In the past few weeks the media has caught on to the newest regulatory trend - the investigation and review of 10b5-1 plans. These plans, created by the SEC when it adopted Rule 10b5-1 are used by hundreds, if not thousands of executives.
As executive compensation becomes increasingly based on stock options, more and more executives find themselves in an insider trading quagmire when they attempt to sell their securities for reasons having nothing to do with insider trading or their company. Simple investment diversification often mandates such sales.
However, a poorly timed sale can, and has, resulted in an insider trading investigation, as news comes to light in the days, weeks or even months after the sales of stock by insiders.
To help remedy this situation the SEC adopted Rule 10b5-1 and the "10b5-1 Plan" was born. We often assist executives and brokerage firms in the creation and execution of such plans, and a properly adopted plan can provide an excellent defense to an insider trading allegation. Simply put, the plans are detailed, specific plans that are designed to let executives sell off shares at regular intervals, regardless of events inside the company at the time of the sales.
The problem with the plans however is in the execution, and in the fact that some executives attempt to cancel their plan, or accelerate the plan. Of course, modification of the plan mid-stream is counter-productive, and lessens the benefits provided by the plan.
Rumors are circulating that the SEC is making informal inquiries into the creation and operation of 10b5-1 plans at various brokerage firms, and asking for detailed information regarding trades executed under such plans.
The source of that buzz might be the insider trading trial of Joseph Nacchio, the former CEO of Qwest Communications International. According to press reports, Mr. Nacchio entered into a 10b5-1 plan, which provided that he would sell off shares in Qwest at a rate of 11,500 shares a day.
However, Mr. Nacchio stopped the plan two weeks after he entered into it, and then started selling shares at a significantly faster rate. According to the complaint, as reported by the Wall Street Journal, he sold over 49 million dollars of stock
in three weeks. The trial is proceeding, and the prosecution is still putting on its case.
Regardless of the actual facts, the case points out the importance of a well drafted 10b5-1 plan, and the faithful execution of that plan. Alternatively, a change in that plan needs to be drafted with great care.
And if Mr. Nacchio's predicament were not enough motivation, Linda Thompsen, the head of enforcement at the SEC has stated "[w]e're looking at this -- hard," according to the WSJ. The quote continues - "[w]e want to make sure people are not doing here what they were doing with stock options," referring to the mushrooming scandal of executives manipulating the dates they were granted stock options to maximize their profits.
The link in the title is to the WSJ article, but the issue is not simply one for the executives. Brokers who are creating these plans and modifying them, may be opening themselves up for potential regulatory action as the SEC continues its review of the plans, and the operation of those plans.
Call my office to review your plan, before Ms. Thompsen and her group are knocking at your door.
