Copy trading: How citizens make millions by copying Nancy Pelosi's stock purchases

Politicians seem to know something about the stock market that the rest of us mortals don't, claims The Telegraph.

According to the British newspaper, a trading strategy designed by the firm Quiver Quantitative revealed that, since April 2020, the value of the S&P 500 has soared by 165% and that, over the same period, the stocks most purchased by members of Congress or their families have posted gains of 465%.

Lawmakers are so successful in financial matters that there are now platforms and apps that collect the data presented by politicians as key information for the strategies of retail investors and even hedge funds.

According to The Telegraph, tens of thousands of Americans now follow and imitate trades made by members of Congress and are earing millions of dollars in the process.

Nancy Pelosi, a trading veteran

One of the most copied is Nancy Pelosi, former speaker of the House of Representatives, who is considered a veteran of congressional stock trading.

According to the British newspaper, Pelosi's disclosed operations have acquired such a reputation that they have become a determining factor in the market.

However, concerns that politicians are unfairly profiting from information obtained through their privileged position could lead to banning members of Congress from conducting stock trades.

"It’s all INSIDE iNFORMATION! Is anybody looking into this??? She is a disgusting degenerate," Trump wrote on Truth Social earlier this month.

Whatever the motivation, these operations have become increasingly lucrative for a growing group of Americans.

In March 2024, Dub, the first regulated brokerage in the United States to offer copy trading accounts to mimic star politicians and traders was created.

According to The Telegraph, of the nearly $100 million invested in Dub, nearly $23 million is in Pelosi's tracking account. Also, since its launch in 2024, its book profits soared 172%.

"[Pelosi] beat every single hedge fund last year. Our customers have made millions of dollars just through her portfolio," Steven Wang, CEO and founder of Dub, told the British newspaper.

Separately, Autopilot, which allows retail investors to copy trades from a variety of portfolios, including the Pelosi Tracker, by linking their existing brokerage accounts, was launched in 2023.

Hundreds of thousands of citizens benefit from copy trading

James Kardatzke, founder of Quiver Quantitative, says, "I wouldn’t be surprised if there are 100,000 people out there who are copy-trading different strategies based on Congressional trading data." 

The Telegraph also revealed that, apart from Pelosi, the investments of Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene have become increasingly popular by copy traders.

PELOSI Act being pushed

Republican Senator Josh Hawley pushed through legislation in April that would prohibit public officials from trading stocks.

Hawley dubbed the legislation the Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments (PELOSI) Act.

"Members of Congress should be fighting for the people they were elected to serve—not day trading at the expense of their constituents," the Missouri senator said in a statement released by his office.

"Americans have seen politician after politician turn a profit using information not available to the general public. It’s time we ban all members of Congress from trading and holding stocks and restore Americans’ trust in our nation’s legislative body," he added.