Expert network compliance is the set of controls that keep each expert call inside the expert's own experience. A network screens every expert for material non public information and conflicts, applies rules on current employees, cooling off periods and government roles, handles consent, recording and chaperoning, and keeps an audit trail. You compare networks by asking about each control.
Expert network compliance keeps every call inside the expert's own experience
A compliant expert call draws on what the expert knows from doing the job, such as how a market works and how a process runs. It leaves out material non public information (MNPI), which is unpublished company information an investor would treat as important, and any confidential information owed to a current or former employer.
Compliance makes that boundary dependable: the network screens the expert, the expert agrees to the rules, the call runs as your policy requires and a record shows what was done. Our guide to what an expert network is covers the basics.
You own your policy, your supervision and your review of call notes, and the network owns screening, expert terms and records. In an April 2022 risk alert, the US SEC's Division of Examinations listed tracking and logging calls, reviewing detailed call notes and reviewing staff trading in similar industries as areas of an adviser's expert network policy. SIFMA's best practices for broker dealers add training and written terms with the network. Your counsel decides what applies to you.
Expert networks can be compared on compliance and risk management control by control
Nine controls cover most of what a compliance team reviews. Put the same questions to every network, Nextyn included, so the answers sit side by side.
| Control | What it means | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Expert terms and training | The expert agrees in writing to the rules and is trained on confidential information. | How often terms and training are repeated, and whether rules are confirmed before each call. |
| Material non public information screening | Checks that the expert's role gives no access to unpublished company information. | When screening happens, who clears the expert and how questions are scoped. |
| Conflict of interest checks | Checks whether the expert is a supplier, competitor, investor or adviser to the company. | How conflicts are found and how your restricted list is applied. |
| Current employee rules | Rules on whether an expert still working in the market can speak, and about whom. | Whether employer consent is checked and how employer restrictions are recorded. |
| Cooling off periods | A set time after an expert leaves a company before they may speak about it. | Whether the network applies one, how it compares with yours and who sets the length. |
| Government and regulated roles | Rules for serving officials, regulators and roles with unpublished data, such as clinical trial committees. | How serving officials are excluded and former officials assessed. |
| Consent and recording | Agreement from every participant before a call is recorded. | How consent is captured, where recordings are held and what you receive. |
| Chaperoning and pre approval | A reviewer joins the call, or approves the expert before booking. | Whether both are available and how they affect scheduling. |
| Audit trail | A record of who was approached, what they were screened against, what they agreed to and what was delivered. | What the file contains, how long it is kept and whether your team can read it. |
Ask for the written framework behind the answers. If you also use past call transcripts, put the same consent and review questions to that library. Our guide to expert call transcript libraries covers the format.
Compliant expert call and primary research services are described in the frameworks networks publish
The larger networks publish compliance frameworks on their own sites, and reading them side by side is a useful first step. GLG, AlphaSights, Guidepoint and Third Bridge each describe how experts are vetted and held to written terms.
GLG and Guidepoint describe a dashboard or portal for compliance staff. GLG, Guidepoint and Third Bridge describe rules that clients can add. AlphaSights and Third Bridge describe review of research output for sensitive content.
Ask whether surveys, panels and advisory work follow the same screening as one to one calls. Nextyn's approach is set out below. For the commercial side, see our firm by firm comparison.
Compliance screening and approval run before the expert is offered
Platforms that handle compliance well build screening and approval into the booking sequence, whether through a client dashboard or the research team. The order below is a useful test.
- Your policy goes in with the brief. Restricted lists, topic exclusions and any approval route are agreed first.
- The network screens before it offers. Each expert is cleared for conflicts, employer restrictions and material non public information before you see a profile.
- You approve. Your compliance or deal team signs off the expert, through pre approval if your policy needs it.
- The expert acknowledges the rules. The boundaries are confirmed before the first call and restated at the start.
- The call runs your way. It is chaperoned, recorded with consent or limited by topic, as your policy requires.
- The record is filed. The file shows who was approached, what they were screened against and what was delivered.
Expert network platforms for regulatory consultations separate published rules from pending decisions
A regulatory consultation is a call with someone who has worked with a regulator or a licensing process, such as a former official. An example is our case study on how fintech licensing rules are applied in practice.
Many compliance policies exclude serving government and regulator employees, and a network should assess each former official for continuing duties about non public agency matters. Questions then stay on how rules work and have been applied, never on pending decisions.
When a regulatory question becomes a proceeding, the sourcing changes. Nextyn's expert witness and litigation work maps conflicts first and assesses everything else after.
A fast conflict check for last minute expert retention depends on what is cleared in advance
A fast conflict check is an earlier check, not a shorter one. The time is saved by what is already in place.
- Policy on file: your restricted list, topic exclusions and approvers sit with the network before the brief arrives.
- Screening before the offer: only experts who clear are shown to you, so no second check follows your choice.
- A named approver: pre approval goes to a person who can answer the same day.
- A scoped question: a clear question lets the screener judge conflicts quickly.
- The same screen at any speed: a good network tells you when the field is thin instead of widening it.
Pre approval and chaperoning can affect scheduling and cost, as our guide to expert network pricing explains.
Where Nextyn fits
Founded in Mumbai in 2018 and headquartered in Singapore, Nextyn is an expert network and primary research firm with offices in New York, Singapore, Mumbai, Bangalore and Jakarta. A dedicated US team serves active US mandates, and compliance on every engagement, US mandates included, is led by our Head of Compliance.
Our compliance page sets out the approach. Our research team clears each expert for conflicts, employer restrictions, confidentiality and material non public information before the expert is offered to you, and an expert who does not clear is not offered. Every expert acknowledges the boundaries before the first call, and they are restated at its start.
Your policy shapes the engagement. Restricted lists, pre approval workflows, chaperoned calls, recording rules and topic exclusions are accommodated, and the stricter policy applies where yours and ours differ. Public equity and channel check work carries an additional screen. Each engagement leaves a file of who was approached, what they were screened on, the terms they acknowledged, and what was scheduled and delivered.
A research lead owns each brief from the first conversation to the transcript, and every call lands in Nextyn IQ. You can see how teams have used Nextyn in our case study on building a healthcare diligence evidence trail for an investment committee, and our expert calls page covers the format. If anything said on a call concerns you, stop the call and write to compliance@nextyn.com.