New funds to mimic congressional stock trades as lawmakers waffle on ban

As members of Congress waffle on plans to ban themselves from buying and selling individual stocks, two new exchange-traded funds named after House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) are aiming to let everyday investors copy their trades. 

The Pelosi-themed ETF would trade under the ticker NANC in honor of the congresswoman whose husband frequently buys and sells stocks of the companies his wife regulates. 

The NANC ETF aims to “achieve long-term capital appreciation” by mimicking the trades of Democrats in Congress, according to a September SEC filing. 

Meanwhile, the Republican ETF would trade under the KRUZ ticker in honor of Cruz, who has traded some individual stocks while in office — but far less frequently than Pelosi. 

Similarly to NANC, KRUZ would seek to score long-term investor returns by imitating Republicans’ trades. New York City-based Subversive Capital would be the adviser for both ETFs, which still need to secure SEC approval.   

Members of Congress are required to disclose their stock trades, though they often do so weeks or months after making them.

Dozens of lawmakers across both parties have made curiously timed trades involving the companies they regulate. Several members of Congress, including Cruz, have also reported trading cryptocurrencies. 

Both Pelosi and Cruz have said they support a ban on stock trading by members of Congress — and various proposals for a ban have been floating around since January — but it appears unlikely that any bill will come up for a vote at least before the midterm elections. 

Last Wednesday, Pelosi said she had been in discussions about a stock trading bill, adding, “We believe we have a product that we can bring to the floor this month.” 

The following day, however, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) told Insider that a vote on a stock trading ban was “not going to happen” before November’s midterm elections. 

More than two-thirds of Americans support banning members of Congress from trading stocks, according to a January Data For Progress poll.