Politician Trading Encyclopedia

The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act was signed into law by President Barack Obama in April 2012 as a direct response to growing public outcry over potential insider trading by members of Congress.

Before this legislation, there was significant legal ambiguity regarding whether members of Congress were technically 'insiders' under traditional SEC definitions.

The act was designed to provide a clear legal framework that explicitly prohibits members of Congress and other government employees from using non-public information derived from their official positions for personal profit in the stock market.

It was passed following a high-profile '60 Minutes' report that highlighted suspicious trading activity by both Democrats and Republicans, creating a rare moment of bipartisan consensus to address the perception that lawmakers were playing by a different set of rules than the American public.

The primary goal was to restore trust in the legislative process by ensuring that those who make the laws are also subject to the same transparency and ethical standards as retail investors.

By mandating that financial transactions be disclosed in a timely manner, the STOCK Act aimed to shine a light on the intersection of legislative power and private wealth.

Track the latest disclosures on PolyTICK.us.

The STOCK Act officially became law on April 4, 2012.

While its passage was celebrated as a victory for transparency, the law has undergone significant modifications and faced various implementation challenges over the subsequent decade.

Notably, just one year after its passage, Congress quietly passed an amendment that weakened the online disclosure requirements for senior congressional staff and executive branch officials, citing security concerns.

This move was criticized by transparency advocates who argued it made the data harder to access for the general public and journalists.

In recent years, the conversation has shifted from simple disclosure to outright bans on individual stock trading for members of Congress.

Multiple bills, such as the Ban Congressional Stock Trading Act and the ETHICS Act, have been introduced to close remaining loopholes and prevent even the appearance of a conflict of interest.

Despite these efforts, the original 2012 framework remains the primary legal mechanism governing congressional trades.

PolyTICK monitors these legislative shifts in real-time to ensure our intelligence engine reflects the most current regulatory environment, providing users with the context needed to interpret disclosure data accurately.

Stay updated with our legislative alerts.

The core disclosure requirement of the STOCK Act is the Periodic Transaction Report (PTR).

Members of Congress are required to file a PTR for any financial transaction—including the purchase, sale, or exchange of stocks, bonds, commodity futures, and other securities—that exceeds $1,000.

These reports must be filed within 30 to 45 days of the transaction date, depending on when the member became aware of the trade.

This requirement applies not only to the members themselves but also to their spouses and dependent children, closing a potential loophole where trades could be hidden in family accounts.

The information must be made available to the public via the official websites of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

However, the format of these disclosures varies wildly, ranging from high-quality digital data to handwritten, scanned PDFs that are difficult for traditional software to parse.

This is where PolyTICK’s intelligence engine provides a decisive advantage, as we use advanced OCR and data normalization techniques to convert these disparate reports into a clean, actionable signal for retail investors.

Explore our clean data feeds today.

The penalties for failing to disclose a trade within the 45-day window are remarkably lenient, which is a major point of contention for reform advocates.

Typically, a member of Congress who misses a deadline is hit with a $200 fine.

This fine is often waived by ethics committees if the member provides a 'reasonable' excuse for the delay.

Critics argue that a $200 fine is a negligible 'cost of doing business' for a lawmaker who might be making six or seven-figure trades.

Furthermore, the enforcement of insider trading provisions is handled by the SEC and the Department of Justice, which face significant hurdles when investigating members of Congress due to the 'Speech or Debate' clause of the Constitution.

This clause protects lawmakers from certain types of legal inquiry into their official legislative duties, making it difficult to prove that a specific trade was based on non-public information obtained during a committee meeting or private briefing.

Because the legal penalties are often seen as toothless, the real 'penalty' for many politicians is the public scrutiny and reputational risk that comes with late or suspicious disclosures—a risk that PolyTICK amplifies by making this data easily accessible to the public.

See our transparency leaderboard.

Since its inception, several high-profile members of Congress have faced scrutiny for STOCK Act violations or suspicious trading patterns.

During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Senators Richard Burr, Kelly Loeffler, David Perdue, and Dianne Feinstein were investigated for selling stocks shortly after receiving classified briefings on the potential severity of the virus.

While the Department of Justice eventually closed these investigations without bringing charges, the public backlash was immense and contributed to several of these individuals losing their re-election bids.

