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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 name🌠d 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 comp𝔍anies h😼is wife regulates

The NANC ETF aims to “achi♈eve 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, w🐷ho 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 stil🅠l need to secure SEC approval.   

Nancy Pelosi
A new fund named after Nancy Pelosi would mimic Congressional Democrats’ stock trades. Getty Images
Ted Cruz
A fund named after Ted Cruz would track GOP lawmakers’ stock trades. Getty Images

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

Dozens of lawmakers across both parties have made curꩲiously timed tr🌠ades 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 be🅷fore the midterm elections. 

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

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

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