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Tom, good synopsis of the legal aspects involved. I totally agree with you about level playing fields. Unfortunately, it ain't ever gonna happen. Life's not fair. Do we get invited to the Montgomery/H&Q/Robby Stephens conferences to talk to mgmt? No. Do analysts call us first to let us know the changes in opinions? If we're lucky CNBC tells us before the days out. I remember one metaphor for what is insider dope that used to be illustrative, but may have changed since the "misappropriation" case you mentioned. If A, an insider, is playing golf with B, and tells him to buy XYZ because they've got a big contract in the bag, then B would be guilty of insider trading. If C, the caddy, overhears them talking and buys , he's not guilty, but this apparently hinges on his not knowing that A is an insider. To extrapolate to chat rooms, if High Fiiv says short WSYS because of a pending SEC investigation, and I make money on that info if it turns out to be true, then I've traded on rumor, and not on inside info, unless High Fiiv is known to me to be an insider. I think. See your legal beagle for definitive answers, or trade off your own research. |
