Ownership and management

Insider

A person with inside access to a company, such as its executives, board members and largest shareholders.

Why does it matter?

Insiders know the business from the inside, so their purchases and sales of the company's shares are watched by many investors.

How do I read it?

In the U.S., insiders must report their trades to the SEC within days. Trading on important information that isn't public yet, called insider trading, is a crime.

Example

If a company's CEO buys $1 million of its shares, the purchase must be reported to the SEC and becomes public, so anyone can see it.