Anyone paying attention knows Wall Street is rigged.
And in case we ever forget, we get insider trading accusations against Senator Richard Burr, Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan and Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren to help us remember.
Why play the game fairly, when you can play it dirty? It has been reported that 78 members of Congress have violated a law designed to prevent insider trading and stop conflicts of interest.
But instead of condemning these government officials… we’re now celebrating one of the worst offenders.
That’s exactly what went down Tuesday when the highly unanticipated Subversive Unusual Whales Subversive Democratic Trading ETF (NYSE: NANC) began trading.
The ticker symbol NANC draws its name from former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Over the years, her husband, Paul Pelosi, has established a reputation for being one of the top stockpickers in the game.
His incredible timing has many believing he trades off insider information.
Some of his most notable trades include:
- Buying $1 million in Nvidia weeks before a congressional vote that would provide enormous subsidies in the chip industry.
- Cashing in Alphabet calls one week before the House Judiciary Committee voted to curtail the “unregulated power” of companies like Google and Amazon. He made a cool $5.3 million on the trade.
- Exercising calls and purchasing stock in Microsoft 12 days before the company announced a government contract to supply U.S. Army combat troops with augmented reality headsets.
- Snatching up between $500,000 to $1 million worth of Tesla a month before President Biden announced the federal government would transition its fleet to electric vehicles.
If this all sounds shady, recall the STOCK Act.
Passed in 2012, it allows members of Congress to make trades — even if those trades potentially conflict with their legislative duties.
They merely need to disclose the information within 45 days.
How this is all legal is beyond us.
This brand-new ETF lets you partake in the shenanigans.
But if you have to wait 45 days to find out what their moves are…
Then you, my friend, are late to the party.
Nonetheless, several websites track politicians and their stock purchases.
You don’t have to pay an ETF a whopping 0.75% expense ratio for that kind of “alpha.”
The lack of demand for NANC was made clear on day one, with barely 50,000 shares traded on its first day.
While the Pelosi family has made a fortune in the stock market… following this ETF won’t help you profit from their alleged insider trading.
And as much as we want to believe the markets are fair, the facts point to a different answer.
Let’s not forget that questions about insider trading are everywhere – even at the Fed.
A couple of years ago, we discovered that Federal Reserve Bank officials were trading during the pandemic, touching off a scandal that shook investors’ confidence and violated the public’s trust.
Two senior central bank officials left not long afterward and the Fed created new ethics standards.
The best way to protect your portfolio isn’t by trying to mimic government officials’ trades. But that doesn’t mean you should tune them out.
After all, Fed Chairman Powell still possesses the keys to the kingdom. And his latest speech on Tuesday had the markets buzzing.
It wasn’t because of what he said, but what he didn’t say.
- Powell believes the disinflationary process has begun, but it has a long way to run.
- He believes the data point to a “no landing” scenario (the big debate has always been between a hard or soft landing).
- The economy proves itself to be resilient despite the aggressive wave of monetary tightening. The brighter growth outlook keeps yields and the Fed’s tightening forecasts elevated without crushing stocks.
The market reacted positively toward Powell’s statement on Tuesday.
So where does that leave you with your money?
For the answers, we turn to our experts at Eagle Financial.
Here’s What They’re Saying about Powell, the Fed and the Economy…
Mark Skousen:
Last week, the Labor Department reported that nonfarm payrolls increased by 517,000 in January, and the unemployment rate dropped to 3.4%, a level not seen since the mid-1960s. This is further evidence that the U.S. economy — as I’ve insisted for months based on gross output (GO) data — is not in a recession.
This week, Mark sold the second piece of his recommended May $135 Tesla call options — generating a stunning 340% gain for his readers.
Jim Woods:
There are many reasons to remain skeptical that the bull market has resumed. First and foremost, equities have never been put in a bottom before a recession has begun in modern market history. And with a deeply inverted yield curve (across all duration spreads) and higher-frequency economic data pointing to a sharp slowdown in growth, it is hard to imagine a scenario where a soft landing plays out. We could be wrong, however, and “it could be different this time.” But in our experience, counting on that phrase has never paid off.
Bryan Perry:
How Powell frames his comments will dictate almost everything in the financial markets. He will try to thread the needle after using the uber-bullish word “disinflation” 15 times during last week’s post-Federal Open Market Committee press conference. He can’t put that back into the bottle, but he can warn of inflation reigniting to justify the Fed remaining vigilant.
The market is beginning to pick up again… and it’s tempting to try to chase right here. But if you stay patient, you’ll get chances to buy on dips. Our take: stay away from gimmick ETFs and follow our experts’ trading ideas.
To your wealth,
The Wealth Whisperer Team
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
(HEARD THIS WEEK AROUND EAGLE FINANCIAL)
Speaking of Bryan Perry, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a single trading guru out there who’s been able to accomplish what he has for his readers…
The opportunity to generate seven figures in trading gains — over each of the last three years (each time in under 10 months). Find out how Bryan’s pulled it off — and what he has in store for the rest of 2023 – here in his latest investor briefing.
