Benefits Blast

Rule 10b5-1 trading plans in essence provide corporate insiders an affirmative defense to insider trading liability in circumstances where, subject to certain conditions, a trade was executed pursuant to a written plan adopted when the executive was not aware of material nonpublic information. Executive officers and directors are not required to complete trades using 10b5-1 plans, but they are quite popular with executive officers and directors because of the protection they provide.