The SEC has established two precedents in this arena to satisfy the "personal benefit" or quid pro quo requirement: 1. Bribery, or a monetary reward, 2. Frien

The SEC has established two precedents in this arena to satisfy the "personal benefit" or quid pro quo requirement: 1. Bribery, or a monetary reward, 2. Friendship and good relations. In both cases there must be an unbroken chain of confidentiality compromise. If you legitimately come to know non-public material information about a company and you didn't acquire this information through your own or someone else's confidentiality agreement, you're fine to use it. Information asymmetry couldn't be functionally and profitably exploited if it was literally illegal full stop. You just have to acquire it without breaking a confidentiality duty to your own company and without aiding and abetting someone else in breaking such a duty (e.g. they tell you and you trade).