Junior Analyst Charged With Insider Trading Only Year After Graduation

A junior analyst at RBC Capital Markets, Bill Tsai, has today been charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for insider trading. The charge comes less than a year after the analyst graduated from college.

The SEC has alleged that Tsai took advantage of confidential information regarding Siris Capital Group’s plan to acquire Electronics for Imaging Inc. (EFII). Soon after learning about the acquisition, Tsai purchased EFII call options, which he then sold for a profit of around $99,000 shortly after the deal was announced. 

In an attempt to conceal his actions, SEC says that Tsai conducted the trading in a brokerage account that he hid from his employer. Moreover, he failed to follow policies that require employees to pre-clear securities trades. The SEC filed a complaint in the federal court in Manhattan, while the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York has filed criminal charges.