More recently, numerous members from both sides of the aisle have been 'outed' for failing to disclose trades on time, sometimes missing dozens of deadlines in a single year.

These violations are not limited to one party; they represent a systemic issue within the halls of Congress.

By tracking these historical violators, PolyTICK allows users to see which politicians have a track record of 'forgetting' to disclose their trades and whether those late disclosures often precede major market movements or legislative shifts.

Monitor violator history on PolyTICK.

The most glaring loophole in the STOCK Act is the 45-day disclosure window itself.

In the modern, high-frequency trading environment, 45 days is an eternity.

By the time a politician discloses a trade, the market has often already moved, leaving retail investors at a permanent disadvantage.

Another significant loophole is the use of 'blind trusts.' While intended to prevent conflicts of interest, the rules governing what constitutes a truly blind trust are often criticized as being too flexible, allowing politicians to maintain some level of awareness or influence over their portfolios.

Additionally, the act does not explicitly ban trading in sectors that a member’s committee oversees.

A member of the Energy and Commerce Committee can still trade oil and gas stocks, even if they are drafting legislation that directly impacts those companies.

Furthermore, the definition of 'non-public information' is notoriously difficult to nail down in a political context, where information often flows through informal networks and 'whisper' campaigns.

PolyTICK’s 8-layer engine is specifically designed to bridge these gaps by combining disclosure data with sentiment analysis and institutional signals.

Bridge the loophole gap with our signals.

In response to the perceived failures of the STOCK Act, there has been a surge in legislative efforts to ban individual stock trading for members of Congress entirely.

The most prominent of these is the 'Ban Congressional Stock Trading Act,' which would require members and their spouses to move their assets into a qualified blind trust or divest from individual stocks altogether.

Proponents argue that this is the only way to truly eliminate the conflict of interest inherent in being both a lawmaker and an active market participant.

Another major proposal is the 'ETHICS Act,' which seeks to increase the fines for late disclosures from $200 to something more substantial that would actually act as a deterrent.

While these bills often enjoy broad public support, they have historically struggled to gain traction in leadership circles.

However, the political pressure is mounting, and several prominent leaders who once opposed a ban have recently signaled a willingness to consider reform.

PolyTICK tracks these legislative developments closely, as any change in the law would fundamentally alter the data landscape for political trading.

Track reform progress here.

Asymmetry in information is the core problem that the STOCK Act was supposed to solve but arguably failed to eliminate.

When a politician trades based on insights gathered from a closed-door briefing, they are acting on information that is not yet 'priced in' to the market.

By the time the public finds out about the trade up to 45 days later, the 'alpha' or profit potential has often been exhausted.

This creates a two-tiered market where the 'political class' can front-run the 'investor class.' This advantage is particularly pronounced in sectors like healthcare, defense, and technology, where legislative decisions can create or destroy billions of dollars in market value overnight.

For example, if a member of the Armed Services Committee knows a major contract is about to be awarded, their trade is a leading indicator.

The 45-day delay ensures that by the time you see the trade, the contract has been announced and the stock has already popped.

PolyTICK combats this asymmetry by providing predictive layers, such as congressional hearing sentiment and ARK Invest convergence, to help retail investors anticipate these moves before the disclosure window closes.

Level the playing field with our 8-layer engine.

Nancy Pelosi is perhaps the most scrutinized trader in the history of the U.S.

Congress, largely due to the consistently high performance of her family's portfolio.

Analysis of her disclosures shows that her trades, often executed by her husband Paul Pelosi, frequently focus on high-conviction tech stocks and deep-in-the-money LEAPS (Long-term Equity Anticipation Securities).

These options plays allow the Pelosis to gain significant leverage on companies like NVIDIA, Apple, Microsoft, and Google.

Historically, their portfolio has not just beaten the S&P 500; it has often crushed it by double-digit margins.

Critics point to the timing of these trades, noting that they often occur just weeks or months before major tech-friendly legislation or government contracts are announced.

While the Pelosis maintain that all trades are made independently by their financial advisors, the sheer consistency of their outperformance has made 'Pelosi tracking' a viral phenomenon among retail investors.

PolyTICK provides a dedicated Pelosi tracker that breaks down her latest filings, current holdings, and historical win rate, giving users a direct look at the 'Pelosi Portfolio'.

Track the Pelosi portfolio in real-time.

Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama is one of the most active traders in the Senate, often filing dozens of transaction reports in a single month.

Unlike some of his colleagues who focus on long-term tech plays, Tuberville’s trading is characterized by its high frequency and broad sector coverage.

He has shown a particular affinity for the energy, industrial, and agricultural sectors—areas that often align with his committee assignments.

Tuberville has faced criticism for trading stocks in industries that he directly oversees, including companies involved in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and those affected by environmental regulations.

His trading style is more akin to a day trader than a long-term investor, which makes him a fascinating subject for retail investors who are looking for high-velocity signals.

PolyTICK’s leaderboard often features Tuberville near the top for total trade volume, and our sector rotation charts highlight exactly where he is shifting his capital at any given moment.

Monitor Tuberville's latest trades.

Representative Dan Crenshaw gained national attention in the political trading world after a report suggested he was one of the top-performing traders in Congress in 2021, even outperforming the S&P 500 by a significant margin.

Crenshaw’s trades tend to be more modest in size compared to the multi-million dollar plays of the Pelosis, but his 'hit rate' or accuracy has been remarkably high.

He often trades in the energy and healthcare sectors, which are frequently the subject of intense legislative activity.

Crenshaw has defended his trading, stating that he follows all rules and that his trades are based on public information.

However, the fact that a relatively junior member of Congress can consistently beat the market average has fueled the debate over whether even 'incidental' knowledge gained in the halls of Congress provides an unfair edge.

PolyTICK tracks Crenshaw’s trades with the same rigor as senior leadership, allowing users to see if his high-performance streak is continuing and which specific tickers are driving his returns.

See Crenshaw's performance metrics.

The 'top 20' list of congressional traders is a dynamic roster that shifts as new disclosures are filed, but it consistently features a mix of veteran leaders and newer members.

Names like Nancy Pelosi, Tommy Tuberville, Mark Green, Josh Gottheimer, and Ro Khanna are frequently at the top of the list for total dollar volume or frequency of trades.

These individuals are often referred to as 'the whales of Washington.' Tracking the top 20 is crucial because their collective activity often signals broader 'bipartisan convergence' on certain sectors or industries.

If both a senior Republican on the Armed Services Committee and a senior Democrat on the Appropriations Committee are buying the same defense stock, the signal is significantly stronger than a single isolated trade.

PolyTICK’s politician leaderboard is updated daily to reflect the latest rankings, providing a 'heat map' of where the most powerful people in the country are putting their money.

View the Top 20 Whale Leaderboard.

While members of Congress trade across the entire market, there are certain 'political favorites' that appear in disclosures with high frequency.

Big Tech dominates the list, with Apple, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Alphabet, and Amazon being staples in many congressional portfolios.

This is partly due to the broad market exposure these companies provide, but it also reflects the fact that Congress is constantly debating antitrust, privacy, and chip manufacturing legislation that directly impacts these giants.

Beyond tech, defense contractors like Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, and General Dynamics are perennial favorites, especially during times of global conflict.

Healthcare companies like Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson also see significant activity.

PolyTICK’s ticker-specific analytics show which stocks have the highest 'congressional ownership' and whether the current trend is towards accumulation or distribution among lawmakers.

Search for high-ownership stocks.

One of the most powerful signals in political trading is the 'Committee Correlation.' Members of Congress sit on committees that have jurisdiction over specific sectors of the economy.

For example, the House Financial Services Committee oversees banks and fintech, while the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee oversees oil, gas, and renewables.

When a member trades a stock that falls within their committee’s jurisdiction, it raises immediate questions about potential conflicts of interest.

More importantly for investors, it often serves as a 'leading indicator' of legislative intent.

If a member of the Health Committee is buying biotech stocks ahead of a new drug pricing bill, that trade is worth watching.

PolyTICK’s 8-layer engine automatically cross-references every trade with the politician’s committee assignments, highlighting these high-conviction 'power trades' for our users.

Filter trades by committee.

Yes, there are numerous documented instances where the timing of congressional trades has aligned suspiciously well with major legislative events.

