Privacy Policy

Last updated: November 9, 2023

This Privacy Policy informs you of important information regarding how Smith Goffman Partners LLC and its affiliates (together, “SGP” “we” or “our”) collects, uses, processes and shares Personal Data that we obtain from you through the Services. “Personal data” means data that reasonably can be used to identify a living person, or that reasonably relates to a living person, including any personally identifiable information described in Section 1 below. If you are a resident of California, please also review the section below for California residents. If you are a resident of the European Economic Area (“EEA”) or United Kingdom (“UK”), please also review the section below for EEA and UK residents.

When we use the term “Services” we mean to refer collectively to:

• The provision of financial advisory services, advice on corporate governance and shareholder engagement and fund placement services to our clients and prospective clients (“Client Services”);
• The websites owned and controlled by us that link to this Privacy Notice (“Sites”); and
• Our marketing and business development activities, including virtual or in-person events we host, social media properties we create, and emails that we send (“Marketing Activities”).

This Privacy Policy covers the Personal Data that we collect through the provision of our Services. By using the Services, you agree to be bound by the terms of this Privacy Policy and any updates posted here from time to time. To make sure you stay informed of all changes, you should check this Privacy Policy periodically. Updates will be referenced by the “Last updated” date shown above. If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at: info@smithgoffman.com.

1. Information We Collect About You and
How We Collect It

We collect and process personal data regarding different types of individuals through the provision of the Services. These individuals include our individual clients and prospective clients, their representatives, visitors to our offices, visitors to our Sites, vendors, and other individuals. The data we gather varies based on the Service being used and the nature of our interactions.

A. Clients and Prospective Clients

For individual clients, we may be required to obtain certain Personal Data before we can accept someone as a client. Such information – and our policies with respect to such information - will be identified to you at the time of the onboarding process.

With respect to clients that are corporate entities, corporate entity data is generally not considered Personal Data. However, we do process Personal Data of company employees, representatives and other Personal Data clients may provide to us, or allow us to collect on their behalf, while providing the Client Services.

Our policies regarding the Personal Data and other information we collect from our clients will be provided to you during the onboarding process.

B. Other Business Contacts

If you have had contact with SGP, for example through emailing us or meeting a representative of SGP, we may collect, use and store limited amounts of Personal Data relating to you, such as your name, contact details, job title and employer organization. We also use publicly available information about you or information you have provided to us.

We will collect and store this personal information for the purposes of:

• Maintaining a record of contacts;
• Providing periodic business updates as described below;
• Organizing meetings between you and your SGP representatives; and
• Sending you periodic updates about SGP’ business, activities and opportunities, in particular, by email and post; you can opt out of receiving updates at any time by contacting us here info@smithgoffman.com.

The legal bases we rely on to process this information are:

• To pursue our legitimate interests in developing and growing our business, operating and improving the Sites;
• To perform contracts; and
• Your consent.

C. Visitors to Our Sites

Certain visitors interact with the Sites in ways that lead us to gather Personal Data. The amount and type of data that we gather depends on the nature of the interaction. We may collect:

• Data about your use of and interaction with the Sites (such as your IP address, browser type, the make and model of device used to view the Services, unique device identifiers, the referring webpage, pages visited, and search terms); and
• Information you submit through the Sites.

We may also collect data through cookies and data analytics as further described below in our “Cookie Notice”.

The legal bases we rely on to process this information are:

• To pursue our legitimate interests in ensuring the safety and security or Sites;
• To pursue our legitimate interests in developing and growing our business, operating and improving the Sites; and
• Your consent, where we make it clear to you in advance that we are relying on you consent (for example, when you sign up to receive materials).

D. Vendors and Business Partners

We process Personal Data of vendors and business partners, including name, contact details and financial information, for the purposes of:

• Liaising about the services the vendors are providing to us now and in the future
• Supporting, growing and maintaining relationships with business partners; and
• Paying invoices.

The legal bases we rely on to process this Personal Data are:

• To pursue our legitimate interests of managing and operating our business, including through use of vendors; and
• To perform contracts with vendors and business partners.

