> even the Fed itself and its members were involved in trades that could only be explained by insider knowledge
What's your source for this? We've seen questionably-timed broad-market transactions that yielded a few points. (The officials were fired and the Fed revised its rules.) But nothing that looks like insider trading.
The simple answer may be more mundane. Anyone who has spent time on Wall Street or in rule making knows how effective the SEC's systems are at catching insider trades ex post facto. The only seeming way around it is to avoid letting your trades get too profitable. At which point the risk-reward ratio becomes unattractive for anyone with much to lose.
What's your source for this? We've seen questionably-timed broad-market transactions that yielded a few points. (The officials were fired and the Fed revised its rules.) But nothing that looks like insider trading.
The simple answer may be more mundane. Anyone who has spent time on Wall Street or in rule making knows how effective the SEC's systems are at catching insider trades ex post facto. The only seeming way around it is to avoid letting your trades get too profitable. At which point the risk-reward ratio becomes unattractive for anyone with much to lose.