Unusual Whales ETFs: Trade Like A Member Of Congress
Two new exchange-traded funds (ETFs) hit the market on Tuesday, and they’re going to let you trade like your favorite people in Congress — whichever side you’re on.
The ETFs, called Unusual Whales Subversive Democratic Trading ETF (NANC) and Unusual Whales Subversive Republican Trading ETF (KRUZ), will follow the portfolios of stock-loving lawmakers like former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Texas representative Ted Cruz.
The ETFs are co-created by investment firm Subversive Capital and options flow platform and data provider Unusual Whales.
“A quick online search shows how members of Congress perform relative to the rest of the market. Congress has outperformed the market and beat the SPY index in 2021 and 2022,” shared Christian H. Cooper, the ETFs’ portfolio manager.
“We believe members of Congress have more information than the rest of us, and if they can trade on that information, we should be able to do the same, and now we can.”
According to the news release, the NANC and KRUZ Funds will “invest primarily in equity securities of companies that sitting, registered Democratic and Republican members of United States Congress, respectively, and/or their spouses have reported to have invested as analyzed and provided to the Advisor by Unusual Whales.”
The NANC fund will invest in equities traded by lawmakers and their spouses who are members of the Democratic Party, while the KRUZ fund will focus on the stocks held and sold by Republican lawmakers and their spouses. The funds will each have a 0.75% management fee.
According to Unusual Whales, trades will be done as the lawmakers disclose them, which would often be delayed. The time between the transaction date and filing now averages 10 to 20 days, according to the online trading hub. Cooper will be updating the portfolio “around weekly” except in cases of significant change that would warrant a more immediate update.
Cooper also told the Financial Times that each fund has about 400 holdings and that they offered varying exposures. NANC is “tech-heavy,” while KRUZ is more focused on energy and gambling.
These ETFs come shortly after a renewed proposal from Republican Senator Josh Hawley to ban lawmakers from holding and trading stocks. Called the PELOSI Act, the bill was not the first of its kind to be submitted in the new session and it also won’t be the last to fail in Congress.
Information for this story was found via Unusual Whales, Subversive Capital, Financial Times, Insider, and the sources mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
