Hi,  Below is the link to an ad for a newsletter about "Corporate insiders".

http://www.agora-inc.com/reports/ISS/WISSEB00/

Here is what I would like to know:
1. Who do the insiders report to?  I believe it is the S.E.C.
2. How do I get the raw reported data?  (not interested in Newsletters
I want the raw reported data)
3. How much does it cost?
4. Format the data is transfer in?
5. How often is the data make available for download?
6. Web site address for download?
7. How often is the data updated for the public?

A tip will be based on anything else you think I may be interested in.  

Thanks as always.

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 26 Nov 2004 12:59 PST

Hello just4fun-ga,

You are correct that the insiders report to the SEC.  The information
is posted on the SEC website practically in real-time...as far as I
know, the SEC website is updated on a fairly continual basis, many
times a day.

Are you looking for information how to manually visit the SEC site to
access any newly-posted data?  If so, I can probably assist you with
this question.

But if you're looking for some other type of download process, please
spell out in a bit more detail what you have in mind.

Thanks.

pafalafa-ga

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Clarification of Question by just4fun2-ga on 26 Nov 2004 13:47 PST

Hi Pafalafa.ga,

Here is what I'd like to do:

1. Download raw data into an Excel worksheet or an Access Database.
2. I do NOT want to type this data in by hand, would rather just
download it and then sort the data into useful info.  Quick and clean.
3. File format - just about anything can be loaded into Excel.  I
would rather NOT use Paste and Copy directly from the SEC site.  The
data, as far as I know, can't be "placed" into row and columns using
the Paste and Copy technique.
The fields would be somethink like this:
Stock symbol,number of shares purchased,date of purchase,name of
purchaser,title of purchaser    etc...

Here is where I'd like to end up.  

I want to preprocess the raw data into a new data file that can then
be used by a NeuroNet software program I use for stock picking. (Did I
just "feel" Daytrader-76's eyes lightup? Haa)

I will expand the question, I still would like to download the data
and sort it myself, so that is VERY important.  But if you can find a
website that offers the raw data in a format that is usable -- it is
timely data and can be download in a standard file format  -- I would
be interested in that also.

Thanks

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 26 Nov 2004 16:07 PST

Hello again, just4fun2-ga,

Wow...that's an ambitious undertaking!

From the looks of things, you've pretty much asked two different
questions.  First, there your original question (with it's 7
sub-questions) which I think I can answer:  where is the data
reported; how to get the data; what's the cost; etc.

Your clarification seems to hold another question -- how can you
download the data more or less automatically, without a lot of manual
steps, cutting and pasting, etc.


=========

I can answer your original question, as I'm pretty familiar with the
reporting to the SEC, and the steps for accessing the "corporate
insiders" reports.

I wish I could answer your second question for you, because my
instincts tell me it is possible to download the SEC data in bulk and
pull it into an Excel spreadsheet.  However, I simply don't have the
technical sophistication to do this.

Perhaps the best option here would be for me to answer your original
question, and for you to explore that data to see if a
download-into-Excel option is feasible.

In fact, you may then want to post a follow-up question here to seek
assistance on the technical aspects of making this happen, if that
sounds reasonable to you.

I hope I've been clear in communicating what I can -- and can't -- do
for you on this.   Let me know if you have any questions.

In the mean time, I will "unlock" your question,  so that other
researchers can have a crack at it.  If one of them feels they can
provide a full answer -- including the direct-to-Excel option -- I'm
sure they will jump in an offer up an answer.

Let me know your thoughts on all this.  

pafalafa-ga

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Request for Question Clarification by omnivorous-ga on 26 Nov 2004 17:06 PST

J4F2 and Pafalafa --

The SEC doesn't actually handle the data feeds directly, they rely on
service companies to manage it for them.  It's probably a matter of
contacting EDGAR directly to see what can be done:
http://www.edgar-online.com/corporate/products/insider.asp

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA

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Clarification of Question by just4fun2-ga on 27 Nov 2004 11:07 PST

Hi, Thank you for spending time on my question.

What I'm interested in is the raw data.  To explain,  Let say 200
companies report on 11/26/04 that they have either bought or sold
shares of stock.  I want all 200 companies reports in a format that
can be downloaded in a clean way and reload into some program (like
Excel or Access) and then sorted.  The Format can be, by not
necessarily, in ASCII comma delimited file.

Let say I do the above for 1 year. Each day gathering this basic data
on ALL companies that buy and sell shares of stock.  Then I couple the
data up to the price of the stock and see if there is a correlation
between insiders buying and the price going up or insiders selling and
the price going down -- adjusted for the general movement of the stock
market.

Requirments 2 - 5 of my question point, not very clearly, to the above.

Thank you!

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 28 Nov 2004 10:26 PST

Hello again,

Take a look at this link to a recent "inside trading" report to the SEC:


http://snipurl.com/axwf


There are typically about 100 such reports every day to the SEC.  

Best I can do is show you how to identify the latest reports, and link
to them one at a time.

Unfortunately, I do no know how to automatically export the data from
these reports into an excel database, so I'm afraid I cannot provide
an answer to your question.

Perhaps another researcher will have more luck.

pafalafa-ga

Hello, I am following up on your question. In amongst your questions I
saw the request for a website where you can download the data into
your Excel program. I also saw the question asking how much would it
cost. I found an interesting article that explained what types of
forms to look for as well as other criteria. This article reccomended
sites that gives you the data in pre-formatted database form. One of
the sites that it reccomended was one that I had previously viewed and
it offers ways to download into your Excel program. The prices are
also listed. I would like to address your questions.

