parties.

We also take internal data protection very seriously. Our employees and the service providers we engage have been bound by us to maintain confidentiality and to comply with data protection regulations.

Duration of data retention

We retain your personal data only for as long as is legally required or necessary for the purpose of processing. In the case of analyses, we store your data until the analysis is complete. We retain contract data for a longer period, namely at least for the duration of the contractual relationship and at most for as long as limitation periods for potential claims against us apply or statutory or contractual retention obligations are in force. Retention obligations requiring us to retain data arise from accounting regulations and tax law provisions. Under these regulations, business correspondence, contracts and accounting documents must be retained for up to 10 years. Where we no longer require this data to provide services to you, the data will be blocked. This means that the data may then only be used for accounting and tax purposes.

Updates and changes

We reserve the right to update and amend this privacy policy at any time without prior notice. The current version published on our website shall apply. We therefore recommend that you visit our website regularly to keep up to date with any updates.

SMA und Partner AG, February 2026

Links to other websites

Links on the SMA Site may lead to other servers/pages of the World Wide Web not maintained by SMA. Such external Internet addresses contain information created, published, maintained and/or made available by organizations and natural or legal persons legally independent of SMA. The contents of these servers/pages are neither controlled nor checked by SMA. SMA is not responsible for the content of these servers/pages and makes no warranties or representations as to the accuracy, suitability or as to any other aspect of the information contained on such external servers/pages.

Ownership of trademarks, logos and intellectual property rights

All elements of the SMA Site are copyright protected and belong exclusively to SMA. The modification of these pages is prohibited. Downloading, printing, copying and storing of the SMA Site content, in whole or in part, may only be done for private use. All elements are freely usable for browsing purposes only. The complete or partial reproduction, by electronic or other means, dissemination, modification, linking or use for public or commercial purposes is prohibited without SMA’s prior express and written consent.

The name “SMA and partners Ltd.”, the names of SMA’s products and services as well as SMA’s logos and parts thereof are registered trademarks of SMA. Copyright notices, trademark and other proprietary notices must not be modified or removed. By saving or otherwise copying of software or other data from/to the SMA Site, the respective conditions of use shall be deemed accepted. Third party copyrights are excluded.

Applicable laws and jurisdiction

The contents of the SMA Site are governed by Swiss laws without reference to the principles of conflicts of laws thereof. Any dispute arising from these terms and conditions or out of any materials contained on the SMA Site shall be resolved exclusively by the courts of the Canton of Zurich.