FAQ
1. What are insider trading reports and who are insiders?
2. Is Insider Trading Legal?
3. What is the INK Edge Outlook feature?
4. What is the INK Edge Outlook track record?
5. When does the INK Canadian Insider Index underperform other major indexes and when does it work best?
6. I can't find a company on your system, why not?
7. Why are insider-trading reports important?
8. Should I simply do what the insiders do?
9. Where can I read more about insider trading reports and stock returns?
10. What are some ways to use insider trading reports?
11. Do you have any tutorial videos?
12. What is INK's in-house trading policy?
13. Does INK Research accept payment for stock coverage?
14. How do I make changes to my account, update my credit card, or change my membership level?
1. What are insider trading reports and who are insiders?
The definition of an "insider" includes CEO's, CFO's, and others as outlined in National Instrument 55-104 and its companion policy (55-104CP). In our view, basically anyone who has access to material information about the company and who can influence the direction of the firm must file insider reports. In addition, generally anybody or organization that owns or has claims on 10% or more of a company's equity is also an insider and must file insider trading reports although there are some important exceptions for eligible institutional investors through National Instrument 62-103 (Part 4). In addition, an issuer will have to file insider trading reports if it buys back its own shares.

Securities regulations in Canada generally require corporate insiders of publicly listed companies to report the details of all their buys and sells of company securities within 5 days of a transaction. Insider reports are filed electronically into the national System of Electronic Disclosure by Insiders (SEDI) and reported by INK on this web site.

Insiders must report transactions done both on and off stock exchanges in any securities issued by a reporting issuer or in derivatives that result in a claim on securities issued by the company. So, the requirements cover not only stocks, but also warrants, options and other derivatives.

Investors should be aware that there are a number of exceptions to the 5 day reporting rule. In particular, companies engaging in buy-backs have until the 10th day of the following month to report their public-market transactions. Some employee stock plan purchases can be exempted from the 5 day rule. There are also important exemptions available for certain 10% holders such as mutual funds who can be given relief under National Instrument 62-103 (Part 4) from reporting on SEDI and instead file Alternative Monthly Reports on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).

This discussion is not meant to be an exhaustive or legal summary of insider reporting in Canada. For more information on the definition of insiders and insider reporting obligations as well as links to National Instrument 55-104 and its companion policy, please refer to the package provided by the Alberta Securities Commission on insider reporting and exemptions. Those looking for detailed information with respect to insider reporting as governed by Ontario, please consult information available on the Ontario Securities Commission web site.

The Canadian Securities Administrators have provided an explanation of Nature of Transaction codes available here. A more extensive glossary of reporting terms is available here.

An explanation of SEC transaction codes can be found in the Form 4 instruction document (PDF) here.
2. Is Insider Trading Legal?
Company insiders have the right to buy and sell securities in their own firm so long as they are complying with securities laws and rules. This means, for example, that they cannot trade in their own securities when they are in possession of "material" non-public information, such as a pending take-over bid.
3. What is the INK Edge Outlook feature?

On the INK Research website and in our PDF company reports found on our websites, for each company you will see an INK Edge Outlook box. The INK Edge Outlook is a quantitative process that ranks a stock based on our V.I.P. criteria:
  1. Valuations: how a stock compares to other stocks based on traditional valuation measures including P/E, Price-to-book, price-to-sales and dividend yield.
  2. Insider commitment: officer and director buying activity, including number of active insiders buying and executive holdings.
  3. Price momentum: a stock's relative strength over multiple time frames.
INK Edge Outlook combines rankings in the 3 V.I.P. categories on an equal basis to assign a composite ranking to a stock. The objective is to identify which group of stocks are most likely to out or under-perform over the next year on a portfolio basis.

Stocks are assigned one of 5 rankings. From the most attractive group to least attractive group, INK Edge Overall Outlook conditions are:
  • Sunny (most favourable)
  • Mostly Sunny
  • Mixed
  • Cloudy
  • Rainy (least favourable)
Based on historical experience, a portfolio of Sunny stocks is expected to outperform a portfolio of stocks in the Rainy category on average over the next 12 months. Results may vary over time, and past success of a strategy does not guarantee positive performance in the future.
4. What is the INK Edge Outlook track record?
The institutional-oriented INK Canadian Insider Index uses the INK Edge process and it serves as a real-time track record. The index went live on November 14, 2014, and the history goes back to November 25, 2004. You can download the complete history at our index page index.inkresearch.com where we also provide real-time performance updates along with key characteristics.
5. When does the INK Canadian Insider Index underperform other major indexes and when does it work best?
While financial markets are always risky, we believe risks facing the Index tend to rise when faced with the combination of both tight government fiscal policies and radical central bank policies such as bond market manipulation via quantitative easing. This combination reinforces a deflationary environment where long-term rates are compressed by policymakers favouring bonds and bond proxies such as big technology stocks. In contrast, we have found the INK Canadian Insider Index works well during periods of heightened inflation. The Canadian Insider Index has a high correlation with inflation expectations which in part reflects the opportunity set available in the Canadian market which has substantial exposure to resource and financial stocks.