One of the most famous examples occurred during the 2008 financial crisis, where several members of Congress sold stocks after private briefings with the Treasury Secretary and the Fed Chairman, just before the market crashed.

More recently, trades made ahead of the CARES Act in 2020 and the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022 have drawn scrutiny.

These trades often involve buying stocks in companies that will benefit from new subsidies or selling those that will be hit by new regulations.

While proving 'intent' is legally difficult, the statistical correlation is often too strong to ignore.

PolyTICK’s historical data engine allows users to 'rewind the tape' and see how politician trades performed around major votes, providing a blueprint for how to trade future legislative cycles.

Review historical legislative trades.

Retail investors should track the top 20 traders because these individuals represent a concentrated pool of information and influence.

These are not just wealthy individuals; they are individuals who have a hand in shaping the economic environment.

By following the 'Top 20,' an investor can see the 'smart money' of Washington in action.

This isn't just about copying one person's trades; it's about identifying 'the consensus of the powerful.' If the most active traders are all rotating out of tech and into energy, it might signal a shift in legislative priority that the broader market hasn't fully grasped yet.

PolyTICK simplifies this process by aggregating the activity of these top traders into a single, easy-to-digest signal, allowing retail investors to benefit from the same 'insider' perspectives that have historically allowed politicians to beat the market.

Join the Elite Whale-Tracker tier.

The House and Senate Armed Services Committees are responsible for the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which dictates hundreds of billions of dollars in military spending.

Membership on these committees provides lawmakers with early access to information regarding upcoming defense contracts, classified weapons programs, and geopolitical strategy.

For retail investors, tracking the trades of committee members like the Chairman or Ranking Member is essential.

If several members are accumulating shares in Lockheed Martin or Raytheon ahead of a major budget vote, it serves as a high-confluence signal that defense spending is poised to increase.

PolyTICK cross-references these committee assignments with trade data to show you which 'defense hawks' are putting their own capital behind their legislative decisions.

By monitoring these moves, you can anticipate shifts in the defense sector before the broader market reacts to the official announcement of contract awards.

Track defense contract trades.

The Energy and Commerce Committee has one of the broadest jurisdictions in Congress, overseeing everything from telecommunications and data privacy to energy policy and healthcare.

For the tech sector, this committee is the primary battleground for antitrust legislation and net neutrality rules.

When members of this committee trade stocks like Google, Meta, or Amazon, they are doing so with a deep understanding of the regulatory hurdles these companies face.

A sudden sell-off by committee members could signal an upcoming regulatory crackdown or a contentious hearing that might spook investors.

PolyTICK’s sentiment analysis of these committee hearings adds an extra layer of intelligence, helping you gauge whether the 'tone' of the committee is turning hostile towards Big Tech.

This allows retail investors to hedge their positions or identify short-term trading opportunities based on legislative friction.

Analyze tech regulatory risk.

The House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hold the keys to the regulatory environment for banks, credit card companies, and the emerging fintech and crypto sectors.

These committees draft the laws that govern capital requirements, interest rates, and consumer protection.

When a member of the Financial Services Committee buys shares in a regional bank or a payments processor like PayPal, it often suggests confidence in the stability or growth potential of that sector under current or proposed legislation.

Conversely, trades in crypto-related stocks like Coinbase are often a leading indicator of how Congress intends to handle digital asset regulation.

PolyTICK tracks these 'financial power trades' in real-time, giving you a seat at the table where the rules of the financial world are written.

Monitor fintech legislation.

Members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees have access to the most sensitive, classified information in the U.S.

government.

While they are strictly prohibited from trading on this non-public information under the STOCK Act, the 'incidental' knowledge they gain about global stability, cyber threats, and international relations is inevitably part of their worldview.

This makes their trades some of the most followed in the market.

For example, a shift in their portfolio towards cybersecurity firms like CrowdStrike or Palo Alto Networks might signal an increased threat environment that isn't yet public knowledge.

PolyTICK monitors these 'intelligence signals' with extreme care, helping users see how the most informed people in Washington are positioning their portfolios for global volatility.

Track cybersecurity trades.

The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health and the Senate HELP Committee (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions) oversee the FDA, NIH, and the massive Medicare/Medicaid budgets.

