Shorting A Company You Work For?

Nowler

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Hey Folks!

Can I legally short the company I work for?
Or a company I used to work for?
 
like most questions..it depends!
the company you work for will likely have "closed" periods in which any trading of its shares is prohibited. this should be communicated to you. if its not, i'd still ask
not all companies will close for all employees, often its if you have information to anything sensitive, such as its financial information, or company results information such as turnover compared to last year

if there is no restriction, you are good to go
 
Thanks for the input mate.

Well they are suggesting that employees get in on a share buying scheme, so surely if they are happy for us to buy shares, we should also be allowed to short them.

My reason isn't due to seeing any confidential papers or such.
I just think it's a very badly run company that neglects to update it's equipment.
And now that the government have stepped in to reduce the amount that can be staked (I work in a bookies) down to £2 on gaming machines, their income is going to drop sharply, leaving them in a position where the issue of replacing equipment will be exacerbated.

It's also being said that 900 shops are closing, but this is not insider information. It's just something floating around.

PS:
So less earnings that are not temporary, bad management...
I reckon there's money to be made shorting them. At least in the short term.
 
Don't do it dude, at the very least it is unethical. I remember that when I was preparing for the CFA exam, this specific example came up.

Once you're short the stock, your interest is no longer aligned with the company's interest. In fact, you could potentially profit from sabotaging or just doing a bad job.

Should the stock tank, you'll be one of the first people to be investigated by the regulator.
 
Thanks for the input mate.

Well they are suggesting that employees get in on a share buying scheme, so surely if they are happy for us to buy shares, we should also be allowed to short them.

My reason isn't due to seeing any confidential papers or such.
I just think it's a very badly run company that neglects to update it's equipment.
And now that the government have stepped in to reduce the amount that can be staked (I work in a bookies) down to £2 on gaming machines, their income is going to drop sharply, leaving them in a position where the issue of replacing equipment will be exacerbated.

It's also being said that 900 shops are closing, but this is not insider information. It's just something floating around.

PS:
So less earnings that are not temporary, bad management...
I reckon there's money to be made shorting them. At least in the short term.

trading your company's shares means both buying and selling/shorting. as long as they are not in a closed period, as i said you're good to trade freely as you see fit. only should you hold information not privy to anyone else, the FCA will not come anywhere near you
 
Yeah, you're right...
While working there probably isnt smart.

However,
I just handed in my notice. Enough is enough.

So how about shorting a company I used to work for?

The information for the trade is due to factors easily attained by the public, plus seeing how badly run the company is after being employed there a year.
 
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I don't see any issue in shorting a company you used to work for, if you don't have insider info. Don't know anything about the legal side though.
 
Well I guess the question then is whether basing my trade off knowing how badly run the company is (because I worked there), is considered insider information...
 
Maybe I should just leave it alone.
Because, if I'm being honest, there is some emotion involved. I hope they go bankrupt...

But I do feel I can justify the trade on merit alone.
But then that is covered in a bit of doubt over whether it's considered insider info...

Yes, I know they are in trouble because I worked there. But I wasnt told about any business plans. It's just based off observation of things falling apart. Which technically the customer can see too when waiting on the tills to start working again.
 
Hey Folks!

Can I legally short the company I work for?
Or a company I used to work for?
No worries dude. I used to trade options on Thomson Reuters when I worked there. I declared to my broker (Charles Schwab) that I worked for them and they didn't have a problem with it.
 
Hey N

sure short it ....but wait for technicals to support the move ..?...you'd be amazed how long sometimes things take to filter through .....also the market may have already factored in a lot of this .?......so check technicals / patterns again

good hunting
N
 
Cheers folks!
I havent actually looked at the technicals of the stock yet, but will do when I get back from my trip to Ireland.

I reckon the first earnings report after the gaming machine stake change will negatively impact William Hill stock. It's got to! It's a huge amount of money that's no longer coming in.

Yes, some is already priced in, but from what I can see, management are seriously lacking. Granted, I'm just seeing the tip of the iceberg, but if the top dogs allow those clowns to be managers, then that puts a question mark over their heads, in my opinion.

Let's see how it plays out :)
I wonder if the closure of 900 shops will be negative for their stock, or be seen as a positive move (trimming the dead weight).
Let's not forget that the tax for their online income has been increased also.
 
Cheers folks!
I havent actually looked at the technicals of the stock yet, but will do when I get back from my trip to Ireland.

I reckon the first earnings report after the gaming machine stake change will negatively impact William Hill stock. It's got to! It's a huge amount of money that's no longer coming in.

Yes, some is already priced in, but from what I can see, management are seriously lacking. Granted, I'm just seeing the tip of the iceberg, but if the top dogs allow those clowns to be managers, then that puts a question mark over their heads, in my opinion.

Let's see how it plays out :)
I wonder if the closure of 900 shops will be negative for their stock, or be seen as a positive move (trimming the dead weight).
Let's not forget that the tax for their online income has been increased also.


unless theres no other grave underlying news and assuming the press release gives a positive spin on the restructure thne assume it will tick the price nortrh for a while anyway
 
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