Can Federal Reserve employees buy stocks?
Short answer: Yes, most can. Every Federal Reserve employee, at the Board or any of the 12 Reserve Banks, is barred from owning banks and financial-sector funds. The more access you have to FOMC information, the more limits apply. The most senior officials can't buy individual stocks at all.
Rules that apply to everyone
- No stock, bonds, notes, preferred shares, options or short positions in a bank, savings institution or other depository institution, U.S. or foreign, or any company that owns one.
- No funds that concentrate in financial services, such as bank or financials ETFs.
- Broad funds are fine even though they hold some banks. An S&P 500 or total-market index fund doesn't concentrate in financials.
- The rules count your spouse's and minor children's holdings too. Reserve Banks also count a domestic partner's.
- Bank accounts, CDs, credit union shares, insurance and U.S. savings bonds are all fine.
More rules as your FOMC access goes up
| Your role | What's added |
|---|---|
| Any confidential FOMC access | No derivatives tied to short-term interest rates or FOMC decisions (such as fed funds or SOFR futures), and no bets on FOMC decisions, including in prediction markets. |
| Regular, ongoing access to Class I FOMC information | No stock or bonds of primary dealers or their affiliates. When you have Class I information about a meeting, no trading during the blackout window around it, and no selling something you've held under 45 days. |
| FOMC covered individual (for example, Board members, Reserve Bank presidents, first vice presidents and research directors, and FOMC staff officers) | No new purchases of individual stocks or sector funds. No individual bonds, Treasury notes or bonds over one year, agency securities, crypto, commodities, options or futures, or foreign currency held as an investment. Trades need 45 days' advance notice and preclearance, and anything bought must be held at least one year. A few Fed class waivers relax these, for example for required minimum distributions and changes your plan administrator makes. |
Bank supervision staff can face extra limits tied to the banks they work on, and staff who work on banks' crypto activities face extra crypto limits. Both depend on your assignment, so ask your ethics office.
Common questions
Can a Federal Reserve employee own an S&P 500 index fund?
Yes. Broad, diversified funds are allowed at every level. Staff with ongoing FOMC access and covered individuals still follow the blackout and holding-period rules.
Can a Federal Reserve employee own bank stock?
No. Stock and bonds of banks and companies that own banks are off-limits to every Board and Reserve Bank employee, and to their spouses and minor children.
Can Federal Reserve employees own crypto?
Most can. FOMC covered individuals can't, and staff who work on banks' crypto activities need their ethics office's answer first.
Do the rules apply to my spouse?
Yes. Your spouse's and minor children's holdings count. At the Reserve Banks, a domestic partner's holdings count too.
What if I already own something that's not allowed?
Don't buy more, and ask your ethics office. They'll tell you whether and when to sell. The Reserve Bank code says a directed sale is ordinarily due within 90 days.
Sources (rules last checked October 12, 2026)
- FOMC Policy on Investment and Trading for Committee Participants and Federal Reserve System Staff, adopted February 17, 2022, reaffirmed effective January 27, 2026
- Federal Reserve FAQs on the investment and trading policy for covered individuals
- 5 CFR 6801.103, Board of Governors supplemental ethics rules
- Reserve Bank Code of Conduct, section 5.3 (New York Fed copy, revised May 6, 2026)
- Class Waivers from the Investment and Trading Policies for Covered Individuals (issued by the Board's Designated Agency Ethics Official, undated)
Screening guidance only, not an official Federal Reserve determination. Your ethics office makes the final decision, including any preclearance your role requires.