INK Canadian Insider Index (past 12 months)

6. I can't find a company on your system, why not?
There may be some companies or insiders that do not show up on our system. While each case is different, one of the most common reasons for not being able to find an entry is that we cannot track companies or insiders that do not have SEDI (electronic) filings. If the insider or company is still in a transition period from paper filings to SEDI, a record will not show on our data base until a SEDI filing is made.
7. Why are insider-trading reports important?
Academic studies using US data suggest that corporate insiders may earn above normal profits on their trades (For example, see Lakonishok and Lee, "Are Insider Trades Informative?" The Review of Financial Studies, spring 2001). The findings suggest that company insiders, as a group, may be better informed than the average investor about the prospects for their respective firms. Other US studies (see FAQ#9) have found that insider buying tends to provide better information than insider selling. Please keep in mind, however, there is no guarantee that results from these US studies will be duplicated in Canada in the future.
8. Should I simply do what the insiders do?
While we believe insider activity can be an important screen and a potential indicator of a company's prospects, it is not a stand alone indicator. It is important to keep in mind that academic research has shown that following insider buying signals in isolation can result in holding stocks with both losses and gains. In the past, a few "big wins" among stocks with insider buying has been shown to compensate for the inevitable number of stocks that still go down despite insider buying. It is best to use insider trading data to identify potentially profitable trading ideas by incorporating insider signals into an overall portfolio strategy and due diligence process. We recommend that insider trading data be used in an investment process that considers a range of elements such as company fundamentals, sentiment and technical analysis. Fortunately, insider signals can be used by either contrarian (value) or momentum (growth) investors. For an overview, please see our Investing Style guide.
9. Where can I read more about insider trading and stock returns?
Books:
  • Moreland, Jonathan.  Profit From Legal Insider Trading.  Dearborn Financial Publishing, 2000.
  • Seyhun, H. Nejat.  Investing Intelligence from Insider Trading.  The MIT Press, 1998.
  • Taulli, Tom.  "Chapter 11."  The Edgar ® Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.  J.Ross Publishing.
Articles:
  • Beneish, M.D. and Mark E. Vargus.  "Insider Trading, Earnings Quality and Accrual Mispricing."  The Accounting Review (October 2002): 755-791.
  • Cohen, L., Malloy, C. and Pomorski, L.  "Decoding Inside Information". (October 2010). Available at NBER.
  • Lakonishok, J. and F. Lee.  "Are Insider Trades Informative?"  The Review of Financial Studies (spring 2001).
  • Miller, Edward M.  "Investment Intelligence from Insider Trading."  The Journal of Social, Political and Economic Studies (winter 1999): 477-484.
  • Purnanandam, Amiyatosh K. and Hasan Nejat Seyhun.  "Shorts and Insiders." (July 30, 2007). Available at SSRN.
  • Scott, J. and P. Xu.  "Some Insider Sales Are Positive."  The Financial Analysts Journal (May/June 2004): 45-51.

New research is being produced all the time. Investors may want to periodically search the Social Science Research Network data base at www.ssrn.com
10. What are some ways to use insider trading reports?
We have developed an Investing Style guide that discusses some of the potential ways insider trading data can be applied to different investment styles. Please take a look in the Getting Started section.
11. Do you have any tutorial videos?

If you are an INK Research member subscriber or want to find out more about our website service, visit our Video Tutorials page to better understand the INK Edge process and capitalize on all the features of the INK website.

To learn more about INK Research PDF reports found on Canadianinsider.com, Insidertracking.com, INK Chat and select distribution platforms, visit our dedicated INK PDF Reports Tutorial page.

12. What is INK's in-house trading policy?
For any stock headlined in the written company comments section of the Morning INK, employees are not permitted to trade in that stock or its related options for 48 hours after report distribution. We put this prohibition in place because we have discretion in terms of what stocks we highlight in the company comments section. An exception would occur if a specific disclosure is provided indicating that an INK Employee may be initiating a trade within the 48 hour period. Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and commodities are not included in the 48 hour blackout and are excluded from this policy. Employees may hold positions in any stock listed on the site.
13. Does INK Research accept payment for stock coverage?
We are subscription supported and do not accept payments from issuers or their promoters for stock coverage.

14. How do I make changes to my account, update my credit card, or change my membership level?
Subscriptions auto-renew unless cancelled before the end of the current term. We do not provide or allow retroactive cancellations and we do not accept cancellations by email, phone or the inquiries form. However, it is very easy to cancel your account.

As per the User Agreement, to cancel your account:
  1. Login and visit the Subscription Details tab of the My Account page (accessible from the top right).
  2. Once on there, you can cancel your subscription by clicking the Submit button towards the bottom of the page next to "Cancel Subscription". If you do so, your cancellation will take effect at the end of your current term. This means that if you are cancelling in June and your subscription term ends in December, you will continue to have access to your account features until the term ends.
You can also upgrade or downgrade your subscription level Between the CIA Interactive, CIA Institutional, and CIA Institutional+ levels as well as switch your payment interval from monthly to yearly or vice versa on the "Subscription Details" tab. Upgrades are prorated until the end of your current term (so you will not be charged a full year unless you upgrade on the same day your membership renews). Downgrades take effect at the end of your current term.

Note that we do not issue refunds under any circumstances.

You can also update your credit card information by visiting the "Credit Card Information" tab to ensure that your membership auto-renews on time and to avoid service interruption or the potential loss of a promotional subscription rate. Once on the "Credit Card Information" tab, update your payment details in the "Update Credit Card" section and click on the "Submit" button once new details are filled in to process the update.

If you do not cancel your account and the the credit card cannot be processed, you are still responsible for payment. If you do not want to be liable for payment you must go to the website and cancel your account. A credit card expiring or having your card on record being replaced by the card company cannot be relied on as a cancellation.

If you no longer have access to the email associated with your account, call us at 1-604-669-4465.

If you have services on other INK websites, each account must be managed on the relevant website. If you have an account on CanadianInsider.com or InsiderTracking.com, cancelling your account on INKResearch.com will not change the status of your account on the other websites.