Latest news with #STOCKAct
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
New ETF Filing Aims to Capitalize on 'Government Grift'
A provocative new ETF filing aims to capitalize on what it bluntly calls 'government grift.' The Tuttle Capital Government Grift ETF (GRFT) was filed with the SEC this week and proposes a strategy built around tracking the investment activity of U.S. political insiders, including members of Congress and individuals close to the president. According to the prospectus, the fund 'is grounded in the belief that political actors … can influence market outcomes or possess information that materially affects security pricing.' GRFT would scan public disclosures, including STOCK Act filings (known as Periodic Transaction Reports or PTRs), which require members of Congress to report securities trades made by themselves or their spouses. These are filed within 30 to 45 days of a transaction and are available to the public. Tuttle's strategy would systematically download, aggregate and rank these filings based on historical excess returns over three years. Individuals with the most consistent outperformance would have their trades analyzed to estimate current implied holdings. Stocks most frequently bought by these top traders would be considered for inclusion in the portfolio. But GRFT doesn't stop at Congress. The fund would also seek to invest in companies with 'demonstrated ties to Presidential influence.' That includes firms with executives or directors affiliated with the current administration or businesses that receive praise from the president. The manager would also monitor real-time presidential commentary—speeches, tweets, interviews—and adjust exposure accordingly using ETFs or derivatives. The fund plans to hold a concentrated portfolio of 10 to 30 positions, which may include common stocks, ETFs or total return swaps. Position size would reflect both the scale of congressional trading and the perceived materiality of presidential backing. In times of uncertainty or political opacity, GRFT could hold up to 100% of its assets in cash or Treasurys. GRFT builds on a theme popularized by the Unusual Whales Subversive Democratic Trading ETF (NANC) and the Unusual Whales Subversive Republican Trading ETF (GOP), which invest in stocks purchased by Democrat and Republican members of Congress, respectively. But while NANC and GOP are also actively managed and base their portfolios on trades disclosed by sitting members of Congress, they tend to be more systematic in nature and hold broader baskets of between 100 to 200 stocks, compared to GRFT's more concentrated and discretionary approach. By combining congressional trades with presidential sentiment analysis, GRFT introduces more subjectivity into its strategy. Whether that works in practice remains to be seen. Since launching in February 2023, NANC has returned 66%, outpacing the S&P 500's 54% gain over the same period. GOP, by contrast, has lagged with a 35% return. GRFT isn't Tuttle Capital's first foray into unconventional strategies. The firm previously launched the Inverse Cramer Tracker ETF (SJIM) and the Long Cramer Tracker ETF (LJIM), which sought to bet against or follow CNBC host Jim Cramer's stock picks. Those funds garnered a lot of buzz but ultimately struggled with execution, largely due to the difficulty of systematically tracking and trading on a fast-talking TV personality's evolving takes. Both were eventually shut down. GRFT could face similar challenges if its strategy proves too discretionary or difficult to implement. But with retail investors increasingly skeptical of political elites, the concept is bound to turn | © Copyright 2025 All rights reserved
Forbes
14-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
What Is Capitol Trades? The Website Providing Insights Into Politician Trading Activity
Capitol Trades transforms complex government filings into understandable information that can inform ... More both investment decisions and civic engagement. The financial decisions of Congress members have always sparked public curiosity, particularly their stock market activities. With politicians often privy to information that could influence market movements, transparency regarding their trading patterns has become increasingly crucial for both everyday investors and the public. This article examines Capitol Trades, a platform that provides detailed insights into congressional trading activities. We'll examine how this website operates, what information it provides, and whether it serves as a reliable resource for tracking politicians' investments and understanding potential market implications. Capitol Trades is a free online platform that tracks and displays stock market transactions made by U.S. senators and representatives. The website was created by 2iQ Research, a Frankfurt-based company specializing in insider trading data, and officially launched in August 2021 under the leadership of founder Robert Hable. The platform emerged as a response to the 2012 STOCK Act, which requires members of Congress to disclose their stock trades publicly. While this information has technically been available to the public, it was often buried in complex government filings that were difficult for ordinary citizens to access and interpret. Capitol Trades transformed this raw data into an accessible, searchable format that anyone can use to monitor congressional trading activity. Capitol Trades operates by collecting and processing financial disclosure reports that Congress members are legally required to file. The platform sources its data directly