Insiders Ring the Cash Register

There’s an old Wall Street saying: “They don’t ring a bell at the top.”

But that’s not entirely true. Corporate executives are ringing – the cash register.

They’ve become record sellers of shares of the companies they operate:

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That sea of red isn’t the stock market – yet – it’s company insiders heading for the exit (Source: Bloomberg)

In the most recent week, there were a total of 200 insider transactions, as measured by Form 4 filings with the SEC. Only 2, or a mere 1%, were buys.

That’s a sharp contrast to just over 100 days ago, when insiders got bullish on their company’s own prospects amid the fearful fallout of President Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcement and market crash.

“Insiders have many reasons to sell,” notes our Portfolio Director Andrew Packer, who has – literally – written the book on the subject. “They may want to pay off a mortgage, put a kid through college – or may even be financing a divorce. Insiders only buy for one reason – they find their shares a compelling value here.”

“Typically, you’d expect insiders to be sellers about 75% of the time. It’s part of their compensation. Today’s ratio is totally out of whack.”

If only 1% of corporate insiders – the CEOs, CFOs, and other high-level employees – are considering buying here, but 99% are selling, that’s at odds with retail investors, who are doing the opposite.

We’ve seen this level of insider selling before – in 1999 at the height of the dotcom boom. So we’re not in uncharted territory.

With insiders ringing the cash register, it’s a sign we’re in the late stages of a bull market – and investors may be on a crash course with higher volatility.

~ Addison

P.S. from stocks to crypto: Grey Swan Live! returns Thursday at 2 p.m. ET with Ian King.

Ian’s hot on an upcoming event that he forecasts will trigger a new crypto boom, sending the market cap of the space to $8.5 trillion by 2030. We’ll be looking at his latest moves in the cryptocurrency market – including the rise of Ethereum as the rally in bitcoin takes a pause. What’s it all mean? And where do we stand regarding President Trump’s plans for a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve?

All that and more. Ian will also cover his list of the top token opportunities in the cryptocurrency space as this asset class continues to push higher and gain regulatory guidance.

Remember the new time!

Grey Swan Live! with Ian King will begin at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT tomorrow, Thursday, September 4, 2025.

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If you have any questions for us about the market, send them our way now to: feedback@greyswanfraternity.com.

There’s an old Wall Street saying: “They don’t ring a bell at the top.”

But that’s not entirely true. Corporate executives are ringing – the cash register.

They’ve become record sellers of shares of the companies they operate:

Turn Your Images On

That sea of red isn’t the stock market – yet – it’s company insiders heading for the exit (Source: Bloomberg)

In the most recent week, there were a total of 200 insider transactions, as measured by Form 4 filings with the SEC. Only 2, or a mere 1%, were buys.

“Typically, you’d expect insiders to be sellers about 75% of the time. It’s part of their compensation. Today’s ratio is totally out of whack.”

We’ve seen this level of insider selling before – in 1999 at the height of the dotcom boom. So we’re not in uncharted territory.

With insiders ringing the cash register, it’s a sign we’re in the late stages of a bull market – and investors may be on a crash course with higher volatility.

~ Addison

P.S. from stocks to crypto: Grey Swan Live! returns Thursday at 2 p.m. ET with Ian King.

All that and more. Ian will also cover his list of the top token opportunities in the cryptocurrency space as this asset class continues to push higher and gain regulatory guidance.

Remember the new time!

Grey Swan Live! with Ian King will begin at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT tomorrow, Thursday, September 4, 2025.

Turn Your Images On

If you have any questions for us about the market, send them our way now to: feedback@greyswanfraternity.com.

The global bond market is screaming.

This week, 30-year yields hit multi-decade highs across the U.S., UK, Germany, and Japan.

America’s 30-year briefly touched 5.0% — levels last seen in 2007. Japan’s long bond is at its highest since it was first issued in 1999. Europe’s long paper is flirting with crisis-era yields.

Why? Heavy borrowing, fiscal deficits.

In just two months, U.S. federal debt has surged by $1 trillion. Since mid-August alone, $200 billion has been tacked on.

Miran is outlining a radical plan to flip the U.S. dollar’s reserve status from a burden into a bargaining chip. To turn America’s towering debt from an embarrassment into leverage. And to reorient the entire global economic structure in Washington’s favor—while they still can.

Now, if you read through Miran’s 40-page paper, you’ll quickly realize he left a lot of other ingredients out (some of which actually make the plan far more realistic). It’s a speech, not a doctoral thesis, after all.

A spike in money supply typically occurs during a crisis. Not when the economic vibe is simply “uneasy” and bullish.

Today’s graph strips away delusion. A massive quantity of fiat money is propping up the stock market and global economy.

That’s a trend that cannot last.

In the early days of the Roman Empire foreign conquests brought glory, booty, and slaves. People were happy to be a part of it.

But after 100 AD the conquests largely ended. And as time went on managing the huge empire — with its far-flung garrisons and expensive bureaucracy — became less and less profitable. Taxpayers were squeezed harder and harder to pay for it.

Roman-era feds had their tricks too. The basic coin of Rome — the denarius — was inflated away. It came to be worth so little that even tax collectors wouldn’t take it. In 212, Caracalla expanded the tax base by giving Roman citizenship to all free men in the empire. But the squeeze continued.

Gradually, the small farmers — who had been the backbone and muscle of the empire — were forced to abandon their land…and even sell their wives and daughters into slavery in order to keep them alive. Gradually, too, Roman society became decadent, corrupt…and brutal, with more and more resources devoted to the war industry.

The global bond market is screaming.

This week, 30-year yields hit multi-decade highs across the U.S., UK, Germany, and Japan.

Why? Heavy borrowing, fiscal deficits.

In just two months, U.S. federal debt has surged by $1 trillion. Since mid-August alone, $200 billion has been tacked on.

A spike in money supply typically occurs during a crisis. Not when the economic vibe is simply “uneasy” and bullish.

Today’s graph strips away delusion. A massive quantity of fiat money is propping up the stock market and global economy.

That’s a trend that cannot last.

In the early days of the Roman Empire foreign conquests brought glory, booty, and slaves. People were happy to be a part of it.