MyComplianceOffice Blog

Insider dealing is a perennial concern for regulators around the globe. Agencies like the SEC, the FCA, BaFin and the AMF are using the latest technology to detect insider trading, misuse of insider information and market abuse. Regulators increasingly expect as well that firms will have the latest technology in place in order to demonstrate that they are taking a comprehensive and proactive approach to managing access to insider information and employee personal account dealing compliance.

Recent enforcements by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) highlight the need for SGX-listed companies to actively work against conflicts of interest within their organisations and maintain robust corporate compliance processes.

Automating the monitoring of personal trade accounts requires the capture of trade data in an electronic format. Data capture is an important topic and one that is not always fully understood. Typically, firms begin data capture by acquiring direct feeds from the major brokerage firms. This can resolve 60-70% of trade capture needs for US accounts. A good start, but significant challenges remain; the 30-40% of US accounts that are not captured as well as the non-US trading activity, typically 80-90%.

The Hong Kong Securities regulator - The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has suspended the licence of a former licensed representative of Mason Securities Limited (MSL), previously known as GuocoCapital Limited, for misconduct, for 12 months from 28 October 2020 for failing to obtain approval to maintain a securities trading account with an external brokerage, and trading on that account without permission, approval and therefore breaching Mason Securities Personal Account Dealing policy. You can read more on that here.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued Market Watch 62 in October in which the regulator shared its concerns about personal account dealing (PAD), or rather when employees of an authorized firm trade for themselves rather than clients.