Tuesday, July 20, 2021
Last month, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) released its 2021 regulatory agenda that included the affirmative defense provisions of Rule 10b5-1 among the areas in which the agency may take additional rulemaking action.
1 This release followed an announcement by SEC Chairman Gary Gensler (“Gensler”) on June 7, 2021, that he had directed SEC staff to consider both tougher restrictions on securities trading by corporate insiders pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 trading plans and increased transparency for such trading. Gensler expressed his concern that abuse of Rule 10b5-1 plans has led to a gap in insider trading laws and undermines investor confidence in the markets.