Investopedia

Stop Trading On Congressional Knowledge Act - STOCK Act

Dictionary Says

Definition of 'Stop Trading On Congressional Knowledge Act - STOCK Act'

A bipartisan bill signed into law Apr. 4, 2012 by President Barack Obama that prevents members of congress from trading stocks based on nonpublic information gathered on Capitol Hill. The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act elucidates that congressional members and staff owe a duty to United States citizens not to misappropriate nonpublic information to make a profit. In addition to banning insider trading for members and Congressional staff, the STOCK Act provides for increases transparency in financial disclosure reporting, and requires members of Congress and government employees to report certain investment transactions within 45 days.
Investopedia Says

Investopedia explains 'Stop Trading On Congressional Knowledge Act - STOCK Act'

The STOCK Act amended the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to require electronic reporting and online availability of public financial disclosure information. This information must be made available on agency web sites and through databases that can be searched and sorted.

According to the Act, a member of Congress who commits one of several corruption offenses while serving as an elected official will be required to forfeit his or her federal pension. The STOCK Act expands forfeiture to apply to misconduct by members committed in other federal, state and local elected offices and adds insider trading as a crime for which forfeiture will be required.

The STOCK Act also requires disclosure of personal mortgage terms, bans special access to initial public offerings and bans bonuses for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac senior executives.

Articles Of Interest

  1. Standards And Ethics For Financial Professionals

    Scandals and fraud have given financial professionals a black eye. Learn how to avoid typical ethical dilemmas.
  2. What Investors Can Learn From Insider Trading

    Some insider trading is actually legal - and can be extremely telling for investors.
  3. Defining Illegal Insider Trading

    The better you understand why insider trading can be criminal, the better you'll understand how the market works.
  4. Infamous Insider Traders

    Check out these bizarre insider trading cases that helped define the SEC's laws against it.
  5. Policing The Securities Market: An Overview Of The SEC

    Find out how this regulatory body protects the rights of investors.
  6. What exactly is insider trading?

    An "insider" is any person who possesses at least one of the following: 1) access to valuable non-public information about a corporation (this makes a company's directors and high-level executives ...
  7. How The 2014 Obama Budget Could Affect Your Finances

    Depending on which estimate you believe, Obama's proposed budget would raise the tax bill of a household with a yearly income of $50,000 to $75,000 between $63 and $100 per year. However, that’s ...
  8. Should You Add A Securities License To Your Qualifications?

    Clients love planners who sell securities, but a securities license takes a lot of work. Learn if the stress and study are worth it.
  9. How To Report A Tax Cheat

    If you report a tax evader to the IRS, you could be eligible for a reward.
  10. GAAP And The IFRS Standards Convergence Efforts In 3 Substantial Areas

    Understand the specific steps that have been taken in hopes of converging the GAAP and the IFRS accounting standards, despite the philosophically and culturally based methodological differences ...
comments powered by Disqus
Marketplace
Hot Definitions
  1. Validation Period

    The amount of time necessary for the premium on an insurance policy to cover the commissions, the cost of investigation, medical exams and other expenses associated with the issuance of the policy.
  2. Winner's Curse

    Because of incomplete information, emotions or any other number of factors regarding the item being auctioned, bidders can have a difficult time determining the item's intrinsic value. As a result, the largest overestimation of an item's value ends up winning the auction.
  3. Glocalization

    A combination of the words "globalization" and "localization" used to describe a product or service that is developed and distributed globally, but is also fashioned to accommodate the user or consumer in a local market.
  4. Disaster Loss

    A special type of tax-deductible loss, similar to a casualty loss, where a loss has been incurred by taxpayers who reside in an area that has been designated as a federal disaster area by the President.
  5. Fool In The Shower

    The notion that changes or policies designed to alter the course of the economy should be done slowly, rather than all at once.
  6. Pattern Day Trader

    An SEC designation for traders who trade the same security four or more times per day (buys and sells) over a five-day period, and for whom same-day trades make up at least 6% of their activity for that period.
Trading Center