2024 "Capitol Hill Stock God" performance: dozens of members of Congress outperformed the U.S. stock market, with the highest return reaching 149%!

In addition to Wall Street, a group of "stock gods" has emerged on Capitol Hill in recent years. According to a new report from the American financial data service company Unusual Whales, in the recently concluded year of 2024, as the congressional stock trading ban stagnated, the stock investment portfolios of more than 20 lawmakers outperformed the market. The report shows that overall, last year, the stock holdings of Democratic lawmakers rose by 31%, while those of Republican lawmakers increased by 26%, compared to a 24.9% rise in the S&P 500 index. The report found that the stocks held by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Democrat from California) saw an increase of nearly 71% in 2024, continuing a trend of outperforming the market over the past few years. Pelosi opposed the congressional stock trading ban, stating that lawmakers should be able to participate in a "free market economy." Last year, nine lawmakers had trading performances that exceeded Pelosi's, with Representative David Rouzer (Republican from North Carolina) achieving the highest portfolio return of 149%, primarily due to his purchase of NVIDIA stock a few years ago. The report noted that Rouzer "bought these stocks years ago" and "is not an active trader." In contrast, other lawmakers were more active in trading, with some engaging in "a large number of unusual trades." Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Democrat from Florida) had the second-best portfolio return after Rouzer, having purchased shares of satellite operator Viasat last October while serving on the House Military Construction Appropriations Subcommittee. According to federal contract data, Viasat has secured over $2.7 billion in government contracts since the 2020 fiscal year, primarily from the Department of Defense. House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee member Dan Newhouse (Republican from Washington) purchased shares of aerospace defense company RTX (formerly Raytheon) in April last year. RTX is one of the largest contractors for the government, receiving billions of dollars annually from the federal government. Concerns Over Insider Trading Resurface The report also pointed out that there are many conflicts between lawmakers' stock holdings and their committee and legislative work. "The idea of lawmakers trading stocks while legislating is problematic in itself. The policies that Congress members create can directly impact the market. Regardless of whether they trade based on insider information, the potential for abuse undermines public trust," the report stated. Under the STOCK Act passed in 2012, U.S. lawmakers are prohibited from trading based on non-public information obtained during their tenure and are required to submit financial disclosure documents frequently. However, lawmakers can still trade on the public stock market, and the delays in reporting and lack of enforcement actions have raised questions about this legislation. No lawmaker has ever been charged with violating the aforementioned act, even though reports indicated that lawmakers sold stocks at the onset of the pandemic. Since 2020, none of the ten proposed bills aimed at strengthening congressional stock trading safeguards or completely banning congressional stock trading have received a vote in the House The latest report has once again raised concerns about insider trading by congressional members. In fact, over the past few years, the stock trading behavior of congressional members has frequently come under criticism, with many believing that their stock investments, while possessing a wealth of sensitive information, could lead to conflicts of interest and unfair market advantages, harming the rights of ordinary investors. Last month, U.S. President Joe Biden called for a ban on stock trading by lawmakers, marking the first time in his political career that he has taken a stance on this issue. Biden stated, "No one in Congress should be able to profit from the stock market while in office." He expressed confusion over how congressional members can comfortably engage in stock trading while representing their states or districts and believes that current laws should be amended. (Comprehensive U.S. stock dynamics)