The introduction of a proactive approach aims to reduce the occurrence of insider dealing as much as possible. This can be achieved by restricting the flow of information between conglomerate departments. For example, information gained by the marketing division should not be passed on to the investment division. This restriction may have a negative effect on financial conglomerates as it will restrict the liaison between internal departments, but not to the extent that it should be abandoned (McVea, 1993, p. 350). Furthermore, this policy will be effective in terms of reducing insider dealing among financial conglomerates rather than all the quoted companies and individuals involved. This can be complemented by a more holistic approach which is forcing companies listed on the stock market to disclose all information once they gain it. This will eliminate the benefit of trading upon inside information as it will be known to the public immediately. Disclosure and transparency as two rules to which companies have to adhere are already imposed in many markets; however, not efficiently enough to eliminate the occurrence of insider dealing. Margaret Cole (2007), the director of enforcement at the FSA, asserts that the FSA ‘put a significant emphasis’ on proactive policies such as ensuring ‘a steady flow of information’. The FSA in this sense has accomplished encouraging results. Figures show that the level of undesirable activities, including insider dealing, plummeted from 19.6% in 1998-2000 to 2% in 2004-2005 (Cole, 2007). This reduction is clearly the result of the proactive measures. Yet, the figures also show no reduction in illegal activities when it comes to dealing upon information to do with mergers an acquisitions, and this is mainly due to the huge number of people involved in such a process, and therefore the higher likelihood of information leakage (ibid.). However, the FSA is working on coordinating between the different parties in order to overcome this issue. Despite this, the overall reduction shows that the FSA succeeded in preventing a great deal of insider dealing from taking place. This means that a proactive approach can be effective and Marine’s argument in this regard is no longer valid.
Conclusion
In conclusion, a perfect market where no kind of wrongdoing is taking place can be an unrealistic ambition. Nevertheless, market regulators ought to do their utmost in combating all forms of wrongdoing in order to provide the highest possible level of market integrity, which will attract investors from all over the world. Insider dealing as a form of wrongdoing, as previously mentioned, is rather controversial. Many lawyers and economists believe that insider dealing is efficient and beneficial not only for insiders, but also for outsiders. This argument was not compelling enough to persuade major economies such as the USA, UK and Japan to legalize the controversial crime. Rather, those countries and many others opted to fight insider trading and follow the argument that insider dealing is neither efficient nor beneficial for outsiders. When doing this, the supporters of legal insider trading believe that regulators and authorities will be spending a great deal of money and time in vain. They are convinced that even if insider trading were to be regulated, there are no means to combat it. This is mainly due to the complexity of this action and the elements that constitute it. However, although insider dealing is an extremely difficult action to detect, combating it can be achieved by preventing it. This approach has shown great results in the UK market. Yet this policy can be developed to be more effective and less harmful to companies, as they may be affected by the restricted liaison between different departments. In other words, a proactive approach is the right solution and regulators ought to work on improving this policy in terms of both preventing insider dealing and not affecting the performance of organizations. This task, despite being extremely difficult, has to be done, as regulators ought to do their utmost to provide the highest possible level of market integrity.
Bibliography
Boudreaux, D. J. (2003). Insider-trading prohibitions should go out of style. Retrieved August 28, 2008, from www.ff.org/comment/com0306fasp
Cole, M. (2007). Insider dealing in the city. Retrieved September 3, 2008, from www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Library/Communication/Speeches/2007/0317mc.shtml McVea, H.(1993). Financial conglomerates and the Chinese Wall Regulation conflict of interest. Oxford: Claredon Press.
Suter, J. (1989). The regulation of insider dealing in Britain. London:Butterworths.
APPENDIX 2: Compiling a bibliography
Appendix 3: Self-evaluation checklist.
The work you do in this book, as well as on other aspects of your course, will help you develop these skills. Tick the appropriate box for each skill, according to how well you feel you can do this. From time to time, look again at this checklist and decide whether you have made progress with any of these skills.
Skills
Do not know about this
Find this difficult/cannot do this
Can partially do this
Can do this well
Looking for information
Identify which books/journals/websites to use
Select relevant parts of a text
Evaluate sources
Using sources
Acknowledge sources of information
Synthesize information from more than one source
Write a bibliography correctly
Avoid plagiarism
Planning/Writing
Brainstorm ideas
Plan written work
Organize text
Link ideas effectively
Summarize ideas
Paraphrase ideas
Write an introduction
Write a conclusion
Critically edit written work
*You may not require all the skills mentioned – there is some variation from department to department