1. Who do insiders report to?

Insiders report to the Securities Exchange Commission.

"Insider transaction reporting, also known as Ownership reports is
governed, in generally, by Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934. Section 403 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 amended Section
16 in several ways. One change shortened the reporting period,
requiring insiders to report transactions by the end of the second
business day following the transaction. Another change mandates that
all such reports be filed electronically."
InsiderScoop
http://www.insiderscoop.com/FAQs/#datafromwhere

If you want to see what the Sabanes-Oxley Act actually dictates, go to
this Goodwin Proctor site to download a summary.
http://www.goodwinprocter.com/pubindex.asp?paID=49
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 Enacts Major New Corporate Governance Reforms (PDF)
August 6, 2002 
http://www.goodwinprocter.com/publications/pc_sarbane_oxley_stock_8_02.pdf

2. How do I get the raw data?

You can either go to the SEC website or you can go to commercial
sites. I found this article to sum it up nicely.

"But to find new investments and new clients effectively, it makes
sense to pay up for more complete insider services. For instance, to
effectively screen for new investments and prospect for new clients,
you need to see what filings came in recently. Only a masochist would
type in tickers all day at the free sites to see what just came in.
Same goes for scrolling through the raw insider filings at the SEC's
free EDGAR Web site (www.sec.gov). Better to subscribe to an online
service that serves up the filings in a database format within a day
or week of hitting the SEC."
Follow the Smart Money
http://registeredrep.com/mag/finance_follow_smart_money/

You can go to the U.S. Securities and Exchange website and go to the
EDGAR site and look under latest filings.
Latest Filings Received and Processed at the SEC
This listing contains filings for the current official filing date. 
The data comes from Form 4s filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 
http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcurre

3. How much does it cost?

Below is a list that I found in the article " Follow the Smart Money".
I have also included a site that offers a free trial of two weeks. And
more prices are listed on question #6.

Insider Trading Services:

InsiderInsights
$249.50 to $1,500 212-631-0567 
http://www.insiderinsights.com

InsideScoop
$200 to $600 408-540-0165 
http://www.insiderscoop.com

The Washington Service
Call for pricing 202-778-1380 
http://www.washserv.com

Thompson Equity Strategies
Call for pricing 646-822-3461 
http://thompsonequitystrategies.com
(I find this website address produces a "currently unavailable"
message, and may be defunct, as a Google phrase search for the

name finds only their listing in the same article.)

Vickers Stock Research
$165 to $1,980 516-945-0020 
http://www.vickers-stock.com

4. Format the data transfers in?

When I looked at some of these sites the data seems to download into
an Excel program.

5. How often available for download?

At one site I saw that they have two different levels, Basic for
individual investors and also there is a level for the professional
trader. What you can get depends on how much you pay. I t seems that
you can download every day. Here are some of what is available at one
site.

InsiderScoop provides: 
Real-time updates as new forms are filed 
E-mail alerts 
Same-day updates of top buyers and sellers 
Insider transaction archives 
Links to full filings 
InsiderScoop
http://www.insiderscoop.com/FAQs/#datafromwhere

6. Website addresses for download?
      1. Insiderscoop.com
          http://www.insiderscoop.com/main/
      
      2. Insiderinsights
         Cost: $75 per month, or $750 for an annual subscription.
        Subscribers to our Summary Data product get access to ALL the 
        companies that had insider filings during a given week or       
        month, 3 years of ticker-based Summary Data histories, and have the
        ability to download the data into Excel. (This also answers questions
        #3 and #4.)
        http://www.insiderinsights.com/main.php

      3. Insidercow.com  This site you can try for 14 days for free, but you
         have to cancel it if you do not want to be renewed. 
         "Insider buy/sell information real-time, as it is filed to SEC. We
         provide the fastest service on the web: insider trades will be 
         categorized on InsiderCow within 30 seconds on average. Since the new 
         SEC law requires corporate insiders to file Form 4 within 2 days of 
         the transaction, tracing those information becomes more valuable.
         http://www.insidercow.com/

I found an article that tells you not only to look at form 4s, but why
you should look at form 3s and form 144s as well. It also explains why
it might be preferable to use sites that compile the information for
you.

7.  How often is the information updated for the public?
 
     All of the sites' services listed above say they are updated daily. 

I hope these are useful and answer your questions. Please let me know
if I can be of further assistance.  jdb-ga

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Clarification of Answer by jdb-ga on 28 Nov 2004 14:45 PST

P.S. The article I mention at the end is the one I listed earlier in my answer:

Follow the Smart Money
http://registeredrep.com/mag/finance_follow_smart_money/

This is what I refer to when I wrote:

"I found an article that tells you not only to look at form 4s, but why
you should look at form 3s and form 144s as well. It also explains why
it might be preferable to use sites that compile the information for
you."

Answered each point completely.

I think I know why you're having trouble with the Thomson Equity
Strategies link -- there's not supposed to be a P in Thomson.  Try
http://thomsonequitystrategies.com instead.

livingcartoon

I would provide another insider trading web that offers real time
search for free. And their price is lower that others:
http://www.insidersignal.com . They also suggest an insider trading
strategy that works for me pretty well. The free search tool is
http://www.insidersignal.com/subscription/invest/fsearch.php?t=msft
(change the symbol to your query). It's been working for me.

http://www.insidercow.com.  Fastest and much better than the other
services mentioned above.  Cost less too.

Guys, just an update, another free real time insider trading site at
http://www.netsteering.com/. Full featured functions and all free. :D