Do insider investment horizons contain information? Evidence from Australia

We examine the information content of insiders' investment horizon using a large sample of Australian insider trades from 2002 to 2021. In contrast to the finding of Akbas et al. (2020) in the U.S. context, we find that, while Australian insiders are predictive of future abnormal returns, their...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Pacific-Basin finance journal 2023-06, Vol.79, p.101946, Article 101946
Main Authors: Hoang, Lai T., Hossain, Md Zakir, Tong, Jamie Y., Yang, Joey W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Australian insiders
Information
Investment horizons
Legal environment
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Summary:We examine the information content of insiders' investment horizon using a large sample of Australian insider trades from 2002 to 2021. In contrast to the finding of Akbas et al. (2020) in the U.S. context, we find that, while Australian insiders are predictive of future abnormal returns, their trading horizon contains little relevant information. We further find that Australian insider trades are dominated by purchasing transactions, which is contrary to the U.S. insider transactions that are predominately selling transactions. Our study provides useful insights for investors who are interested in detecting insiders' information, and for policy makers who strive for setting more effective insider trading laws. •Australian insiders have superior information to earn abnormal returns.•The majority of Australian insiders are buyers.•Insider investment horizons do not predict abnormal return or contain information.
ISSN:0927-538X
1879-0585
DOI:10.1016/j.pacfin.2023.101946