New analysis from a stunning report highlights the most successful stock traders in Congress in 2023.
The analysis, released by data analysis firm Unusual Whales, compares the investment returns of members of Congress to those of the SPY S&P 500 exchange-traded fund.
Among the top earners is former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who outperformed the index fund by 65.5 percent this year.
Pelosi's lucrative stock options trading has long been a source of cash.
The powerful Democrat's apparent financial acumen has drawn allegations of insider trading and undue influence from her harshest critics, as well as within her own party.
Despite criticism from some Democrats, Pelosi rejected calls to ban members of Congress from trading individual stocks in late 2021.
Nancy Pelosi said today that she does not believe members of Congress should be prohibited from owning individual stocks pic.twitter.com/aoX78t7tl9
– Evan (@StockMKTNewz) December 15, 2021
Curiously, the then-House Democratic leader continued to quietly reverse her mind when she supported a law banning individual stock trading, according to CNBC.
While Pelosi's returns are interesting, she's not the most successful stock trader in Congress for 2023.
Rep. Brian Higgins of New York made a whopping 238.9 percent return on his investments in 2023.
However, the Democrat owns financial stock in only two companies, according to WKBW-TV.
A spokesperson for Higgins described him as one of the most financially modest members of Congress in a statement that provides context about his returns.
Jeff Hauser of the Revolving Door Project describes Congress's stock windfall as too lucrative to be corruption-free, according to the New York Post.
“It is a sign of corrupt semi-insider trading and should be banned – it is either an addiction to risk or a sign of corruption.”
How could members of Congress outperform Wall Street's most dedicated investors, Hauser wondered.
“There are teams of people at sophisticated hedge funds that exist to find simple arbitrage opportunities to make a profit,” Hauser said. “It is unreasonable to think they are finding profit when Bridgewater or Renaissance Capital misses it.
“Either because they know too much or because they can't stop thinking about money.”
Other prominent figures in stock trading in Congress include Democratic Senator Ron Wyden and Republican Representative Mark Green.
This article originally appeared in The Western Journal.
