Part A Annotated Guide, 2 The Concept of Insider Dealing

Subject(s):

Insider dealing — Insider trading — Market abuse — Market Abuse Directive (MAD) — Regulated activities

This chapter turns to the controversial issue of insider dealing. It offers a general background for the analytical discussion of the single provisions of the Market Abuse Regulation, before taking a broad view at the evolution of the phenomenon and the legal discourse surrounding it. To that end, this chapter adopts an historical perspective, and compares and contrasts different regulatory approaches (in the US and Europe, which offer a good template for most existing regulatory models). The economic and ethical basis invoked to support—or criticize—the prohibition of insider trading is then discussed. Finally, this chapter also discusses a few open questions or regulatory challenges that might be relevant in the next few years.