Stock noob: Can I buy shares of my company w/o fear?

[pX]

Can I buy stock in my own company without fear of "insider trading"? I want to buy a modest amount of shares 50-100 simply because I think we make good products and our stock is a good deal. I'm entry level so I don't know any non-public info afaik.

 

[BarneyFife]

NO

 

[Kadarin]

You need to be aware of any blackout periods you have, where you can't buy/sell.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Talk to your HR or legal department.

 

[Bill Brasky]

I don't see why not. My dad works for IBM and he owned IBM stock back in the day.

I think you're ok unless you own ten percent or more of the company's equity securities. <- from wiki

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insider_trading

edit: Do you mean the company you own, or a company you work for?

 

[ItsPat]

Shouldn't be an issue unless you are on the insiders list.

Which I would assume you aren't because you would know because you would have to sign a document that states when you can buy and the blackout periods.

 

[pX]

Work for (10k+ employees)...

 

[pX]

Originally posted by: ItsPat
Shouldn't be an issue unless you are on the insiders list.

And if I was, I would probably know I assume!

 

[CallMeJoe]

Unless you are privy to company secrets or special market information, buy away.

 

[ItsPat]

Originally posted by: pX

Originally posted by: ItsPat
Shouldn't be an issue unless you are on the insiders list.

And if I was, I would probably know I assume!

You would definitely know. If you have a job that deals with inside information they usually make you sign before you can even start doing your job.

 

[pX]

I signed a bunch of stuff when I started (entry level engineer) and I can't remember the majority of it, but I wouldn't be acting on anything that isn't public knowledge afaik. I just think the stock price is low and will go back up in the next few weeks, but I may be wrong!

Some of you are scaring me though.

 

[DaveSimmons]

I never buy individual stocks, just stock index mutual funds, but the usual advice is to only buy stock in your employer if it's discounted and if it's well below 50% of your total stock & stock fund investments.

Your well-being is already tied to the company's, if you suddenly found out that it couldn't get a loan it needed, or that earnings were below expenses, or the CEO died in a plane crash you could find yourself holding devalued stock at the same time as you're looking for a job.

 

[PaNsyBoy8]

go talk to your hr dept., you can get in trouble for insider trading.

 

[JS80]

usually director and above have blackout windows.