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How Fed policymaker investments stack up against each other By Reuters

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© Reuters. FILE PHOTO – The Federal Reserve Building is shown in Washington, DC, U.S.A, August 22, 2018. REUTERS/Chris Wattie/File Photograph

(Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Reserve’s senior officers are being scrutinized for their private investments after the resignations of two Fed Bank Presidents from the region. They were resigned last year following the revelations about controversial trades they made during a period when the central banking was attempting to save the economy.

Each year, the Fed Board of Governors members are required to submit financial disclosures that are made public. These disclosures vary in terms of financial complexity and depth.

Fed Board of Governors Jerome Powell, Vice Chair Randal Quarles and Fed Chair Jerome Powell are both ex-private equity investors. Vice Chair Richard Clarida was a former investment manager.

This is an overview of all the recent investment trends made by Fed governors:

GOVERNOR LAEL LAEL BRAINARD

Disclosures https://tinyurl.com/4c88auzx show Brainard, who is a possible candidate for promotion by the Biden administration to Vice Chair for Supervision or Fed Chair, made no transactions in 2020.

This is a significant change in comparison to years past. Disclosures indicate that she traded 37 times in 2019, 133 times last year, 84 times in 2017, 85 times last 2016 and 17 times this year. She did not trade individual stocks, corporate bonds or exchange-traded funds.

In 2020 her largest holding of a single security was $500,000 to $1 million in an exchange-traded fund linked to the (SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:)).

Her home also has a mortgage that is between $1 million to $5 million with a 4.25% interest rate. This she has not refinanced since joining the Fed.

VICE CHAIR REICHARD CLARIDA

Clarida made five transactions https://tinyurl.com/p8a7nr9u in 2020, including the sale on Feb. 27 of bond fund shares and the purchase that same day of two stock indexes, on the eve of Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s statement indicating potential policy action due to the worsening of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He sold one stock-index fund that was broad and purchased more stock in another stock fund he had bought in February.

He made seven transactions in 2019 and 14 in 2018. In 2018, his first year on the Board, he sold Amazon stock (NASDAQ:). His spouse held the Vanguard Information Technology Index, and he did so as per his ethics agreement.

He held $5m to $25m in PIMCO Muni Bond Fund, his biggest single holding for 2020.

FED CHAIR JEROME OWELL

Powell made 26 transactions https://tinyurl.com/2rdk7wkd in 2020. Powell made 26 transactions https://tinyurl.com/2rdk7wkd in 2020. He also did 16 “multiple” transactions. He made 16 transactions that were individually dated, including muni bonds and indexes. There were 23 multiple transactions in 2018, most of them being between $1,001-$15,000. 2017 saw 46 transactions. Half of them were classified as multiple.

In 2020 his largest holding of a single security was $5 million to $25 million in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF, the largest U.S. exchange-traded fund, which tracks the S&P 500 Index.

GOVERNOR MICHELLE BOWMAN

Bowman made five transactions https://tinyurl.com/j2wcz4wr last year, all in retirement funds. Four transactions were made by Bowman in 2019: one was the sale of Kansas commercial buildings for 50,001-100,000.

Her largest single holding was between $100,001 and $250,000 in 2020’s retirement fund (Principal LifeTime hybrid 2035 CIT). The holdings of her spouse were larger, with $250,001 up to $500,000 in retirement funds as well as the same in MIO Special Situations Funds. These are part his McKinsey’s 401K. He also holds Apple stock (NASDAQ:).

There are two other mortgages she has: one that is between $50,000 and $100,000 and one with a rate of 4.36% and one with a rate between $1million and $5 million. The second one is for between $50,001 to $100,000 and one with a rate of 2.75%.

GOVERNOR RANDAL QUARLES

Quarles’ holdings are the most numerous https://tinyurl.com/2dvh7wt2 and least opaque of the group.

Two transactions were completed last year by him as part of Cynosure Group. This Utah-based private investor firm was formed in 2014 and he had the opportunity to purchase Cynosure Investment Partners Class 2020 Venture on April 2, 2015, and then sell it on December 21.

In 2019, he disclosed 15 transactions including the sale Union Pacific GE stock, and other securities that are classified as private credit funds. In 2018, his 42 transactions were almost all stock sales, but included interests in UK shipping operators and venture capital groups. He made 12 transactions in 2017, including the acquisition of Target (NYSE: Pfizer (NYSE:) Shares and stock-index funds. Glaxo SmithKline was also sold.

Quarles said he owned “more that $1 million” in various assets including a hotel, restaurant, and other real property in Deer Valley Ski Resort in Utah as well as a ranch and farm in Idaho. He owns several stock options, including Union Pacific Corp. General Electric (NYSE:) Co and Wabtec plus $1 million to $5 million in several funds, including the SPDR S&P 500.

A mortgage is attached to his home. Wells Fargo (NYSE: ) between $1 million to $5 million with a 3.15% rate of interest. He also paid off a Wells Fargo Home Equity Line of Credit secured by property/investment.

GOVERNOR CHRISTOPHERWALLER

Christopher Waller, the Fed’s latest governor and former St. Louis Fed chief of research, was appointed last December. Because he did not serve more than 60 days in 2020 he wasn’t required to make an annual disclosure. However, his initial annual filing will be made for 2021.



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