from official government filings, ensuring that all information comes from verified, public records rather than speculation or rumors. The website's mission centers on promoting transparency in government by making politicians trading data easily accessible to the general public. By aggregating and organizing this information, Capitol Trades eliminates the need for users to navigate complex government databases or decode technical financial documents. The platform updates its database regularly as new disclosure reports become available; however, delays may occur due to the reporting requirements themselves. Congress members have up to 45 days to report their trades, which means the most recent transactions may not appear immediately on the platform. Capitol Trades offers several distinctive features that make politician trading data accessible and actionable for users seeking transparency and investment insights. Each Congress member has a dedicated profile page that provides comprehensive information beyond just their trading activity. These profiles include biographical details, committee memberships, recent tweets and complete trading histories organized chronologically. Users can view a politician's preferred sectors, most frequently traded stocks and overall trading patterns. The profile pages also display performance metrics, allowing users to see how well a particular politician's trades have performed over time. This feature helps users identify which Congress members might have the most successful track records in the stock market and understand their investment strategies. The platform provides near real-time updates as new congressional trading disclosures become available. Users can view the most recent trades across all politicians or filter for specific individuals they want to monitor. This feature ensures that users stay informed about the latest congressional trading activity without needing to check government databases manually. The real-time aspect is particularly valuable for investors who want to spot emerging trends or identify stocks that are attracting attention from multiple Congress members. By staying current with these disclosures, users can identify investment opportunities or market movements before they become widely known. Capitol Trades includes robust filtering capabilities that allow users to search and sort trading data by multiple criteria. Users can filter by date ranges, political party affiliation, specific politicians, stock symbols, trade types (buy or sell), committee memberships and even by state representation. These filters enable targeted research, such as identifying which Republicans are investing in tech stocks or tracking how members of the Banking Committee are positioning their portfolios. The search functionality transforms a massive database of transactions into manageable, relevant information tailored to each user's specific interests. Capitol Trades presents comprehensive trading metrics, including transaction dates, stock symbols, trade values and whether the transaction was a purchase or sale. The platform also provides context around each trade, such as the politician's committee assignments and recent legislative activities that might relate to their trading decisions. Users can access performance analytics that show how individual trades and overall portfolios have performed since the transactions occurred. The website also tracks trading volume data, identifying the most actively traded stocks among Congress members and highlighting unusual trading patterns that might warrant further investigation. Capitol Trades strongly advocates for increased transparency in political trading, positioning itself as a tool for democratic accountability. The platform's creators believe that sunlight serves as the best disinfectant for potential conflicts of interest, and they've designed their service to make congressional trading data as accessible as possible to ordinary citizens. The website regularly references the STOCK Act and its disclosure requirements, emphasizing how this legislation was designed to prevent insider trading among government officials. Capitol Trades views its role as making these legal requirements more meaningful by ensuring the public can access and understand the disclosed information. The platform has also supported various legislative proposals that would strengthen trading disclosure requirements or impose additional restrictions on congressional trading. Their stance reflects a belief that current transparency measures, while helpful, could be improved to serve the public interest better. Capitol Trades faces several inherent limitations due to the nature of congressional reporting requirements. The most significant issue is reporting delays, as politicians have up to 45 days to disclose their trades, meaning the data does not reflect real-time transactions but rather transactions that occurred weeks or months earlier. Accuracy concerns occasionally arise because the platform relies on politicians to accurately file their disclosure forms. Errors in the original filings, whether intentional or unintentional, can result in inaccurate information being displayed on Capitol Trades. The platform cannot independently verify the accuracy of reported trade values or dates. There's also potential for users to misinterpret the information, particularly regarding causation versus correlation. Just because a politician trades a particular stock doesn't necessarily mean they have inside information, and following political trades without proper due diligence can lead to