The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) - Te Mana Tātai Hokohoko - has issued its latest market cleanliness report , which shows continued minor insider trading improvements over the past two decades.
The report compares data from 2004 to 2025 and shows the general trend of a gradual decline in insider trading on the NZX.
Executive Director, Response and Enforcement Louise Unger said, "A clean market is one that is free of insider trading. Market cleanliness, reflected by low insider trading rates, is an essential part of any well-functioning market.
"The report shows that overall, New Zealand's stock market cleanliness is fairly stable.
"By measuring market cleanliness regularly, we maintain an aggregate view of overall market conduct. This complements our core work investigating individual cases of insider trading, which are referred to us by NZ RegCo, NZX's oversight firm.
"Because market abuse such as insider trading can erode trust, we are prioritising monitoring, detecting and deterring market abuse."
Ms Unger said insider conduct was a priority for the FMA, as highlighted in the FMA's most recent Financial Conduct Report.
"As New Zealand's financial conduct regulator, we have a statutory obligation to promote and facilitate capital markets that are fair, efficient and transparent, to provide an environment that encourages investor participation and allows for businesses to raise funds.
"The importance can particularly be seen in our recent enforcement actions focused on the inappropriate use of material information by insiders.
"In April 2025 a former treasury accountant with Heartland Bank Limited was sentenced on three charges of insider trading brought against him by the FMA, while in May 2025 the Court of Appeal increased the sentence handed down in an earlier insider trading case, relating to Pushpay. These cases demonstrate the FMA's commitment to holding individuals accountable and reinforcing the integrity of New Zealand's financial markets."
Ms Unger noted market cleanliness measurements were volatile by nature. Rather than providing a definitive signal of the degree of insider trading, this update gave a sense of the overall trends and underscored the value and relevance of continued surveillance, she said.
