Person who, owing to his/her position or occupation, has access to non-public information regarding company developments
According to sections 13 and 14 of the Securities Trading Act, enacted on 26 July 1994, insiders are persons who,
- as members of the executive or supervisory bodies, or as personally liable partners of either the issuer or a company affiliated with the issuer;
- as investors with an equity participation in the issuing company or a company affiliated with the issuer; or
- owing to their profession, activities or tasks, have access to inside information.
Inside information is any knowledge pertaining to an issuer of insider securities, or to insider securities themselves, that has not been made public, and which could have a considerable impact on the price of the insider securities if it were publicly announced. Insiders who abuse this situation by trading on the basis of such knowledge create unfair advantages for themselves with respect to other market participants. For this reason, the Securities Trading Act provides for a ban on insider trading. A violation of this ban is punishable with a prison term of up to five years or a fine.
The Securities Trading Act differentiates between persons with direct access to inside information (primary insiders) and those who have acquired inside information indirectly (secondary insiders).
Exchange trading and OTC trading in insider securities is constantly monitored by the Federal Supervisory Office for Securities Trading (BAFin).