poor investment decisions. Capitol Trades primarily appeals to retail investors seeking additional data points for their investment research, rather than professional traders looking for immediate market advantages. The platform is best suited for investors who have the time to analyze trends and patterns, rather than those seeking quick trading opportunities. The service is particularly beneficial for investors interested in long-term market trends and those seeking to understand how political developments may impact various sectors. Educational investors seeking to understand market dynamics and the intersection of politics and finance also find significant value in the platform's comprehensive data presentation. Bottom Line Capitol Trades serves as a valuable transparency tool, making congressional trading data accessible to the general public. While the platform has limitations around data delays and accuracy, it successfully transforms complex government filings into understandable information that can inform both investment decisions and civic engagement. For investors seeking additional market insights and citizens interested in government accountability, Capitol Trades provides a free, comprehensive resource for tracking how elected officials invest their money. For other apps that also track politician portfolios, check out Autopilot or Dub. Is Capitol Trade Free To Use? Yes, Capitol Trades is entirely free to use and doesn't require registration or payment to access any of its features. Can You Trust The Data On Capitol Trades? The data comes from official government filings, making it as reliable as the original congressional disclosure reports, though reporting delays and filing errors can affect accuracy. How Often Is The Information Updated? The platform updates regularly as new congressional disclosure reports become available, typically within days of official filing. Does Capitol Trades Cover International Politicians? No, Capitol Trades focuses exclusively on U.S. senators and representatives and doesn't track international political figures.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Is Impinj, Inc. (PI) the Tech Stock That Trump's Fellow Republican Bought Amid Market Rout?
We recently published a list of . In this article, we are going to take a look at where Impinj, Inc. (NASDAQ:PI) stands against other tech stocks that Trump's fellow Republican bought amid market rout. Keeping track of politicians' stock investments is a good way of determining which stocks may receive favorable policy treatment from the government down the road. By looking at the committees these politicians sit in, and the policy matters they are dealing with, investors can gain insights into what's to follow for certain industries. The STOCK Act requires these politicians to report their trades within 45 days of placing them. These disclosures are then made public, making the process as transparent as possible. While looking at some recent disclosures, we noticed certain politicians who stood out. One such politician was Trump's fellow Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, who bought stocks on the 3rd and 4th of April, two days when the S&P lost over 10% of its value! Some of these stocks have already recovered from their lows hit that day, showing how Ms Greene was able to buy stocks that recovered swiftly despite the broader market continuing to struggle. To come up with our list of 10 tech stocks that Trump's fellow Republican bought amid the market rout, we looked at the Republican's two recent filings on the 7th and 11th of April, where she reported these trades. We then ranked them by the number of hedge funds that hold the company's stock in their portfolio. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here). A close-up of a computer engineer working on the code for a cloud connectivity platform. Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 37 Impinj, Inc. (NASDAQ:PI) is a cloud connectivity platform operator. The company's platform wirelessly links items and provides data about the linked items to consumer and business applications. It mainly serves supply chain and logistics, aviation, data centers, retail, automotive, healthcare, banking, industrial, and manufacturing, and other markets. According to the Co-Founder and CEO of Impinj, Chris Diorio, the company has delivered four consecutive years of double-digit revenue growth. This growth was fueled by the strong demand in the general merchandise, supply chain and logistics, and retail apparel. PI reported an impressive 30% YoY revenue growth for the most recent quarter, while for the full-year 2024, the company recorded revenue growth of 19%. Based on the strong earnings, the firm provided a positive future outlook for the company. As per the guidance, PI management anticipates revenue to be in the range of $70 million and $73 million for Q1 2025. It represents a sequential decline because of the absence of large program ramps and excess endpoint IC inventory. Affected by lower average selling prices and product mix, gross margin will be at its lowest point for the year in Q1. However, with the help of cost efficiencies and new product launches, improvements are expected in the coming quarters. Overall, PI ranks 10th on our list of tech stocks that Trump's fellow Republican bought amid market rout. While we acknowledge the potential of PI as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than PI but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Is Dell Technologies (DELL) the Tech Stock That Trump's Fellow Republican Bought Amid Market Rout?