E. Our Investors

We collect, use and store Personal Data about our investors, such as name, contact details, and information about investment holdings and history, for the purposes of:

• Complying with our regulatory and legal obligations; and
• Sending you periodic updates about SGP’s business, activities and opportunities, in particular, by email and post; you can opt out of receiving updates at any time by contacting us here info@smithgoffman.com.

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As discussed above, our legal basis for collecting and storing personal information about our investors is that such processing is necessary for our legitimate interests in running and operating our business, and ensuring effective communications with investors.

F. Other Individuals

When we provide certain types of Client Services we may be provided with Personal Data from third parties about a number of individuals other than those described explicitly in this Privacy Policy. The Personal Data we process will depend on the type of matter for which our client has retained us (e.g., conducting diligence in connection with a target company’s business). We can obtain this information from a number of different sources including our client, our client’s opponent or counterparty, the courts, tribunals and law enforcement authorities.

The primary reason we process this Personal Data is to provide the Client Services, fulfill our professional duties, comply with the law and operate our business.

The legal bases we rely on to process your Personal Data are:

• To comply with our legal obligations and meet our professional responsibilities; and
• To pursue our legitimate interests of operating our business, providing Client Services and conduct Marketing Activities.

2. Additional Uses of Collected Personal Data

In addition to the uses described in Section 1, we may use your Personal Data for the following purposes. Some of these uses may, under certain circumstances, be based on your consent, may be necessary to fulfill our contractual commitments to you, or are necessary to serve our legitimate interests in the following business operations:

• Operating our business, administering the Services and managing your accounts, performing diligence, conducting investigations and performing conflict checks;
• Contacting you to respond to your requests or inquiries;
• Notifying you about changes to the Services (including this Privacy Policy);
• Processing and completing your transactions including, as applicable, order confirmation and delivering products or services;
• Providing you with newsletters, articles, alerts and announcements, event invitations, and other information that we believe may be of interest to you;
• Conducting research, surveys, and similar inquiries to help us understand trends and client needs;
• Analyzing your interactions with us, and improving our products, Services, programs, and other offerings;
• Preventing, investigating, or providing notice of fraud, unlawful or criminal activity, or unauthorized access to or use of Personal Information, our website or data systems;
• Complying with applicable laws and regulatory obligations (including laws outside your country of residence), such as those relating to anti-money laundering, sanctions, and anti-terrorism; complying with legal process; and responding to requests from public and governmental authorities (including those outside your country of residence);
• Establishing and defending our legal rights;
• Enforcing any applicable Terms of Use and other agreements; and
• Carrying out any other purpose with your consent or as permitted by law.

3. How We Share and Disclose Personal Data

We may share Personal Data with the following categories of recipients:

• With our current and future parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, and other companies under common control and ownership;
• With third-party service providers to provide us with services, such as background checks (including “Anti-Money Laundering” and “Know  Your Customer” checks), professional services (such as accountants, lawyer or consultants), auditing, insurance, IT and telephone services and related infrastructure, website hosting, customer service, e-mail delivery, and other similar services;
• With third parties involved in transactions or other matter we are working on in connection with the Client Services (e.g., law enforcement, tax and regulatory agencies and bodies; insurers)
• In connection with, or during negotiations of, any corporate reorganization, merger, acquisition by another company, or sale of all or substantially all of our business or assets, joint venture, assignment, transfer or other disposition of all or any portion of our business, assets or capital, including in connection with any bankruptcy or similar proceedings;
• With government or law enforcement officials or private parties (including our legal or other professional advisors) as we determine, in our sole and absolute discretion, is necessary to respond to claims or to comply with legal processes, laws, regulations, or ordinances, or to prevent or stop illegal, unethical, or actionable activity; and
• With your consent or at your direction.

In addition, we may use or disclose your Personal Data as we deem necessary or appropriate:

• Pursuant to applicable law, including laws outside your country of residence;
• To respond to requests from public and government authorities including public and government authorities outside your country of residence;
• To comply with subpoenas and other legal processes;
• To pursue available remedies or limit damages we may sustain;
• To protect our operations or those of any of our affiliates;
• To protect the rights, privacy, safety or property of SGP, our affiliates, you and others; and
• To enforce our terms and conditions.

