On Tuesday evening, “Frontline” took a comprehensive look at the investigation of insider trading on Wall Street in “To Catch a Trader.” This is a report about how hedge funds, including Steven A. Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors, sought an “edge” by gathering information about companies to trade ahead of other investors, reaping outsize gains. Interviews with federal investigators and reporters who followed the story, including The New York Times’s Peter Lattman, provide a clear view of how the government built cases that have led to more than 75 convictions.
The latest chapter in the insider trading investigation is being played out in the United States District Court in Manhattan, where the trial of Mathew Martoma, a former SAC portfolio manager, is starting. This case involves the largest dollar amount in any insider trading case to date, approximately $276 million, and will feature Mr. Cohen, even though he will not testify. “Frontline” looks at how he professed a lack of knowledge about his own firm’s compliance policy and what constitutes insider trading.
Peter J. Henning, who writes the White Collar Watch column for DealBook, moderated an online conversation with the show’s producers, Martin Smith and Nick Verbitsky. Watch the show above and review the Q. and A. below.