Track stocks members of Congress are buying and selling. Pelosi tracker picks and disclosure-driven plays for self-directed investors who follow smart money.
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Members of Congress have access to information most retail investors do not. They sit on committees that hear from corporate executives in private sessions, receive intelligence briefings, and shape the legislation that determines whether a sector wins or loses. They also have a documented record of outperforming broad market indexes. Self-directed investors who track congressional disclosure filings can see, with a lag, where some of the most informed players in the country are putting their money.
The STOCK Act of 2012 made these trades publicly accessible through periodic transaction reports filed within 30 to 45 days of each trade.
Congressional stock trading refers to the buying and selling of equities by members of the US House and Senate, plus their spouses and dependent children. The STOCK Act (Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act) of 2012 made these trades publicly disclosable within 30 to 45 days of execution through periodic transaction reports (PTRs) filed with the relevant House or Senate ethics committees.
The category overlaps with insider trading thematically. Both reflect smart-money positioning by individuals with potential information advantages. The difference is that congressional trades are made by elected officials with access to non-public information from their official duties, while corporate insider trades are made by employees and directors of specific companies.
There are five main approaches.
Following individual members is the most direct approach. Nancy Pelosi (and her husband Paul Pelosi's trades) are the most-followed congressional trades, with multiple ETFs designed around mimicking her positions. Dan Crenshaw, Tommy Tuberville, Pat Fallon, and Marjorie Taylor Greene are also widely tracked.
Sector concentration analysis identifies industries where members of relevant oversight committees are heavily buying. For example, members of the House Armed Services Committee buying defense stocks may signal anticipated procurement decisions.
Pre-vote and post-vote tracking monitors trades that cluster around legislation moving through Congress. Trades that occur within days of votes on industry-specific legislation can signal anticipated policy outcomes.
Spousal trading patterns focus on trades by congressional members' spouses. Many of the highest-volume trades attributed to specific members are actually executed by their spouses.
Following the data through ETFs offers passive exposure. The NANC ETF (Subversive Unusual Whales Democratic Trading ETF) tracks Democratic congressional trades. The KRUZ ETF tracks Republican trades. Both rebalance based on disclosed congressional positions.
Disclosure lag is meaningful. PTRs are filed 30 to 45 days after the trade, so the most-popular congressional trades are at least a month old by the time retail investors see them.
Many trades are routine. Most congressional trades are diversified mutual funds, broad-market ETFs, or routine portfolio rebalancing rather than concentrated stock picks.
Spouses drive much of the activity. The highest-volume traders attributed to specific congresspeople are often their spouses, who may have independent investment decision-making.
Performance data is mixed. Some studies have shown meaningful congressional trading outperformance, while others have shown returns roughly matching broad market benchmarks.
House and Senate Ethics Committee Filings: the official sources for all PTRs.
Quiver Quantitative: tracks congressional trades alongside insider and other smart-money data.
Capitol Trades: a free aggregator focused on congressional trading.
Unusual Whales: tracks congressional trades and provides analysis.
NANC and KRUZ ETFs: passive exposure to disclosed Democratic and Republican congressional trades respectively.
What stocks is Nancy Pelosi buying?
Nancy Pelosi's trades (and her husband Paul Pelosi's trades) are tracked weekly through periodic transaction reports filed with the House Ethics Committee. The most-disclosed Pelosi trades have included tech mega-caps (Microsoft, Nvidia, Alphabet), call options on tech stocks, and select industrial names. VonTrend tracks the latest disclosed Pelosi trades in our Stocks Pelosi Is Buying list.
Is congressional stock trading legal?
Yes. Members of Congress are legally permitted to trade individual stocks. The STOCK Act of 2012 requires disclosure of trades above $1,000 within 30 to 45 days. Various legislators have proposed banning members of Congress from trading individual stocks, but no such ban has been enacted to date.
What is a periodic transaction report?
A periodic transaction report (PTR) is the disclosure form members of Congress, their spouses, and dependent children must file after any trade above $1,000 in stocks, bonds, or other securities. PTRs include the trade date, asset, transaction type, and a price range bucket (rather than exact dollar amount). PTRs are filed with the House or Senate ethics committees and are publicly accessible.
What is the NANC ETF?
The Subversive Unusual Whales Democratic Trading ETF (NANC) is an exchange-traded fund that aims to track the disclosed equity positions of Democratic members of Congress. The fund rebalances quarterly based on the latest PTR disclosures. The KRUZ ETF tracks Republican congressional trades using the same approach.
Can I beat the market by following Congress?
Studies of congressional trading have shown mixed results. Some research documents outperformance of 1% to 5% annually for portfolios mimicking congressional trades, particularly when filtered to members on relevant oversight committees. Other research shows returns roughly matching broad market benchmarks. The disclosure lag (30 to 45 days) is the largest constraint on the strategy's effectiveness.
Congressional trading data is one of the most accessible sources of smart-money tracking available to retail investors. Coverage filters the disclosure noise to surface the trades worth watching. No partisan framing, no political angle, just the equity moves and what self-directed investors can do with them. For specific picks, see our Stocks Pelosi Is Buying and Stocks Members of Congress Are Buying lists.