Benzinga · Jan 3, 2023
10 Best Stock Traders In Congress In 2022 (Spoiler: Nancy Pelosi Isn't No. 1)
A new report was out about the performance of members of the U.S. Congress who bought and sold stocks and options in 2022. The report broke down unusual trading activity from members of Congress and also showed the members who beat the returns of the S&P 500. Here are the highlights of the report. What Happened: The year 2022 was the worst for the S&P 500, as tracked by the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE: SPY), since 2008. Despite the bad returns for the overall market, 26 members of Congress beat the S&P 500 with their 2022 return, according to a new detailed report from Unusual Whales. In 2022, 131 members of Congress filed stock and options trading disclosures. This figure was down from 147 members in 2021. The report tracked $788 million in trades from more than 12,700 transactions. The number of transactions was similar to 2021, with around $189 million less traded in 2022 than the previous year. The report found House Republicans had more than 1,000 fewer trades in 2022. House Democrats had over 1,000 more trades in 2022 compared to the previous year. Democrats saw an average return of -1.76% and Republicans saw an average return of 0.4%, both beating the -18% return of the S&P 500 in 2022. Over the past 10 years, about 10% of fund managers outperformed the S&P 500, according to SPIVA data, while in 2022, about 5% of total Congress outperformed. When just comparing the Congressional members who traded — just 131 of the possible 535 — 26 beat the market. That equates to 20%, a much higher rate than professional money managers over time. Here were the top 10 members of Congress by 2022 return, according to the report: Rep. ...
