Insider trading

The buying and selling of securities based on information which is not in the public domain. Professionals working within financial services often deal with commercially sensitive information about a company’s financial circumstances, growth plans or M&A activity. If they use this information for their own investment purposes or pass it on to associates or family members before it has been made public they could be charged with insider trading. However, trades made after the information is in the public domain are not illegal.

This definition is for general information purposes only