The article studies compliance with insider trading regulations of the Ontario Securities Act (OSA) and the Toronto Stock Exchange. In contrast to the scarcity of prosecutions, we find large-scale evidence of insider trading and reporting violations. For example, from 1987 to 2000, approximately 50 percent of firms engaging in stock buybacks do not disclose their trades to the Ontario Securities Commission as required under the OSA. Furthermore, the volume of insider trading is much higher than expected before material news announcements. We offer a number of policy prescriptions to improve compliance.
机构:
Univ Massachusetts, Dept Econ, Amherst, MA 01003 USA
Univ Massachusetts, Sch Publ Policy, Amherst, MA 01003 USAUniv Massachusetts, Dept Econ, Amherst, MA 01003 USA