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Comment by coliveira | Hacker News Reader

It is funny that high management is never considered to be doing illegal insider trading (except for obvious missteps), but they're the ones responsible for capital allocation, stock/option grants, and all kinds of decisions that will impact financial results in the next quarter.

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And their trades are typically scheduled in advance and public. Their job and fiduciary duty is to maximize shareholder value, and they make decisions so that happens. If that means allocating $ and rewarding people that will attain that goal, then what should be considered illegal?

There is an obvious conflict of interest between the long term stability of the business and the actions necessary for the huge stock/options grants become profitable in the next few quarters. For example, when mergers and acquisitions should be approved, layoffs be announced, dividends increased, etc.

All the real money is in quid pro quo's.

This was just on HN the other day.

  Adam Rogas, who abruptly resigned from NS8 earlier this
  month, is accused of misleading investors who poured in
  $123 million to his company earlier this year, a deal in 
  which he allegedly pocketed more than $17 million.

CEO of Cyber Fraud Startup NS8 Arrested by FBI, Facing Fraud Charges - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24518097

It wasn't insider trading, but it was financial fraud by a ceo.

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