How the stock purchases members of Congress disclosed did against the S&P 500, measured from the trade date and from the day the public could see them, by chamber and by year, plus what they bought and sold in 2026 and how late they filed. Data as of Oct 20, 2026.
No. The 22,055 disclosed stock purchases that are at least a year old trailed the S&P 500 by an average of 0.4 percentage points over the next 12 months, and 43.2% of them beat the index. The average is lifted by a few large winners; the median purchase trailed the S&P 500 by 4.6 percentage points.
What it means for an investor: the public sees a trade only once it is disclosed, and measured from that day the same purchases trailed the S&P 500 by an average of 0.8 percentage points, 0.4 percentage points less than from the trade date. Disclosures arrive weeks after the trade (median 28 days), 14.9% of them after the 45‑day deadline, and only as value ranges. A disclosed trade is a dated fact about one member’s account, not a signal to copy; past results do not predict future ones.
Every member’s disclosed trades, with a link to each filing, are on the Congress stock trades pages.
Each purchase is measured twice over 12 months: from the close on the trade date, which is what the member’s account got, and from the close on the disclosure date, the first day anyone else could have acted on the filing.
| Purchases by | From the trade date | From the disclosure date | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| All members | −0.4% | −0.8% | −0.4 pts |
| Senate | +0.9% | +0.1% | −0.8 pts |
| House | −0.7% | −1.0% | −0.3 pts |
Figures are average 12‑month returns of the purchases minus the S&P 500’s over the same days. Between the trade and the filing a stock can already have moved, in either direction, so the second column is the fairer test of what a disclosure was worth to anyone reading it. Background on the research: do members of Congress beat the stock market?
| Stock buys by | Buys scored | 3 months | 12 months | 12 months from disclosure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All members | 24,613 | −0.1% | −0.4% | −0.8% |
| Senate | 4,343 | −0.1% | +0.9% | +0.1% |
| House | 20,270 | −0.2% | −0.7% | −1.0% |
| Stock buys by | All members | Senate | House |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buys scored | 24,613 | 4,343 | 20,270 |
| 3 months | −0.1% | −0.1% | −0.2% |
| 12 months | −0.4% | +0.9% | −0.7% |
| 12 months from disclosure | −0.8% | +0.1% | −1.0% |
3‑month figures use every scored purchase; 12‑month figures the purchases that are at least a year old. The House accounts for 82% of the scored purchases, so its average rests on the larger sample.
| Year bought | Buys | 12 months vs S&P 500 | Share that beat it | From disclosure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3,057 | +0.1% | 38.4% | +1.1% |
| 2024 | 2,013 | −5.5% | 38.0% | −5.5% |
| 2023 | 3,326 | −5.1% | 37.2% | −6.0% |
| 2022 | 4,796 | −1.4% | 45.1% | −1.7% |
| 2021 | 1,912 | −1.5% | 47.9% | −2.2% |
| 2020 | 2,535 | +12.1% | 51.6% | +10.6% |
| 2019 | 1,551 | −3.0% | 41.7% | −3.2% |
| 2018 | 1,258 | −0.7% | 47.9% | −1.3% |
| 2017 | 715 | +3.1% | 43.8% | +4.0% |
| 2016 | 406 | +3.5% | 44.6% | +2.0% |
By the year of the purchase: the average beat the S&P 500 in 4 of 10 years. 2026 purchases are not a year old yet; over their first 3 months they trailed the S&P 500 by an average of 0.3 percentage points (1,773 purchases).
The most bought stock of 2026 so far is Microsoft Corporation (MSFT), with 26 buys by 13 members. The most sold was TKNO, with 29 sales by 1 member. Counts cover trades made in 2026 and disclosed before Sep 20, 2026. One member trading the same stock many times can top a list, so the members column matters as much as the count.
The STOCK Act requires a periodic transaction report within 45 days of a trade. 14.9% of the trades were disclosed later than that; the median trade was disclosed 28 days after it was made. Alan Armstrong has the most late disclosures: 701 of 707 trades.
| Member | Disclosed after 45 days | Share of trades | Longest delay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alan Armstrong | 701 of 707 | 99.2% | 119 days |
| Michael McCaul | 665 of 4,240 | 15.7% | 762 days |
| David Perdue Jr | 634 of 2,113 | 30.0% | 849 days |
| Thomas Suozzi | 583 of 677 | 86.1% | 2,174 days |
| Lisa McClain | 553 of 1,447 | 38.2% | 520 days |
| Susie Lee | 327 of 1,284 | 25.5% | 578 days |
| Josh Gottheimer | 286 of 3,442 | 8.3% | 587 days |
| Valerie Hoyle | 222 of 393 | 56.5% | 411 days |
| Thomas Carper | 218 of 1,075 | 20.3% | 972 days |
| Julia Letlow | 210 of 255 | 82.4% | 447 days |
Ro Khanna disclosed 12,771 trades, 11,907 of them in individual stocks, the most of any member in the data.
| Member | Chamber | State | Trades | In stocks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ro Khanna | House | CA | 12,771 | 11,907 |
| Michael McCaul | House | TX | 4,240 | 3,254 |
| Josh Gottheimer | House | NJ | 3,442 | 3,266 |
| Gilbert Cisneros | House | CA | 2,801 | 2,713 |
| David Perdue Jr | Senate | — | 2,113 | 2,054 |
| Lisa McClain | House | MI | 1,447 | 1,423 |
| Susie Lee | House | NV | 1,284 | 1,282 |
| Thomas Tuberville | Senate | AL | 1,214 | 777 |
| Thomas Carper | Senate | DE | 1,075 | 476 |
| Diana Harshbarger | House | TN | 916 | 775 |
No. In Exent's data as of Oct 20, 2026, the 22,055 disclosed stock purchases that are at least a year old trailed the S&P 500 by an average of 0.4 percentage points over the next 12 months, and 43.2% of them beat the index. The median purchase trailed the S&P 500 by 4.6 percentage points.
Measured from the disclosure date, the first day the public could see each trade, the same purchases trailed the S&P 500 by an average of 0.8 percentage points, 0.4 percentage points less than from the trade date. This is a historical average across all members, with a wide spread between members and years; it is not a recommendation to copy any trade.
Senate purchases beat the S&P 500 by an average of 0.9 percentage points over 12 months (3,796 purchases); House purchases trailed the S&P 500 by an average of 0.7 percentage points (18,259).
By number of disclosed purchases in 2026 so far: MSFT (26 buys by 13 members), HUBB (18 buys by 3 members), SPGI (18 buys by 4 members), CHRW (18 buys by 2 members), DASH (16 buys by 2 members). The most sold: TKNO (29), NVDA (23), MSFT (20).
14.9% of the trades in Exent's data were disclosed more than 45 days after the trade, the STOCK Act deadline. The median trade was disclosed 28 days after it was made.
Exent Radar names the 10 members of Congress whose stock buys did best, and shows congressional, insider and big‑fund trades as they are disclosed.
Educational content, not investment advice. Examples are illustrative; past performance does not guarantee future results.