A legal/ethics question (stock related)

In My Humble Opinion
1

Several years ago I worked for a company that developed software for a specific industry (credit unions, to be exact). During the course of my employment I picked up a few shares of company stock in the form of bonuses, employee stock option purchase plans, etc. Later on, the company was bought out by a large national firm, and my shares of stock were converted to the new company.

Like I said, that was several years ago, and I really have no idea how many shares of stock I have, or how much they’re worth.

Now, I have started a new job, with a different company which also writes software for credit unions. This company is not a “direct” competitor with my former employer, as they go after different segments of the market.

Am I under any legal, moral or ethical obligation to a) disclose to my new employer that I own stock in the old company, or b) to sell my shares of stock?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

2

This is a possible conflict of interest. Ask your manager / HR.

3

My employment contract says that I’m allowed to own up to a certain (small) percentage of any competitor’s stock for investment purposes.

4

Yep, probably not since its unlikely to be material, but always disclose. There are exceptions that are legally required (like if you are a CPA).