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Goodwin reviewed insider trading policies filed during the 2025–2026 annual reporting season across multiple industries and market caps to assess how market practice is evolving following the SEC’s insider trading policy disclosure requirements. The survey examined policies filed by companies across the technology, life sciences, pharmaceutical, healthcare, real estate, REIT, financial services, and banking sectors.

Among the key findings:

Trading in Other Companies’ Securities

• Most companies prohibit trading in the securities of any public company while in possession of material nonpublic information (MNPI) about that company, rather than limiting the prohibition to customers, suppliers, collaborators, or other business counterparties.
• 92% of large-cap technology companies apply the prohibition broadly to any public company.
  Banks and financial services companies are more likely to limit restrictions to companies with which they have a business relationship, although approximately 60% still apply the prohibition broadly.
• Life sciences and pharmaceutical companies show the greatest variation. Among large-cap life sciences companies, 47% prohibit trading in any public company while in possession of MNPI, 37% limit restrictions to business counterparties or other companies with a relationship to the company, and 16% do not address the issue. 

Shadow Trading

• Explicit shadow trading provisions remain relatively uncommon, appearing in fewer than 20% of the policies reviewed.
• Adoption rates were somewhat higher in the technology (31%) and real estate (32%) sectors.
• Companies that address shadow trading take varying approaches, including prohibiting transactions in the securities of economically linked companies, competitors, or companies whose stock prices could be affected by confidential information concerning the issuer.

Prediction Markets

• Of the hundreds of insider trading policies reviewed, only one expressly addressed prediction markets. That policy prohibited employees from participating in prediction markets relating to the company and from using confidential company information when engaging in prediction markets involving other subjects. 

Rule 10b5-1 Trading Plans

• Across sectors, directors and executive officers generally are not required to conduct all transactions pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
• Nearly all policies require advance notice before adoption of a trading plan and permit the company to impose additional approval conditions.
• Approximately 25% of policies include restrictions beyond SEC requirements, including minimum or maximum plan terms, limits on amendments, cooling-off periods following voluntary plan terminations, restrictions on transactions outside approved plans, limits on who may use plans, or requirements to use designated brokerage firms. 

Gifts

• Approximately 85% of policies require persons subject to preclearance procedures to obtain approval before making gifts of company securities.
• The requirement was somewhat less common among large-cap banks (73%) and pre-revenue life sciences companies (68%). 

Quarterly Trading Restrictions

• Most companies impose quarterly trading restrictions, but practices vary significantly regarding when blackout periods begin and end and who is covered.
• Across industries, blackout periods most commonly begin during the final two weeks of a fiscal quarter, although timing varies considerably by sector and company size.
• Policies also differ widely regarding when trading may resume following an earnings release, with some permitting trading after one trading day and others requiring two or more trading days to elapse.
• Coverage also varies. Financial institutions are generally more likely to limit quarterly trading restrictions to directors, executive officers, and other designated insiders, while technology, pharmaceutical, and some life sciences companies are more likely to apply restrictions more broadly across employee populations. 

Pledging and Margin Accounts

• Practices remain highly company-specific.
• Many companies prohibit pledging securities or holding securities in margin accounts, while others permit these arrangements subject to advance approval or specified exceptions.
• Approaches vary significantly across industries and market capitalizations, with no clear market standard emerging from the review. 

Consultant Coverage

• Companies vary considerably in whether consultants are automatically subject to insider trading policies.
• Pre-revenue life sciences and pharmaceutical companies were among the most likely to automatically cover consultants (56% each), reflecting their greater reliance on outside advisors and specialized experts.
• A majority of technology companies also automatically covered consultants, as did 60% of large-cap financial services companies.

Access additional resources on our Insider Trading page. 

This post first appeared in the weekly Society Alert!