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Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis Vol. 60 No. 8 2025

Filing Agents and Information Leakage

Leonce Bargeron1; Christopher P. Clifford1; Tian Qiu2

1 University of Kentucky · 2 University of Alabama

open access

Abstract

Filing agents—intermediaries used by 80% of U.S. firms—are associated with leakage of information that affects stock prices. Prior to the public release of a securities filing, most firms outsource the final processing and submission of the filing to a third-party filing agent. We find leakage is higher when firms use filing agents than when firms self-file, particularly pre-2018. Leakage is greater when the private information is more valuable and decreases when firms switch to self-filing. Our research suggests filing agents, and a firm’s choice to use them, are an important, understudied channel for the leakage of private information.

DOI
10.1017/s0022109025000110
Volume
60
Issue
8
Pages
4065-4090
Language
en
Sources
openalex crossref

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