Today's edition of the Wall Street Journal carried a front page story regarding a federal lawsuit that has been filed against a software manufacturer for monopolistic practices. The CFO of the company called his broker today and sold some of the shares he owns in the company. Which of the following statements are true?
I. The CFO is guilty of illegal insider trading.
II. If the agent who effected the transaction for the CFO knew he was CFO of the software company, the agent is guilty of illegal insider trading.
III. The broker-dealer for whom the agent works may have its license suspended or revoked if its agent has knowingly executed this illegal insider trade for not having supervised the agent properly.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

If the CFO called his broker and sold some of the shares he owns today, none of the statements is true. Insider trading is only illegal if the insider trades on information that the public does not yet have. In this case, the information has already been made publicly available, so no one has done anything illegal. Insiders to the company are allowed to buy and sell shares of their firm's stock as long as they are not acting on private information.

Today's Edition of the Wall Street Journal Carried a Front