WORD OF THE DAY® for Hedge Funds – 10b5-1 Plan
On June 23, 2025, U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer of the Central District of California sentenced a former Chairman and CEO of a behavioral healthcare company to 42 months in federal prison. This conviction represents the...more
Here’s the deal: • A Rule 10b5‐1 plan is a written securities trading plan that is designed to comply with Rule 10b5‐1(c) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)....more
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continued its significant focus on public companies in 2023 with its enforcement and rulemaking programs, and this heightened level of attention will continue throughout 2024....more
Yesterday, the SEC announced a settled action against Charter Communications for “violating internal accounting controls requirements when it engaged in stock buybacks not authorized by its board of directors.” More...more
As discussed in our prior publication (found here), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments on December 14, 2022, regarding Rule 10b5-1 insider trading plans and related disclosures. On May 25, 2023,...more
Each year, the Department of Justice ("DOJ"), the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), and in recent years, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") dedicate substantial resources to investigating and...more
In December 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments to Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act). These amendments added new conditions to the availability of the...more
A few months after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) finalized amendments to address perceived abuses of corporate insider trading plans (known as "10b5-1 trading plans"), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)...more
The Commission created Rule 10b5-1 plans two decades ago. The rule essentially creates a safe haven for those who in good faith trade securities and are not in possession of inside information....more
Government officials, especially those in SEC Enforcement, have been making noise about the potential for insider trading abuse of Rule 10b5-1 plans since at least 2007, when then-SEC Enforcement Chief Linda Thomsen expressed...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: New SEC rules aiming to curb insider trading by directors and officers of public companies took effect on February 27, 2023....more
In what seems destined to be a landmark Delaware Court of Chancery decision, Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster denied former McDonald’s Executive Vice President and Global Chief People Officer David Fairhurst’s motion to...more
On December 14, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) adopted final rules (the “Final Rules”) which will affect trading by directors and officers of listed issuers and disclosure about such...more
On December 14th, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted a series of amendments to Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. In sum, the amendments accomplish the following...more
[This post revises and updates my earlier post primarily to provide a more detailed discussion of the contents of the adopting release.] - At an open meeting in December last year—happy new year!—the SEC voted to adopt...more
In December 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments to Exchange Act Rule 10b5-1, the rule that provides an affirmative defense to claims of insider trading for persons acquiring or disposing of...more
Summary - The Securities and Exchange Commission on December 14, 2022, adopted final rules to amend Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (Exchange Act). The amendments apply a cooling-off...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission has long focused on pursuing potential insider trading violations, and its recent enforcement efforts serve as a stark reminder that the Commission has made insider trading cases a...more
On December 14, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) unanimously adopted amendments to Rule 10b5-1 and related regulations governing "10b5-1 Plans." 10b5-1 Plans enable (1) public company insiders to sell their...more
On December 14, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) adopted amendments bolstering the conditions to be met in order for a person to rely on the affirmative defense from insider trading available...more
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on December 14, 2022, finalized amendments to Rule 10b5-1 that will both amend the Rule 10b5-1(c)(1) affirmative defense to insider trading liability and create new disclosure...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in a rare unanimous vote, adopted amendments to Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act) and new disclosure requirements to enhance investor...more
On December 14, the SEC adopted long-awaited amendments to Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act that add new conditions for a trading arrangement to qualify for the rule’s affirmative defense against Rule 10b-5 liability for...more
On December 14, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) adopted new rules (i) implementing additional conditions for insiders to rely on the affirmative defense for Rule 10b5-1 trading plans (“10b5-1 plans”)...more
On December 14, 2022, the SEC adopted final rules amending Rule 10b5-1, the safe harbor that allows directors, executive officers and others, including issuers, to engage in securities transactions while in possession of...more