4. How We Store Information

We will only retain your Personal Data for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which we collected it, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. To determine the appropriate retention period for Personal Data, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the Personal Data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorized use or disclosure of your Personal Data, the purposes for which we process your Personal Data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.

In some circumstances we may anonymize your personal information so that it can no longer be associated with you, in which case we may use such information without further notice to you.

5. Transfer of Collected Data

The Services are operated from the United States. If you are located in another jurisdiction, please be aware that the data we collect will be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States. By using the Services and/or providing us with any data, you consent to this transfer, processing, and storage of your data in the United States, a jurisdiction in which the privacy laws may not be as comprehensive as those in the country where you reside. We will take what we believe to be appropriate measures to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy. We will take what we believe to be appropriate measures to ensure that your data is subject to appropriate safeguards and ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

6. Data Security

We use technical and organizational measures to help secure and safeguard your data in our possession. However, no data transmission over the Internet is completely secure and no security mechanism is impenetrable. Therefore, although we take steps to protect your data, we cannot guarantee the security of the data that we collect from you or the security of our servers or the Services. By accessing the Services, any transmission of data is at your own risk and you agree to assume all risk in connection with data sent to

7. Our “Do Not Track” (DNT) Policy

Some websites have “do not track” features that allow you to tell a website not to track you. We do not currently respond to those signals or any similar mechanisms transmitted by web browsers. To learn more about DNT and tracking signals, please visit All About DNT.

8. Communications

We may periodically send you relevant alerts and newsletters by e-mail. To help improve our Marketing Activities, we often receive a confirmation when you open an e-mail or click on a link included in one of these emails, if your computer supports such capabilities. If you no longer want to receive marketing-related e-mails from us on a going-forward basis, you may opt out of receiving these marketing-related emails by clicking on the link to “unsubscribe” provided in each e-mail or by contacting us at the above address. We will endeavor to comply with your opt-out request(s) within a reasonable time period. Please note that if you opt out as described above, we will not be able to remove your Personal Data from the databases of third parties with whom we have already shared your Personal Data (i.e., those to whom we have already provided your Personal Data as of the date on which we respond to your opt-out request). Please also note that if you do opt out of receiving marketing communications from us, we may still send you other important administrative communications from which you cannot opt out.

9. Cookie Notice

Cookies are small text files that are placed on your device by websites that you visit. Cookies are typically used in order to ensure websites work, or work more efficiently, as well as to provide information about website usage.

How We Use Cookies

You can find more information about the types of cookies we use, the purposes for which we use them, and the data we collect with them, in the table below:

For more information about Google analytics cookies, please visit Google’s overview of privacy and safeguarding data at https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6004245?hl=en.

Use of Cookies

The Sites only automatically uses Strictly Necessary cookies to enable you to use the Website and its features and ensure the functionality of the Website.

Upon your consent, the Sites uses performance and analytics, functionality, and persistent cookies for the purposes of providing relevant content, analyzing our traffic, and providing a variety of features to you. You may withdraw your consent to the use of certain cookies (other than Strictly Necessary cookies) any time.  

How to Control Cookies

Most web browsers allow you to control cookie settings (including removing or rejecting cookies), under the “Help” or “Internet Options” sections on your browser. To find out more information on how to control cookies through your web browser, please visit the browser developer’s website. These tracking technology opt-out tools are device and browser specific so you must repeat the opt-out from each of your devices and browsers If you disable or delete certain cookies in your settings, you may not be able to use features of the Sites.

To opt out of Google analytics cookies across all websites, please visit https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

10. Third-Party Websites and Services

Through your use of the Services, you may access, directly or indirectly, other websites or services, including from our service providers, business partners, and other third parties, in each case, that are not owned or controlled by us. These sites operate independently from our Sites. Data collection and use by those third parties is subject to the privacy policies of those third parties. It is up to you to review the terms of use and privacy policies of those third parties. We are not responsible for the content or use of these unrelated sites or how they use any data they collect.

Some content on the Services may be served by third-party content providers and may also use cookies, pixels tags, or other similar tracking technologies to automatically collect data about you, both on the Services and throughout the Internet. We do not control the technologies or policies of those third parties. Data collection and use by those third parties is subject to the privacy policies of those third parties. It is up to you to review the terms of use and privacy policies of those third parties.