Their decisions on drug pricing, patent laws, and healthcare subsidies can make or break a biotech company overnight.

If a member of a health-related committee is trading a small-cap biotech firm ahead of an FDA decision or a major clinical trial result, the signal strength is exceptionally high.

PolyTICK’s intelligence engine specifically flags these 'Biotech-Committee' overlaps, allowing retail investors to see where the experts in healthcare policy are placing their bets.

This level of insight is crucial for navigating the high-risk, high-reward world of pharmaceutical investing.

Filter for biotech power trades.

The Judiciary Committee oversees antitrust laws, intellectual property, and civil liberties.

For media giants like Disney, Warner Bros., or even social media platforms, the Judiciary Committee is the primary source of legislative risk.

Their investigations into 'Big Tech' dominance or copyright reform can have multi-billion dollar implications.

When members of this committee trade in the media or communications sectors, they are often anticipating shifts in the legal landscape that will affect these companies' bottom lines.

PolyTICK’s 8-layer engine integrates these judiciary signals with our broader data streams to provide a comprehensive view of how legal and legislative power interacts with the market.

Monitor media monopoly risk.

The Agriculture Committees in both the House and Senate control the 'Farm Bill,' a massive piece of legislation that dictates subsidies for crops, insurance for farmers, and regulations for the food industry.

This directly impacts the stock prices of companies like John Deere, Archer-Daniels-Midland, and major fertilizer producers.

When committee members trade these stocks, they are often acting on information regarding global food security, trade agreements, and subsidy changes.

PolyTICK helps you track these 'Agri-Power' trades, providing a unique perspective on a sector that is often overlooked by mainstream financial media but is highly sensitive to political maneuvering.

Track fertilizer and ag trades.

Members of the Foreign Relations and Foreign Affairs Committees are at the forefront of U.S.

foreign policy, sanctions, and trade deals.

Their insights into upcoming sanctions on specific countries or sectors can provide a massive advantage in the energy and materials markets.

For example, a member selling off international energy stocks ahead of a major sanction announcement is a powerful signal.

PolyTICK tracks these 'Geopolitical Trades,' allowing retail investors to benefit from the same high-level diplomatic insights that inform the portfolios of Washington’s elite diplomats.

Anticipate geopolitical shifts.

PolyTICK’s proprietary 8-layer intelligence engine is the core of our platform, designed to synthesize multiple data streams into a single, high-conviction signal.

The layers include: 1.

Politician Trade Disclosures (STOCK Act data), 2.

Committee Power (cross-referencing trades with legislative roles), 3.

ARK Invest Real-Time Bets (institutional alignment), 4.

Analyst Price Targets (Wall Street sentiment), 5.

Overlay Indicators (technical analysis fusion), 6.

Motley Fool Alignment (retail/institutional consensus), 7.

AI/ML Anomaly Detection (identifying unusual patterns), and 8.

Congressional Hearing Sentiment (AI-driven transcript analysis).

By combining these disparate signals, PolyTICK eliminates the 'noise' of isolated trades and reveals the true 'confluence' where political power, institutional money, and market sentiment meet.

This multi-dimensional approach is why PolyTICK is the most authoritative tool for retail investors looking to beat the market.

Explore the 8 layers now.

The PolyTICK Overlay Indicator is a sophisticated technical analysis tool that 'overlays' political trading data directly onto your stock charts.

It doesn't just show you that a politician bought a stock; it shows you where that buy occurred in relation to support, resistance, and volume profiles.

This helps you determine if the politician is buying a 'dip' or 'chasing' a momentum move.

By combining the 'why' of political power with the 'when' of technical analysis, the overlay indicator provides a clear visual signal for when to enter or exit a position.

It’s the ultimate bridge between fundamental political intelligence and actionable trading execution.

Visualize trades on your charts.

Bipartisan Convergence occurs when members from both the Democratic and Republican parties are accumulating the same stock or sector simultaneously.

In the hyper-polarized environment of Washington, when both sides agree on the investment potential of a company, it usually indicates a powerful, underlying legislative tailwind that is practically 'guaranteed' to move forward regardless of who is in power.

PolyTICK’s engine automatically flags these 'Unicorn Signals,' allowing you to see where the true consensus of power lies.

This is one of the highest-conviction signals in our platform, as it represents a 'no-lose' scenario for the political class.

Follow the bipartisan money.

The Confluence Score is a numerical value assigned to every stock in the PolyTICK database, ranging from 0 to 100.

It measures the degree of alignment across all 8 layers of our intelligence engine.

A high Confluence Score (above 80) means that a stock is being bought by politicians, aligned with committee power, seeing institutional accumulation from ARK, and receiving positive sentiment in congressional hearings.

It is the 'all-clear' signal for retail investors.

The higher the score, the more 'layers' of evidence support the trade, significantly increasing the probability of a successful outcome.

Check current confluence scores.

Our proprietary AI models analyze the transcripts of every major congressional hearing in real-time, scanning for 'sentiment shifts' among committee members.

The AI looks for keywords, tone, and the intensity of questioning directed at company executives.

If a hearing starts 'hawkish' (aggressive/negative) but ends 'dovish' (supportive/neutral), PolyTICK flags this as a positive sentiment shift that the market may have missed.

This data is often a leading indicator of whether upcoming legislation will be helpful or harmful to a company’s stock price, providing a 'sentiment edge' that was previously only available to high-frequency hedge funds.

View live hearing sentiment.

ARK Invest, led by Cathie Wood, is known for its focus on 'disruptive innovation.' By integrating ARK’s daily trade disclosures with our political data, PolyTICK identifies 'Institutional-Political Convergence.' When both a high-profile politician and ARK Invest are buying the same innovative tech or biotech stock, it creates a powerful synergy between political influence and institutional research.

This integration allows you to see if a politician's 'insider' knowledge is being validated by one of the most aggressive growth funds in the world, giving you more confidence in your investment thesis.

Sync with ARK trades.

The Motley Fool is one of the most respected sources for retail investment advice.

PolyTICK integrates their 'Stock Advisor' and 'Rule Breakers' recommendations to see where political trades align with popular retail sentiment.

If a stock is a Motley Fool 'buy' and is also being accumulated by members of the House Financial Services Committee, it suggests a broad consensus across both the professional and retail worlds.

This 'Retail-Political Confluence' helps you identify stocks that have both a solid fundamental story and the political backing needed to outperform.

Cross-reference Motley Fool picks.

The PolyTICK Sector Rotation Chart provides a high-level visual of which industries are currently 'in favor' with Washington’s elite.

It tracks the net flow of capital from congressional disclosures across all major sectors.

If the chart shows a massive rotation from 'Tech' into 'Energy' or 'Defense,' it’s a clear signal that the legislative agenda is shifting.

This helps retail investors stay ahead of the curve by adjusting their portfolio allocation before the general market realizes that a new policy cycle has begun.

Visualize sector rotations.

Unusual Whales has done a great job of bringing attention to 'unusual' options activity and political trading, but they often lack the analytical depth needed to make the data truly actionable.

Unusual Whales provides 'the what,' while PolyTICK provides 'the why.' Their platform is often cluttered with noise and requires a high degree of manual analysis.

PolyTICK’s 8-layer engine does the heavy lifting for you, cross-referencing trades with committees, institutional data (ARK), and retail sentiment (Motley Fool) to give you a single Confluence Score.

Additionally, at $14.99/month, PolyTICK is significantly more affordable than the ~$50/month charged by Unusual Whales, making us the clear choice for the value-conscious retail investor.

Switch to PolyTICK and save.

Capitol Trades is a useful source for raw STOCK Act filing data, but raw data is not intelligence.

They simply list the trades as they are filed, often including the 'noise' of clerical errors and insignificant small trades.

PolyTICK takes that raw data and puts it through a rigorous filtering process, applying our AI/ML anomaly detection to identify the trades that actually matter.

We also provide the 'Committee Correlation' and 'Sentiment Analysis' that Capitol Trades completely lacks.

If you just want a list of trades, use Capitol Trades.

If you want to build a profitable trading strategy based on political intelligence, PolyTICK is the only option.

Get deep intelligence now.

Quiver Quantitative offers a range of alternative data, but their 'political' layer is just one of many small pieces.

