Congressional Stock Trading: How Politicians' Trades Perform

Congressional stock trading draws scrutiny every election cycle—but how do politicians' trades actually perform on the numbers in public filings? The answer is uneven: some members look strong on disclosed buys, many do not, and activity level ≠ returns.

The short answer

We measure performance on disclosed stock purchases over a 10-year window, comparing each member's estimated buy returns with matched S&P 500 purchases on the same dates and sizes.

Snapshot from our latest rankings:

• 33 of the top 50 ranked members beat matched SPY (beatSpyMultiplier above 1.0).
• 32 members currently filter onto politicians beating the market.
• 286 members have enough trades to rank by activity—the busiest trader is not automatically the best performer.

Leaders by disclosed return vs matched benchmark:

Politician	Disclosed return (10y)	vs matched SPY
Brenda Lawrence	+1,187%	4.0×
Roger Marshall	+977%	3.4×
Rubén Hinojosa	+946%	2.7×
Barbara Comstock	+537%	2.0×
Ron Wyden	+468%	2.2×

Performance is only one dimension

Congressional trading research usually mixes three separate questions:

Dimension	What to check
Returns	Did disclosed buys beat matched SPY? → best performing politicians
Timing	Did they pick unusually good days? → do politicians time the market? (50% = luck)
Flow	What are they buying or selling now? → stocks congress is buying / selling

A politician can rank high on timing and weak on returns, or the reverse.

What the performance numbers exclude

• Sales, options, crypto, and assets without tickers.
• Trades filed late (see late disclosures).
• Exact share counts—filings use preset dollar ranges.

“Outperformance” here means beat matched SPY on disclosed purchases, not guaranteed skill or insider knowledge.

Track this on Politician Stock Tracker

Compare returns, timing, and live flow on Politician Stock Tracker. Browse best performing politicians for the full leaderboard.

Disclaimer

Data compiled from public STOCK Act and OGE financial disclosure filings. Return estimates use disclosed purchase ranges and matched benchmark methodology; they are not audited portfolio statements. This article is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice.