ABSTRACT
There are many advantages in involving professional market regulators more directly in the fight against insider dealing. They are much more likely to be aware of market participants and of new market
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practices. It is, however, questionable whether the SFA is the best regulator for this job. Those involved in monitoring securities trading at the London Stock Exchange have much more experience in identifying insider dealing. If professional regulators are to have a more significant role to play, it would make considerable sense to centralise the regulation of insider dealing in the UK and to charge the Stock Exchange with investigating and prosecuting as well as regulating and continuing to monitor potential insider dealing. Given the necessary independence and effective funding, it would also be sufficiently ‘distant’ from the government not to spoil the essentially ‘hands-off’ approach which has been adopted to the administration of government and regulation generally. It remains to be seen whether the centralisation of financial services, banking and also insurance regulation will figure high on the actual agenda of any new government.267
