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CODE OF BUSINESS CONDUCT AND
ETHICS FOR MEMBERS OF THE BOARD
OF DIRECTORS, OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES
Adopted
by the Board of Directors on August
24, 2004
The Board of Directors (the “Board”)
of NGP Capital Resources Company
(the “Fund”) has adopted
the following Code of Business Conduct
and Ethics for members of the Board,
officers, and employees of the Fund
(this “Code”). This
Code is intended to focus the Board,
each Director, Officer, and employee
on areas of ethical risk, provide
guidance to Directors, Officers,
and employees to help them recognize
and deal with ethical issues, provide
mechanisms to report unethical conduct,
and help foster a culture of honesty
and accountability. Each Director,
Officer, and employee must comply
with the letter and spirit of this
Code.
No code or policy can anticipate
every situation that may arise.
Accordingly, this Code is intended
to serve as a source of guiding
principles for Directors, Officers,
and employees. Directors, Officers,
and employees are encouraged to
bring questions about particular
circumstances that may implicate
one or more of the provisions of
this Code to the attention of the
Chair of the Audit Committee, who
may consult with legal counsel as
appropriate.
Directors,
Officers, and employees of the Fund
should read and comply with this
Code in conjunction with the Fund’s
Code of Ethics and Insider Trading
Policy.
1. Conflict of Interest
A “conflict of interest”
occurs when a Director’s,
Officer’s, or employee’s
private interest interferes in any
way, or appears to interfere, with
the interests of the Fund as a whole.
Conflicts of interest arise when
a Director, Officer, Employee or
a member of his or her immediate
family, receives improper personal
benefits as a result of his or her
position as a Director, Officer,
or employee of the Fund or of NGP
Investment Advisor, LP, the Fund’s
Investment Advisor (“NGPIA”).
Loans or guarantees of obligations
may create conflicts of interest.
Therefore, the Fund shall not make
any personal loans or extensions
of credit to nor become contingently
liable for any indebtedness of Directors
or Officers or any members of their
families.
Directors, Officers, and employees
must avoid conflicts of interest
with the Fund. Any situation that
involves, or may reasonably be expected
to involve, a conflict of interest
with the Fund must be disclosed
immediately to the Chair of the
Audit Committee or to the attending
of the individual designated in
Section II below.
This Code does not attempt to describe
all possible conflicts of interest
which could develop. Some of the
more common conflicts from which
Directors, Officers, and employees
must refrain, however, are set out
below:
·
Relationship of Fund with third
parties. Directors, Officers, and
employees may not engage in any
conduct or activities that are inconsistent
with the Fund’s best interests
or that disrupt or impair the Fund’s
relationship with any person or
entity with which the Fund has or
proposes to enter into an investment,
business or contractual relationship.
·
Compensation from non-Fund sources.
Directors, Officers, and employees
may not accept compensation, in
any form, for services performed
for the Fund from any source other
than the Fund. Notwithstanding,
Directors and Officers may accept
board fees and non-employee director
stock options from portfolio companies,
if such fees and options are offered
by the portfolio company to all
non-employee directors and disclosed
to the Fund and its Audit Committee.
·
Gifts. Directors, Officers, employees
and members of their families may
not offer, give or receive gifts
from persons or entities who deal
with the Fund or its portfolio companies,
in those cases where any such gift
is being made in order to influence
the Directors’ or Officers’
actions as members of the Board
and senior management of the Fund
or its portfolio companies, or where
acceptance of the gifts could create
the appearance of a conflict of
interest.
2.
Insider Trading
Officers,
Directors, and employees who have
access to confidential information
are not permitted to use or share
that information for stock trading
purposes or for any other purpose
except the conduct of our business.
All non-public information about
the Fund and its portfolio companies
should be considered confidential
information. To use non-public information
for personal financial benefit or
to “tip” others who
might make an investment decision
on the basis of this information
is not only unethical but also illegal.
Please consult the Fund’s
policy on insider trading for additional
policies related hereto.
3.
Corporate Opportunities
Directors, Officers, and employees
owe a duty to the Fund to advance
its legitimate interests when the
opportunity to do so arises. When
an opportunity that relates to the
Fund’s business has been presented
to the Directors solely by the Fund,
NGPIA or their agents, Officers
and Directors are prohibited from:
(a) taking for themselves personally
opportunities that are discovered
through the use of the Fund’s
property or information, or the
Director’s, Officer’s,
and employee’s position with
the Fund or NGPIA; (b) using the
Fund’s property, information,
or position for personal gain; or
(c) personally competing with the
Fund, directly or indirectly, for
business opportunities. However,
if it has been determined that the
Fund will not pursue an opportunity
presented to the Fund, a Director,
Officer, or employee may pursue
such opportunity if such involvement
is fully disclosed to the Fund and
its Audit Committee and does not
interfere with the fulfillment of
the Director’s, Officer’s,
and employee’s responsibility
to the Fund.