We recently published a list of . In this article, we are going to take a look at where Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DELL) stands against other tech stocks that Trump's fellow Republican bought amid market rout. Keeping track of politicians' stock investments is a good way of determining which stocks may receive favorable policy treatment from the government down the road. By looking at the committees these politicians sit in, and the policy matters they are dealing with, investors can gain insights into what's to follow for certain industries. The STOCK Act requires these politicians to report their trades within 45 days of placing them. These disclosures are then made public, making the process as transparent as possible. While looking at some recent disclosures, we noticed certain politicians who stood out. One such politician was Trump's fellow Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, who bought stocks on the 3rd and 4th of April, two days when the S&P lost over 10% of its value! Some of these stocks have already recovered from their lows hit that day, showing how Ms Greene was able to buy stocks that recovered swiftly despite the broader market continuing to struggle. To come up with our list of 10 tech stocks that Trump's fellow Republican bought amid the market rout, we looked at the Republican's two recent filings on the 7th and 11th of April, where she reported these trades. We then ranked them by the number of hedge funds that hold the company's stock in their portfolio. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here). A team of IT experts discussing the latest network security trends over a laptop screen. Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 63 Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DELL) is a manufacturer, developer, designer, seller, supporter, and marketer of different integrated and comprehensive solutions, services, and products. It operates through Client Solutions Group (CSG) and Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG) segments. President Donald Trump's administration recently announced the exemption of computers, smartphones, and electronics from tariffs. This move has eased pressure on the company, resulting in a recovery in stock price. Moreover, the stock has already recovered over 15% since Ms. Greene bought the shares on the 4th of April. Looking at the company's performance in Q1 2025, Global PC shipments, including notebooks, workstations, and desktops, increased by 9.4%. This growth was driven by Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) speeding up shipments to the United States before tariff changes. The tech firm reported a 3% shipment growth YoY in Q1 by shipping 9.5 million units. Over the last few years, the company's AI servers and networking business segment has been the primary catalyst for its growth. With significant investments in the AI-optimized server products, Dell bounced back and achieved revenue growth in FY 2025. Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DELL) aims for steady long-term growth, with targeted annual revenue growth of 3-4%. Its Infrastructure Solutions Group is anticipated to grow at a faster pace, expanding 6-8% annually. Overall, DELL ranks 9th on our list of tech stocks that Trump's fellow Republican bought amid market rout. While we acknowledge the potential of DELL as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than DELL but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
House Speaker Mike Johnson supports a stock trading ban for US lawmakers
House Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday he is supportive of ongoing efforts on Capitol Hill to ban lawmakers from trading stocks, even as he expressed sympathy for opponents of the idea and didn't say whether he will bring up the effort for a House vote. "You want me to tell you my honest opinion on that?" he said to reporters Wednesday. "I'm in favor of it because I don't think we should have any appearance of impropriety here." But Johnson quickly offered caveats in a nuanced answer, noting, "I understand people that have misgivings about that," while not saying whether a vote would be in the offing. "We'll see where it lands," he concluded. The comments come as some lawmakers again push efforts to ban the controversial practice of congressional stock trading, with other lawmakers again under scrutiny for trading during recent market volatility. Johnson had previously avoided taking a position on the issue, with his new comments coming as varied efforts to enact a ban gain bipartisan support. One bill, called the TRUST in Congress Act, would require lawmakers and their spouses and children to place certain assets into blind trusts. The bill currently has 72 co-sponsors, with 60 Democrats and 12 Republicans supportive. But supporters have been reintroducing this bill for years, only to see previous efforts fail to secure a vote. Another newer effort this year getting attention is called the No Corruption in Government Act, which would prohibit insider trading and also address congressional lobbying. Johnson didn't express support for any bill in particular, but said on Wednesday, "On balance, my view is we probably should do that because I think it's been abused in the past and I think sadly a few bad actors discolored it for everyone." Any new effort would build upon the 2012 STOCK Act, which made clear that insider trading by members of Congress is banned and required trades to be reported. The act has been criticized for not penalizing lawmakers who don't comply with the reporting requirements. Another prominent supporter of the effort is President Trump, who has repeatedly said he would sign a ban if it reaches his desk. He most recently weighed in during an interview with Time last month. "I would be okay with it," he said. "If they send that to me, I would do it." Ben Werschkul is a Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance. Click here for political news related to business and money policies that will shape tomorrow's stock prices
