Why you shouldn’t invest like the head of the CDC

Brenda Fitzgerald, a medical doctor and former head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), resigned in January following reports that she had bought stock in a tobacco company after taking office in 2017. Disclosure forms indicated that Fitzgerald’s financial advisor purchased stock in Japan Tobacco, one of the largest tobacco companies in the world; it owns the U.S. brands Winston and Camel. Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States and globally. Since smoking prevention is a major CDC goal, the stock purchase was clearly a conflict of interest. Although probably legal, Fitzgerald’s actions while CDC chief strike many as unethical. How can someone put their own financial gain above principles and the well-being of others? It happens more often than we think. Knowingly or not, millions of Americans are investing in tobacco products through their retirement plans. Retirement plans invest mostly in mutual funds, which invest in a wide assortment of company stocks. It’s not always easy for investors to find out what’s inside the funds they own. According to the advocacy website TobaccoFreeFunds.org, major plan providers like Vanguard and Fidelity invest in tobacco or the promotion of tobacco use to the