Seemingly well-timed stock trades by members of Congress have raised eyebrows in the heartland but official Washington continues to wink at their astounding good fortune. Portfolios of lawmakers on both sides of the aisles have often outperformed the S&P 500 Index by wide margins.
Their stock trading skills cannot be chalked up to luck or skill. Speculation--supported by trading patterns--indicate Washington's elected officials are using privileged information to enrich themselves in the market. Forget hiring a financial advisor. Just mimic lawmakers' portfolios.
Data from Unusual Whales and public disclosures required by Congress provide a public window into the trading activity of representatives and senators. Unusual Whales tracks two Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) for investors who want to imitate the portfolios of Democrat and Republican lawmakers.
The two ETF funds have likely outperformed your portfolio. For the period from February, 2023, through August 31 of this year, the fund that follows Democrat trades has returned 73% while the Republican version logged a paper profit of 41%.
During that time frame, the Democrat-focused ETC outpaced Vanguard's S&P 500 ETF by 12 percentage points. Republicans were less fortunate during that time period. The ETF mirroring their trades lagged Vanguard's ETF by almost 20 percentage points.
A 2024 research report found that senators as a group beat the stock market by an average of 12% per year in the 1990's. An article in ScienceDirect found that politicians' trading activity increases when they are in session, fueling conjecture that publicly undisclosed information may be driving trading.
ScienceDirect based its findings on an examination of 181,029 congressional stock trades from 4,630 trading days. Their research uncovered that politicians make more buy trades during times of high economic policy uncertainty and equity market volatility.
Morningstar, an investment research firm, examined the Unusual Whales funds and found the top stocks currently owned by Democrats, included Nividia, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet (Google), Apple, Salesforce, Crowdstrike and Netflix.
Republicans favor JP Morgan Chase, Bitcoin ETF, Nvidia, AT&T, Chevron, Allstate, Intel and Comfort Systems USA, which serves the Heating and Air Contractors industry. The stocks listed for Dems and the GOP represent their largest holdings, amounting to 40-to-50% of their portfolios.
Some of the wealthiest members of Congress have been targets of scrutiny because they are among the most active traders in the market. Near the top is former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, whose estimated net worth is $267.6 million.
The 84-year-old has extensive holdings in Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Netflix, according to Quiver Quantitative, a market research firm. From 2014 to 2025, Pelosi racked up a 794.30% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) on her stock portfolio.
Next to Warren Buffet, Pelosi may have the largest following among individual investors.
Another whale is Virginia Democrat Senator Mark Warner, whose fortune is estimated at $247.36. Much of his wealth was built on founding the venture capital firm Columbia Capitol. Since 2009, Warner has made 113 trades worth $65.59 million.
In the Senate, Warner serves on four key committees, including the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs; Intelligence; Finance, and, the Budget. His assignments give him special insight into financial institutions, securities, insurance, energy and international trade.
Warner and Pelosi's wealth is eclipsed by Florida Republican Rich Scott, who is worth a reported $549.91 million, according to Quiver Quantitative and Investopedia. However, the exact amount of his wealth remains contested because of his debts.
Scott was a co-founder of HCA Healthcare in 1988 and Solantic in 2001. Since 2019 , the Republican has made 352 trades worth an estimated $239.68 million. according to Quiver Quantitive. Scott serves on the Armed Services Committee, which oversees military spending and research.
This glimpse into Congressional stock trading should raise red flags with Americans, especially those who struggle to build modest stock returns for retirement. In 2012, public outcry over charges of insider trading, shamed lawmakers into passing the Stop Trading On Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act.
The law prohibits federal officials from using nonpublic information gained from their positions for personal financial gain. The act also mandated more frequent online public disclosures of certain stock trades and requires disclosure of mortgage information.
It was a start but the trading in individual stocks continues unabated. It is nearly impossible to prove members have benefited from so-called insider information. In fact, no member of Congress has even been prosecuted for violating the law. But that doesn't mean there haven't been indiscretions.
Business Insider and several others news organizations recently identified 78 members of Congress who have failed to properly report their financial trades. They usually make excuses, pleading ignorance of the law, clerical errors or a mistake by an accountant. It's just a game to lawmakers.
It is time for real reform. A bipartisan bill to ban trading of individual stocks by lawmakers lies dormant in the House. The bill, The Restore Trust in Congress Act, has 16 co-sponsors. But behind the scenes, powerful lawmakers are blocking its path to a vote. The president has pledged to sign the bill.
Without news coverage and support from voters, the bill is likely to be cremeated rather than buried. You can help save it by writing or calling your Senators and House member. If we the people won't act, then senators and representatives will continue to enrich themselves by trading in stocks.
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