A newly released public financial disclosure filing has drawn substantial attention to the stock-trading activities of Adriana Kugler, one of the Federal Reserve’s most recently departed governors. This development has placed both her actions and the institution’s ethics oversight procedures under renewed scrutiny. Kugler, who resigned from her position in August after having been appointed to the Federal Reserve Board in 2023, submitted a financial disclosure form that became the subject of further ethical review. Federal ethics officials ultimately declined to certify the filing, instead referring it to the central bank’s Office of Inspector General for a closer examination—a significant step that underscores the gravity of the concerns raised.
The filing in question, which Kugler submitted to the U.S. Office of Government Ethics in September, sheds light on a pattern of individual stock trades executed either by her or by her spouse. These transactions involved prominent publicly traded companies such as Apple Inc., Cava Group, Southwest Airlines, and Caterpillar, all of which fall within a category restricted by rules the Federal Reserve adopted in 2021. Those rules were designed to reinforce the institution’s integrity after earlier controversies surrounding personal trading by senior policymakers, offering a clear prohibition against officials buying or selling individual company shares in order to prevent any actual or perceived conflicts of interest.
Ordinarily, such ethics reports are part of the routine transparency measures required for high-ranking federal officials and are ratified by an agency’s authorized ethics office without issue. However, in this particular case, that standard review process was interrupted. According to a statement made by Sean Croston, the Federal Reserve Board’s deputy associate general counsel and designated agency ethics official, the institution’s internal ethics office had already forwarded matters connected to Kugler’s disclosure to the independent Office of Inspector General earlier in the year. Croston’s formal comment, dated October 10 on Kugler’s public financial disclosure report, explained that this referral accounted for the U.S. Office of Government Ethics’ decision to withhold certification pending further assessment.
Additional context adds clarity to the timeline of events. In an earlier disclosure from September 2024, Kugler had detailed a series of individual stock trades and indicated that these transactions were initiated not by herself but by her husband, Ignacio Donoso. Donoso, an immigration attorney recognized as the founding and managing partner of Donoso & Partners in Bethesda, Maryland, was identified as responsible for executing trades that fell into categories covered by Federal Reserve restrictions. Kugler later elaborated, in a subsequent filing made in 2024, that these trades had taken place without her awareness or authorization. Upon learning of them, she reported the holdings to the ethics office, complied with official directives to divest the restricted assets, and submitted updated disclosures to document full compliance.
When approached for comment by Business Insider, neither Kugler nor Donoso responded immediately, leaving questions regarding their perspective unanswered at the time of publication. Nonetheless, the record from her 2025 financial disclosure provides further insights into her financial activities. That filing enumerates specific stock sales involving Apple, Southwest Airlines, Caterpillar, and Cava Group, along with other transactions completed throughout 2024. This pattern indicates ongoing portfolio activity that might have overlapped with compliance boundaries defined by Federal Reserve ethics policies.
Such policies, introduced in response to the 2021 controversies, strictly prohibit officials from trading individual equities and engaging in market activity during so-called “blackout periods”—time windows preceding major monetary policy announcements, when trading could give the appearance of an unfair informational advantage. Several of Kugler’s 2024 transactions appear to conflict with these prohibitions, giving rise to the formal ethical examination now underway. A Federal Reserve spokesperson later confirmed that Kugler’s case had been referred to the Office of Inspector General in January 2025, following new compliance concerns identified during ethics training sessions held the previous autumn. These sessions had been part of the institution’s continuing effort to reinforce integrity and procedural compliance among its senior officials after earlier lapses across the organization.
Furthermore, according to information obtained by Business Insider, discussions took place in July 2025 involving Kugler and several senior Federal Reserve leaders—including Chair Jerome Powell—regarding the possibility of granting her a waiver from established restrictions on pre-clearance and blackout-period trading. The purpose of such a waiver would have been to allow certain adjustments to her investment portfolio while remaining formally compliant with the rules. However, despite being scheduled to meet with top officials on July 28 and 29, Kugler ultimately did not attend, reportedly citing personal reasons. Just days later, on August 1, she announced her decision to resign from the Federal Reserve, with her departure becoming effective on August 8.
Kugler’s final financial disclosure form also contained an additional noteworthy detail: she reported having received nearly $50,000 worth of pro bono legal services provided by the law firm Arnold & Porter. Although such disclosures do not necessarily indicate wrongdoing, this inclusion adds another element to the broader picture of her recent financial and ethical reporting obligations.
Following her resignation, Kugler resumed her academic career, returning on August 11 to Georgetown University, where she currently serves as a professor at the McCourt School of Public Policy and Economics. Her professional biography on the university’s website confirms her reinstatement to this role, illustrating the transition from federal policymaking back to higher education. In total, the case surrounding her disclosures illuminates the complexity and importance of ethical standards in public service—raising vital questions about oversight, transparency, and the mechanisms required to safeguard public trust in the governance of America’s central bank.
Sourse: https://www.businessinsider.com/fed-governor-adriana-kugler-trading-activity-under-review-2025-11