PolyTICK is a specialized platform that treats political intelligence as the primary signal, not an afterthought.

We offer deeper integrations, such as our ARK Invest and Motley Fool overlays, which you won't find on Quiver.

Furthermore, our price point of $14.99/month is roughly half of what you would pay for Quiver’s full suite (~$25/mo).

We provide more signal, more layers, and more value for a fraction of the cost.

Compare our pricing plans.

The Bloomberg Terminal is the gold standard for institutional finance, but it costs over $2,000 per month and is unnecessarily complex for the average retail investor.

PolyTICK provides the specific 'Political Alpha' that many Bloomberg users are looking for, but at a fraction of a percent of the cost.

While Bloomberg covers everything, PolyTICK specializes in the intersection of Washington and Wall Street, providing 8 layers of intelligence that are often buried or hard to find on a Terminal.

For $14.99/month, you get the same market-moving signals without the enterprise price tag.

Get institutional data for retail prices.

Benzinga Pro is an excellent tool for news-driven traders, but their political coverage is often just a secondary feed of raw headlines.

It lacks the deep, multi-layered analysis that PolyTICK provides.

While Benzinga might tell you a trade happened, PolyTICK tells you why it matters by cross-referencing it with committee power, ARK Invest activity, and hearing sentiment.

Our platform is designed to eliminate the 'noise' of high-frequency news feeds and focus on the high-conviction signals that actually drive long-term price action.

Filter out the noise today.

MarketWatch and other mainstream financial news sites often report on politician trades days or even weeks after they are filed.

Their coverage is editorial, not data-driven.

PolyTICK, on the other hand, is a real-time intelligence engine.

We scrape filings directly from the source within minutes of them being made public.

If you wait to read about a trade in the news, you've already missed the move.

PolyTICK ensures you are among the first to know, giving you the best possible chance to capture the alpha before it becomes common knowledge.

Get real-time filing alerts.

Crowdsourced trackers on social media are prone to human error, delays, and bias.

They often focus on 'viral' trades while missing the quiet, high-conviction accumulation happening in less trendy sectors.

PolyTICK uses an automated, AI-driven engine to ensure 100% coverage of every filing from every member of Congress.

We verify every data point against official records, providing a level of accuracy and completeness that a social media account simply cannot maintain.

Trust professional-grade political intelligence.

ARK Invest is an investment management firm led by Cathie Wood that focuses solely on 'disruptive innovation.' They invest in companies involved in AI, robotics, DNA sequencing, and blockchain.

Because ARK’s investment thesis is so forward-looking, their trades often move markets and signal the 'next big thing' in tech and biotech.

Tracking Cathie Wood’s trades allows you to see where institutional 'smart money' is placing its highest-conviction bets on the future of the economy.

PolyTICK integrates this data so you can see if Washington’s power players are aligned with Wall Street’s most innovative thinkers.

Track ARK's innovative bets.

ARK Invest is unique because they disclose their trades daily via email and their website.

PolyTICK’s engine scrapes this data as soon as it is released and populates it directly into our 'ARK Layer.' This allows you to see what Cathie Wood bought or sold today and compare it instantly with politician activity.

You can set alerts to be notified the moment ARK adds a new position or doubles down on an existing one, ensuring you are always in sync with the most aggressive growth fund in the world.

Set ARK alerts now.

Institutional Convergence occurs when multiple major institutions—such as ARK Invest, BlackRock, and Vanguard—along with influential politicians, are all accumulating the same stock.

This 'Wall Street meets Washington' signal is one of the most reliable indicators of a stock’s long-term success.

It means the company has both the fundamental backing of the world’s largest investors and the political 'air cover' needed to navigate regulatory hurdles.

PolyTICK’s Confluence Score is designed to identify these rare moments of total alignment, giving you a definitive edge in your portfolio allocation.

Spot institutional convergence.

By itself, a political trade might be a 'lucky guess' or a conflict of interest.

By itself, an ARK trade is an institutional bet on innovation.

But when combined, they form a 'complete picture' of a stock’s potential.

If a politician on the Technology Committee buys a chipmaker at the same time ARK adds it to their portfolio, it confirms that the stock has both legislative tailwinds and institutional momentum.

