Insider trading is the trading of a corporation's stock or other securities by individuals with potential access to non-public information about the company. Securities fraud, also known as stock fraud and investment fraud, is a practice in which investors make purchase or sale decisions on the basis of false information. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is an independent agency of the United States government which holds primary responsibility for enforcing the federal securities laws and regulating the securities industry, the nation's stock and options exchanges, and other electronic securities markets.
The specific aims of financial regulators are usually; enforce applicable laws, prosecute cases,, license providers, protect clients, investigate complaints, and maintain confidence. In the United States, for mandatory reporting purposes, corporate insiders are defined as a company's officers, directors and any beneficial owners of more than ten percent of a class of the company's equity securities