House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) stock trades have reportedly become of great interest to those looking to beat the market in January.
While Speaker Pelosi has been recognized as the “best trader on the Hill,” online searches for “Pelosi stock trades” have hit a record high, Reuters reported.
Those on social media platforms like YouTube, Twitter, Reddit, and Tiktok reportedly study Pelosi’s trade disclosures after they are published on the House website.
In 2021, Speaker Pelosi disclosed her husband Paul Pelosi has traded stocks valued up to $5 million. The stock trades are primarily in big-tech, such as Apple, Amazon, Tesla, and Microsoft stocks.
The Pelosis in July earned $4.8 million trading tech options. Speaker Pelosi denies she owns the stocks her husband trades.
Lawmakers and their family members are required to disclose trading activity within 45 days of the transaction, according to the 2012 STOCK Act.
But Reuters notes the “transaction reports are typically filed days after the actual purchases and sales, making it potentially difficult for traders aiming to mimic lawmakers’ specific trades.”
Speaker Pelosi is among numerous lawmakers that have reportedly beat the market.
According to UnusualWhales.com, Pelosi ranks as the sixth-best trader. Five Republicans have performed in the market better than Pelosi, including Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX):
Speaker Pelosi has defended lawmakers’ stock trades as participation in a “free-market economy.” Yet after taking heat from both sides of the aisle, she backed down and suggested last week that if members want to ban congressional stock trading, “I’m OK with that.”
In recent months, initiatives in Congress to ban lawmakers from trading stocks have picked up steam.
Donald Trump and even the Washington Post have condemned the practice. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is also reportedly considering a ban on stock trades by lawmakers.
Lawmakers in 2021 reportedly bought and sold nearly $290 million in equities alone. Senators reportedly sold stocks three times more often than purchasing them in 2021.