Insider Trading: Avoiding the Misuse of Material Non-Public Information

Peter Mixon co-wrote an article on Insider Trading: Avoiding the Misuse of Material Non-Public Information with Joseph Indelicato, General Counsel of the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System, that was published in the October 2018 issue of The NAPPA Report, a quarterly publication sent to members of the National Association of Public Pension Attorneys (NAPPA).

In the article, Peter and Joseph explain how laws designed to prevent insider trading could be applied to public pension systems and their employees.  Specifically, they review the anti-fraud provisions of federal securities statutes and the regulations promulgated thereunder by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), from which public pension systems are not exempt. 

In addition to proprietary trading violations, Peter and Joseph point out that public pension systems also face potential secondary exposure if they fail to properly oversee employees who engage in insider trading. They go on to explore the key issues at stake in the Alabama Retirement Systems investigation, and they look at policies that some large state pension plans (such as the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System) are adopting to limit their exposure to these insider trading risks.