The anti-Galleon model: 4 good resources to insider trade — legally

insider-tradingPicking up on recent theme showcasing 6 top resources for following top hedge fund managers (piggyback investing) and the web’s best stock screens, I’d like to spend a little ink on bubbling up the best resources to track insider moves.

Research (much good work has been written about in Investor Intelligence from Insider Trading by finance prof, Seyhun) shows that following senior managers (C-level are the best) from small and midsize firms buying relatively large stakes of their own firms’ stock has beaten market averages.

Here are 4 resources I’ve found online that really help investors looking to mimic the moves of the corporate elite — profiting from insider trading:

  1. Finviz: I’ve written previously about Finviz’s great stock screener.  They also publish a nice free list of all buys and sells from corporate America here.
  2. CNBC: It’s a shame CNBC’s website doesn’t get more props.  While the cable channel has struggled in getting users to watch their videos on the web, they’ve done a great job with the tools on the site.  One tool, Insider Stock Trading Trends, allows users to get a view — by industry — of who’s buying and selling what.  Also drill down on company stock pages — you can plot insider purchases and sales against stock prices.
  3. GuruFocus: This premium site has a few free lists of insider transactions including all those by CEOs and CFOs.  Paying up to subscribe gives users access to insider cluster buys, insider buys coupled with guru buys, and the triple header — companies buying back their own stock, combined with insider and guru buying.
  4. InsiderCow: Nice free site moving towards more to a pay-to-play model. Subscribers can get real-time info as it gets filed, otherwise free offering provides historical inside information.

What do you use?