4. Record-Keeping
The
Fund requires honest and accurate
recording and reporting of information
in order to make responsible business
decisions. All of the Fund’s
books, records, accounts and financial
statements must be maintained in
reasonable detail, must appropriately
reflect the Fund’s transactions
and must conform both to applicable
legal requirements and to the Fund’s
system of internal controls. Periodic
and other reports (financial and
otherwise) to federal, state, and
local government agencies must present
a full, fair, accurate, timely,
and understandable disclosure of
the Fund. Business records and communications
should avoid exaggeration, derogatory
remarks, guesswork, or inappropriate
characterizations of people and
companies. This applies equally
to e-mail, internal memos, and formal
reports. Records should always be
retained or destroyed according
to the Fund’s record retention
policies.
5.
Confidentiality
Directors,
Officers, and employees must maintain
the confidentiality of information
entrusted to them by the Fund or
its portfolio companies, and any
other confidential information about
the Fund or its portfolio companies
that comes to them, from whatever
source, in their capacity as Director,
Officer, or employee except when
disclosure is authorized or required
by laws or regulations. Confidential
information includes all non-public
information that might be of use
to competitors, or harmful to the
Fund or its portfolio companies,
if disclosed.
6. Protection and Proper Use of
Fund Assets
Theft, carelessness and waste of
assets have a direct impact on the
Fund’s profitability. Directors,
Officers, and employees shall protect
the Fund’s assets and ensure
their efficient use. All Fund assets
shall be used only for legitimate
business purposes, and any suspected
incident of fraud or theft should
be immediately reported for investigation.
7.
Fair Dealing
The
conduct required by fair dealing
requires honesty in fact and the
observance of reasonable commercial
standards of fair dealing. Directors,
Officers, and employees shall deal
fairly and honestly with the Fund’s
other Directors, Officers, and employees,
portfolio companies (including the
members of management thereof) vendors
and co-investors. No Director, Officer,
or employee should do anything that
could be interpreted as dishonest
or outside reasonable commercial
standards of fair dealing. Directors,
Officers, and employees should act
at all times in good faith, responsibly,
with due care, competence and diligence,
and without misrepresentation of
any material facts.
8. Compliance with Laws, Rules
and Regulations
Directors, Officers, and employees
shall comply, and oversee compliance
by other Directors, Officers, and
employees with all laws, rules and
regulations applicable to the Fund.
9. Waivers of this Code of Business
Conduct and Ethics
Changes
in or waivers of this Code may be
made only by the Board of Directors
of the Fund or, in the case of any
change in or waiver of this Code
for any of the Officers, only by
the independent directors on the
Board of Directors of the Fund.
All changes in or waivers of this
Code for Officers will be promptly
disclosed as required by law or
stock exchange regulations.
10.
Encouraging the Reporting of any
Illegal or Unethical Behavior
Directors,
Officers, and employees should promote
ethical behavior and take steps
to create a working environment
at the Fund and NGPIA that: (a)
encourages employees to talk to
supervisors, managers and other
appropriate personnel when in doubt
about the best course of action
in a particular situation; (b) encourages
employees to report violations of
laws, rules, regulations or this
Code to appropriate personnel; and
(c) fosters the understanding among
employees that the Fund and NGPIA
will not permit retaliation for
reports made in good faith.
11.
Failure to Comply; Compliance Procedures
A
failure by any Director, Officer,
or employee to comply with the laws
or regulations governing the Fund’s
business, this Code or any other
Fund policy or requirement may result
in disciplinary action, and, if
warranted, legal proceedings. Directors,
Officers, or employees should communicate
any suspected violations of this
Code promptly to the Chair of the
Audit Committee of the Board. Please
call the Fund at 713-752-0062 for
contact information. If you prefer
to write, address your concerns
to: Chair of the Audit Committee,
NGP Capital Resources Company, 1200
Smith Street, Suite 1600, Houston,
Texas 77002. Violations will be
investigated by the Audit Committee
or by a person or persons designated
by the Audit Committee and appropriate
action will be taken in the event
of any violations of this Code.
12.
Annual Review
Annually,
each Director, Officer, and employee
shall provide written certification
that he or she has read and understands
this Code and its contents and that
he or she has not violated, and
is not aware that any other Director,
Officer, or employee has violated,
this Code.
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