Retired Fed Governor's Trades Violated Ethics Rules

In November 2025, it was revealed that a former Federal Reserve governor, Adriana Kugler, had engaged in stock trades in 2024 that violated the central bank's ethics rules. Kugler, who unexpectedly stepped down from the Fed board in August 2023, disclosed more than a dozen individual stock transactions, including several made during financial trading "blackout periods" around the time the Federal Reserve's policymaking committee meets to set interest rates and other monetary policy.

The transactions, outlined in a report by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, included purchases of stocks in companies like Southwest Airlines, Apple, Caterpillar, and Fortinet. The largest trade was a purchase of Apple stock worth between $100,000-$250,000 in April 2024. Kugler also made trades in Palo Alto Networks and Cava Group during the blackout period around the Fed's March 2024 meeting.

The revelations come as the Fed has recently adopted sweeping new rules aimed at limiting the ability of its top officials to invest in financial markets, a change intended to prevent conflicts of interest involving investments affected by Fed policies. In 2022, the central bank took action after an outcry over questionable trades made by several top Fed policymakers.