Mikie Sherrill, once a frontrunner in the New Jersey gubernatorial race, has been facing scrutiny lately for her stock trading activities. There’s chatter about whether her fellow lawmakers are eyeing higher office too.
The Democratic congresswoman was favored to take over from Phil Murphy as the state has leaned more Democratic in recent elections. However, she now finds herself comparable to Republican Jack Ciatarelli, a businessman turned politician. The controversy stems from her significant engagement in day-trading while in office. Critics suggest she may have benefitted from insider knowledge.
Growing public discontent over these allegations could hurt her come November 4.
To critics, Sherrill’s ability to time the market during the initial COVID-19 outbreak seems almost exceptional—like she was one of the top insider traders.
Although, let’s be cautious with that comparison.
While Sherrill’s stock actions might appear dubious, they’re not exactly illegal or out of the ordinary for many lawmakers. It seems to fit a broader pattern where allegations of trading on nonpublic information surface periodically in Congress.
From what I’ve gathered, much of the data she accessed wasn’t even public. That’s why, despite the uproar, no one has ended up in jail or faced charges. Insider trading cases are notoriously tricky because the information is very fluid. While warnings about the coronavirus were spreading, Congress was receiving private briefings.
“Something” hamburger?
So, is this “scandal” merely a blip for Sherrill? Not entirely. During her campaign, she seemed rather unfazed when pressed about the timeline of her trades, especially amid the market chaos caused by the pandemic. She notably mentioned she hasn’t traded since the scrutiny began.
I decided to delve deeper by looking into the timing of her trades using various public records, including an information-tracking site known as Quiver Quantitative.
What I found was a bit odd. In April 2020, the New Jersey Globe reported that Sherrill and her spouse had opted to transition to ETFs the previous December and had advised their financial advisor to initiate the process in early January—before any COVID-19 briefings. Yet her Congressional disclosures reveal she made sizable stock purchases in January 2020, right when President Trump first downplayed the virus’s severity. Unless I’m missing something, her stock selling didn’t really start until February 20, 2020, when “Trump 1” began issuing warnings and the market began to falter.
Important transaction
Another curious point: when Sherrill first joined Congress in 2019 and 2020, her trading was hardly impressive. Sure, she didn’t reach Nancy Pelosi’s investment levels. In 2020, her trading peaked around $2.4 million, which is a far cry from Pelosi’s $39 million trade that same year.
But she did engage in significant trading. So, I keep wondering: why pursue this when there are so many other responsibilities?
Sherrill and her husband, Jason Hedberg, aren’t exactly at the top of the wealth ladder in government, but they’re financially secure—estimated to be worth about $14 million, based on disclosure documents. They possess homes and other properties.
Hedberg, whom she met at the Naval Academy, is a Wall Street banker reportedly earning around $3 million annually. (She did receive a minor fine in 2021 for being late on her stock transaction disclosures. Through a representative, Sherrill opted not to comment.)
As for Sherrill, she’s no newcomer to success. A former Navy helicopter pilot, she later became a corporate attorney, worked as an assistant U.S. attorney, and then stepped into Congress.
A spokesperson for the Sherrill campaign noted, “While Mikie does not own or trade individual stocks and has gone above and beyond to publicly disclose the exact value of his assets, New Jerseyans have no insight into Jack Ciatarelli’s net worth.”
However, she’s far from the only lawmaker tangled in stock trading controversy.
This situation serves as a cautionary tale. If you end up in Congress, maybe it’s better to concentrate on serving constituents rather than playing the stock market. Investing in a straightforward mutual fund that tracks the S&P 500 might be a more prudent choice. After all, it’s increased about 168% since 2019 without the political fallout.