11. California Privacy Policy

If you are a resident of California, please review our California Privacy Policy for additional disclosures required by California law.

12. EEA/UK Privacy Notice

If you are a resident of the EEA or UK, please review our EEA/UK Privacy Notice.

13. How to Contact Us

If you no longer want us to use your collected Personal Data as described above, or if you have any queries, questions or concerns about this Privacy Police or our personal data handling practices, please submit a request or contact us at info@smithgoffman.com.

This section of the Privacy Policy describes how we process Personal Data relating to individuals in the European Economic Area (“EEA”) or United Kingdom (“UK”) in accordance with:

• The EU General Data Protection Regulation ((EU) 2016/679) (“EU GDPR”) – in respect of individuals in the EEA; and
• The UK General Data Protection Regulation as defined by the Data Protection Act 2018 as amended by the Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, along with the Data Protection Act 2018 (“UK GDPR”) – in respect of individuals in the UK,

the EU GDPR and the UK GDPR are referred to together as the “Data Protection Legislation”.

This section supplements the other provisions of this Privacy Policy and applies only to individuals in the EEA and the UK. Capitalized terms used but not defined herein have the meaning set forth in the Privacy Policy.

Your Rights

The Data Protection Legislation generally provides individuals with rights in relation to the processing of their Personal Data. These include rights (subject to certain limitations) to information relating to such processing, to access such Personal Data, to object to the processing, to rectify, erase, restrict and to port such Personal Data. You can seek to exercise any of these rights or make any other enquiry about our use of your Personal Data by contacting us at any time using the email address above.

Our aim always is to process Personal Data fairly, lawfully and transparently. However, if you are unhappy with the information provided in this Privacy Policy or have questions or concerns regarding this Privacy Notice please email us at the email address above. If you remain dissatisfied you may raise your unresolved issues directly with the data protection regulator in your jurisdiction. If you are a resident in the EEA, you can find your data protection regulator here: https://ec.europa.eu/justice/data-protection/bodies/authorities/index_en.htm. If you are a resident in the UK, you can find your data protection regulator here: https://ico.org.uk.

Special Category Personal Data

Some of the information you provide us may constitute special category personal data as defined in the Data Protection Legislation (also referred to as special categories of personal data), including identification of your race or ethnicity on government-issued identification documents which we may collect as part of AML and KYC as explained above.

Legal Bases for Processing

We will only use your Personal Data as permitted by the Data Protection Legislation. We are required to inform you of the legal bases of our processing of your Personal Data. We have set out in Section 1 and 2 above the purposes for which we process your Personal Data, and which of the legal bases we rely on to do so.

If we rely on consent as the lawful basis for processing your personal data, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. Your withdrawal of consent will not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before the point at which you withdrew your consent.

If we rely on legitimate interests we make sure we consider and balance any potential impacts on you (both positive and negative) and your rights before we process your Personal Data for our legitimate interests. We do not use your Personal Data for activities where our interests are overridden by any adverse impact on you (unless we have your consent or are otherwise required or permitted to by applicable law).

Change of Purpose

We will only use your Personal Data for the purposes for which we collected it, unless we consider that we need to use it for another purpose and that new purpose is compatible with the original purpose, permitted under the Data Protection Legislation or we have obtained your consent in relation to processing your Personal Data for such new purpose. If you wish to receive an explanation as to how the processing for the new purpose is compatible with the original purpose, please contact us.

If we need to use your Personal Data for a new purpose, we will notify you and we will explain the legal basis which allows us to do so.

Cross-Border Transfer

The Personal Data which we collect from you and which we process for the purposes set out in this Privacy Notice may be held and transferred outside the EEA where appropriate and necessary in accordance with our legitimate interests, such as to the United States in accordance with Section 5 of this Privacy Policy. Personal Data may also be processed by our staff, or by one of our suppliers or agents, operating outside the EEA. Such persons or entities may be engaged in, among other things, the fulfilment of your orders, the processing of your payment details or the provision of support services.

If and when making such transfers outside the EEA we will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your Personal Data is managed securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy and applicable Data Protection Legislation. Please contact us for more information on the specific mechanism used by us when transferring your Personal Data out of the EEA or UK.