Funny, never remember anyone running a background check on me when I opened my futures accounts. And since I listed my occupation as self-employed it would seem that they would need to do some digging to find out what industry I was employed in.
On more than one occasion I've worked with a guy who thought he could outsmart the system and tried to get away with insider trading. In one situation the guy actually made much less money than the people he was giving the information away too! ... and by that same token, I know guys who used to contantly get good info from their buddies at Acme IB, so hey, it's a crap shoot, but you really have to wonder ... is it worth it?
They are supposed to. I had to supply the information. I guess it all depends on how much due diligence your company (or brokerage firm) runs.
Agree 100% ... That's why I recommended getting another job to the OP where he doesn't have those same restrictions.
First of all, to the original poster, yes, like every1 is saying, if you open an account in your name, your SS#, they will find out. Two, it is amazing how little ppl have gone to jail for. I know this secretary, her and her bf, traded on som proprietary banking information that she was doing photocopying for. They made 35k, she went to jail for 3 yrs, and him 18 months. Three, even tho you don't work in a department that has proprietary information, you inevitably come across them anyways. I was head of technology strategy at an ibank, in IT! One, i had bankers constantly asking us about our "opinion" on this take over or that. And I have this unfortunate coincidence, that my name is *exactly* the same as head of oil and gas investment banking, except middle initial, half world away. So 3-4 times a month, I would get to work, and find that I am copied on some highly confidential, financials, offering memos, valuation sheets, etc. And some of them are marked Urgent, need Comment by Morning. I have this fun little phone tag routine with him and his secretary after a while, his secretary wld be like "oh gosh, they sent it to you, again??"
Which, of course, you would realize would have to be outside of finance - his profession. There is not a single financial service firms will let you trade your own account without some sort of limitation. It's also not just about material non-public info, though that's a big part. There's also concern with front running client order, apparent of spending too much time trading your account rather than for the client's benefits, etc... And to the OP: I wouldn't do it if I were you. Unless you really don't care about the job or your professional path, you don't want to risk being blacklisted. Being fired for compliance related issues is far more problematic than being fired for being an asshole.
Background checks are fairly standard now, most compnaies now do it. They dont alert you that they do. It was not standard a few years ago but things have changed.