These ETFs Track Congressional Stock Trades for Democrats and Republicans. Time to Buy?

It's no secret: Members of Congress often buy and sell stocks, just like the rest of us. But while most of us have no inside information on the companies whose shares we buy or sell, U.S. representatives and senators often do have such information. They're also often lobbied by such companies, to vote for or against this or that. It all adds up to a meaningful conflict of interest, which is why some have called for a ban on Congressional trading.

In the meantime, though, whether you think it perfectly fine or troubling, federal legislators continue to trade. And now, if you want, you can trade along with them.

Image source: Getty Images.

Meet two new ETFs tracking Democratic and Republican trades

An exchange-traded fund (ETF) is a fund that trades like a stock. These two funds are designed to trade along with members of Congress, buying and selling what they do, based on available records.

The Unusual Whales Subversive Democratic ETF (NANC 0.44%) and the Unusual Whales Subversive Republican ETF (GOP 1.00%) were both launched on Feb. 7, 2023. The Democratic one's ticker symbol was named for Nancy Pelosi and the Republican ETF's for Ted Cruz -- though the latter was changed earlier this year to claim the ticker of an older political ETF, "GOP" (for "Grand Old Party").

Both ETFs have an expense ratio (annual fee) of 0.74%, meaning that you'll pay $7.40 each year for every $1,000 you have invested in the fund.

Although neither has had enough time in which to lay down much of a track record, below is how each ETF has performed. I'm also including average gains for the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO 0.28%), for comparison:

Data source: Morningstar.com, as of Aug. 28.

The Democratic ETF has clearly performed better, but remember that we don't even have three full years of performance to assess.

Here's a closer look at each ETF.

The Unusual Whales Subversive Democratic ETF

What's in the Democratic ETF? Take a look at its top 10 holdings:

Data source: Morningstar.com, as of Aug. 27.

The ETF holds a total of 149 different stocks, with its top 10 making up nearly half of its value. Such concentration is great when the top holdings are going up, but the fund can fall harder if those stocks slump. Turnover is high, too, at 62%. That's because this ETF can't passively track an index, and must follow the activity of the politicians involved.

The stocks above give you an idea of why the ETF has performed well, as market darlings Nvidia, Microsoft, and Amazon.com have significant weightings. (Indeed, most or all of the "Magnificent Seven" stocks are included.)

The Unusual Whales Subversive Republican ETF

Here are the Republican ETF's top holdings:

Data source: Morningstar.com, as of Aug. 27.

This ETF is a bit less concentrated, with its top 10 holdings (out of 143) making up only about a third of the ETF's value. It also focuses less on high-tech stocks, with its top holdings including a bank, a telecom giant, energy companies, and an insurance company -- along with Nvidia and some tech stocks. That means it offers a bit more of a dividend yield (though both funds' yields are small, below 1%).

Should you invest in these ETFs?

I think it's fun to look at these ETFs, but I'm not going to invest in either anytime soon. Sure, politicians have an inside track on legislation or regulations in development, but they're not necessarily the savviest investors.

I think it would be safer to go with a tried-and-true index fund such as the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF mentioned above -- which you can see performed very respectably during the periods in question. Alternatively, if you're looking for faster-growing ETFs, there are plenty of those -- and they have much longer track records.