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Compliance Framework

Compliance is at the foundation of our business.

Strong compliance provides tremendous value to our clients, our experts, and our employees. Furthermore, we are dedicated to leading the industry with rigorous compliance practices at every step of our consultation process.  Nathan Research Group's compliance policies are transparent, methodical and robust and are designed to ensure that every service provided by Nathan Research Group experts is fully compliant with all applicable laws, rules and regulations and poses no conflicts of interest. Our compliance policy is based on experts, clients, employers, employees.

For Experts

On joining Nathan Research Group, and before every consultation, experts must formally agree to Nathan Research Group’s Terms and Conditions before accepting a consultation that we offer. This contract demands of experts that they discuss only topics they are authorized to discuss and that they not participate in any consultation on inappropriate topics. We guarantee experts that we will pay them for their time, even if they terminate a conversation before it ends due to questions the expert thinks is inappropriate. Experts must act according to any non-disclosure agreements or other restrictions they have with their employer or other entities that apply to their consulting activity.
Our experts consult within a strict compliance framework:
 
Experts always review the topic of a consultation before interacting with a client and confirm that they can discuss that topic. Nathan Research Group requires clients to inform us of their specific areas of interest before soliciting an expert for that topic.
 

  • Experts are asked to list specific topics they cannot discuss before a consultation. Nathan Research Group stores this information and screens it against client requests to ensure that clients are matched with experts who can discuss the clients’ particular areas of interest.

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  • Experts are not eligible to work on assignments directly involving a company for which they are a director, officer, or employee, without their employer’s direct written permission.

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  • Experts may not consult with Nathan Research Group’ client companies that are, to our knowledge, competitors of their employer.

 

  • Experts are regularly reminded of Nathan Research Group’ terms and conditions. They must confirm their agreement every time before accepting any given project.

For Clients

All our clients must agree to standard terms in our client contracts that restrict their activity. In particular, we notify clients that most experts are restricted in the potential topics they can discuss. We also require of clients that they may not wittingly request from any expert and/or Nathan Research Group employee any material non-public information or confidential information concerning any company with which that source has or has had a business relationship.
 

  • If for formulating a proposal for a client, Nathan Research Group all of information that may identify the expert proposed for consultation, the client must not contact directly the expert without Nathan Research Group consent or bypassing Nathan Research Group unless the client informs Nathan Research Group before sending the proposal of any direct contact with the expert. 

 

  • All of Nathan Research Group's clients must agree to these terms that also prohibit them from soliciting or utilizing material non-public or confidential information from Experts. Client users are expected to be honest in their requests and scrupulous in their conversations with experts. Failure to do so will result in termination of service.

For Employees

Our employees are trained to identify and avoid handling non-public material information and to maintain the strictest confidentiality at all times. Ongoing training and support is central to Nathan Research Group's legal and regulatory compliance system so as to ensure that we have a culture of compliance that is prevalent throughout the organization. 
 

  • All Nathan Research Group employees sign confidentiality agreements and are required to have their trading transactions pre-approved by our compliance department. and Nathan Research Group has an internal legal department.

 

  • After each consultation, experts and clients have an opportunity to provide feedback directly to their Nathan Research Group representative.

 

  • Nathan Research Group maintains a database of company policies that affect their employees' eligibility to participate in expert consultations.

For Employers

We encourage any employer with questions about the expert network research model to contact us and inform us of your policy about your employees participating in paid consultations through our service. Upon request, we will not allow any of your current employees to consult through our database of Experts. Employers may specify permission to consult by individual, division, product, type of client, or subject.

COMPLIANCE TUTORIAL

Dear Expert,

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  • We are delighted to have you join the Nathan Research Group expert network. As an expert-network firm, compliance with legal and ethical standards is an integral part of our company. It helps us protect our clients as well as you, our experts. With that in mind, we want to make sure you understand your role in the process and your rights as an expert.

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  • It is extremely important that you read and agree to our Terms and Conditions for Expert as well as complete the following tutorial. The compliance tutorial is designed to give you a better understanding of Nathan Research Group’s compliance procedures and should not be treated as a substitute for a clear understanding of our Terms & Conditions.​

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Basics:

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  • Before you agree to a consultation, take care to ensure that your participation in the project is not in violation of any agreements you may have with a current or former employer, other person or entity.

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  • It is your general understanding of trends in your industry that our clients are interested in, so be careful that you do not disclose any trade secrets, proprietary or confidential information as well as any material, nonpublic information.

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  • While you are a valuable expert in your field, you are not being hired as a financial or investment advisor or lawyer, so remember that you cannot offer financial, investment, or legal advice. It is crucial that we do not match you up with a client whom it would be inappropriate for you to speak with, so please be as accurate and complete as possible in the biographical information you provide us. Please also let us know if your situation changes at any time.

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  • Finally, you have a right to decline any project that you feel may put you in danger of violating the above.

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Conflict of Interest:

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  • You cannot speak about anything that you have previously made agreements not to divulge information about (i.e. confidentiality agreements). If you have been a part of any medical or legal trials, you may be under obligations not to share information regarding the trial. Those obligations also represent a conflict of interest. Finally, if you are a government employee, please adhere to any rules and policies applicable to your position.

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  • You cannot currently be employed by the client’s target company. Additionally, you cannot consult with a client who is a direct competitor to your company.

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  • While we do our best to mitigate conflict of interest problems, please note that when you agree to a consultation, you are responsible for ensuring that the project does not conflict with any agreements or duties you may have. Also, Nathan Research Group is not present at your consultation, so if a conflict arises, you are responsible for noting to the client that the question represents a conflict, terminating the consultation, and notifying us immediately. 

 


Material nonpublic information:

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  • Material nonpublic information includes information that is not publicly available and that contains economic value in the sense that it could affect the stock price of a publicly traded company.

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  • Please take caution to not divulge any material nonpublic information during the consultation and not share any nonpublic information that you may attain in the course of a consultation. If you find yourself in a situation where you unknowingly or inadvertently divulge such information, please contact Nathan Research Group immediately by contacting us via email at compliance@nathanrg.com

 

 

 
Confidentiality:

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  • All consultations are confidential. By agreeing to Nathan Research Group’s Terms and Conditions, you agree not to disclose or to attempt to use or personally benefit from any confidential information disclosed to or known by you because of your participating in an Nathan Research Group expert.

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  • Any information you attain from a client or Nathan Research Group during the course of a consultation is considered confidential. Equally, anything you tell the client in a phone call is confidential as well.

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