Franklin Templeton support
Franklin Templeton's support in technology, operations, human resources and numerous other areas played a vital role in getting Fiduciary back on its feet quickly. These efforts enabled Fiduciary to rapidly transfer operations and other support areas to new organizational units and systems, thereby relieving the burden on Fiduciary's then short-handed organization.

A team of Franklin Templeton technical experts drove 20 hours through the night on September 13, from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to reach the disaster recovery facility the next day. In the following days, additional Franklin Templeton technology personnel arrived from St. Petersburg and Toronto.

Maintaining business continuity
Nearly 30 critical technology applications needed to be up and running by the time equity markets reopened on September 17. But two criteria were essential for remaining operational: electronic recovery of the company's books and records, and liquidity. Fiduciary staff at the disaster recovery facility immediately began to address these needs. With the help of business partners IBM and Compaq, and with Fiduciary and Franklin Templeton staff working together, the company's core systems were recovered within five hours of the attacks, ensuring that client accounts were accurate. A day after the attacks, Fiduciary was able to conduct wire transfers of cash and securities. On September 13, when fixed income markets reopened, Fiduciary was able to trade on moderate volumes. When equity markets reopened on Monday, September 17, the company was ready to trade equity portfolios.

Technology milestones
Fiduciary Trust continued to achieve important operational milestones in the months that followed. In November, the company's data center was moved from the disaster recovery facility in New Jersey to Franklin Templeton's facility in Rancho Cordova, California. Importantly, the data transfer signified that Fiduciary Trust no longer had to rely on a third-party provider for this critical function. Instead, the data now resided with Franklin Templeton, and the transfer became one of many examples of the accelerated integration between Franklin and Fiduciary necessitated by the events of 9-11.

To further stabilize Fiduciary's operational environment, custody of client securities was transferred to JP Morgan in December, 24-hour trading capability was established, and implementation of a new equity trading system was completed across the company.

Office Space

Less than two weeks after the terrorist attacks, Fiduciary Trust signed a 15-year lease for five floors at 600 Fifth Avenue, Rockefeller Center, its new headquarters. Fiduciary was not only the first company to arrive at the disaster recovery facility in New Jersey but also one of the first to leave, as the company began to relocate employees into its new midtown offices in October.

Temporary office environment
Like many companies that lost their offices in the World Trade Center, Fiduciary was faced with the prospect of creating a completely new working environment. Given the limitations of a temporary office space with few offices or cubicles, working conditions were crowded and noisy for many months. Many employees, including senior executives, worked side by side on open floors, with their computers, telephone and files set on folding card tables. Some wore earplugs to block out the noise. File cabinets and boxes lined the hallways. The only solace was the social satisfaction of proximity and easy access to ones' colleagues, and the knowledge that Fiduciary's office space would soon undergo a dramatic renovation.