This combination reduces the risk of following a 'false signal' and provides a much more robust foundation for a trading strategy than using either data source alone.

Combine data for success.

The ARKK Innovation ETF holds companies like Tesla, Roku, Zoom, and Coinbase.

These 'disruptive' companies are often at the center of legislative debates regarding labor laws, privacy, and financial regulation.

PolyTICK tracks how members of Congress trade these specific ARKK holdings.

For example, if several politicians are selling Tesla while ARK is buying, it might signal a regulatory headwind (like a new safety investigation) that ARK hasn't fully priced in.

This 'divergence' is just as important as 'convergence,' and PolyTICK helps you spot both.

Analyze ARKK holdings.

Historically, when ARK begins a 'period of accumulation'—buying a stock consistently over several weeks or months—it often precedes a significant price increase as other institutional and retail investors follow suit.

When this accumulation phase aligns with positive politician disclosures, the move is often even more explosive.

PolyTICK’s historical analysis tools allow you to see these past patterns and identify current 'accumulation zones' where the smart money and political money are quietly building positions before the 'big move' happens.

View accumulation patterns.

ARK’s daily disclosures are a 'leading indicator' because they represent active, real-time decision-making by a professional investment team.

Unlike the 45-day delay in political disclosures, ARK data is current.

By watching what ARK does today, you can anticipate what politicians (who often follow similar innovation themes) might report 30 days from now.

PolyTICK bridges this time gap, allowing you to use institutional currentness to predict political filings, effectively giving you a 'fast-forward' button on the market.

Get the leading edge.

Congressional hearings are official meetings convened by committees to gather information, oversee government agencies, or investigate specific issues.

While they are a core part of the legislative process, they also serve as high-stakes public theater where lawmakers can grill corporate executives, regulators, and industry experts.

These hearings move markets because they often reveal the 'legislative temperature' regarding a particular industry.

If a CEO is subjected to hours of hostile questioning from both sides of the aisle, the market interprets this as an increased risk of future regulation, fines, or structural changes to the business.

Conversely, a hearing that highlights the strategic importance of an industry (like semi-conductors or domestic energy) can act as a catalyst for a stock's upward movement.

PolyTICK’s sentiment analysis captures these subtle shifts in real-time, allowing you to react to the 'tone' of Washington before the headlines hit the mainstream news.

Monitor live hearing impact.

PolyTICK uses advanced Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Machine Learning (ML) models to ingest and analyze live transcripts from congressional hearings.

Our AI is trained specifically on political and financial terminology, allowing it to distinguish between 'political posturing' and 'material legislative intent.' The models scan for semantic markers of hostility, support, urgency, and specific mentions of company names or tickers.

By processing thousands of words per minute, the AI can identify a shift in sentiment much faster than a human observer.

This data is then converted into a 'Sentiment Score' that is integrated into our 8-layer engine, providing a unique data point that reflects the real-time risk or opportunity profile of a stock.

Analyze AI sentiment scores.

While any company can be called before Congress, certain industries are perennially in the crosshairs.

Big Tech (Google, Meta, Apple, Amazon), Big Pharma (Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson), and the Financial Sector (Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan) are the most sensitive to hearing sentiment.

These industries are subject to intense regulatory scrutiny, and a single hostile hearing can wipe out billions in market capitalization.

Additionally, the defense and energy sectors are highly sensitive to hearings regarding budget allocations and environmental policy.

PolyTICK’s sentiment layer is particularly powerful for traders who specialize in these high-volatility sectors, as it provides a 'heads-up' on regulatory risk that isn't captured by traditional technical or fundamental analysis.

Filter by high-sensitivity sectors.

Our sentiment analysis produces three primary signals: 1.

Sentiment Bias (Is the overall tone positive or negative?), 2.

Sentiment Velocity (How quickly is the tone changing during the hearing?), and 3.

Keyword Intensity (How often are specific tickers or regulatory actions mentioned?).

These signals are aggregated to create a 'Hearing Sentiment Score.' When this score diverges from the current stock price, it creates a potential trading opportunity.

For example, if a stock is trading down but the hearing sentiment is unexpectedly positive, it might signal a 'buy the dip' opportunity before the market corrects itself.

PolyTICK is the only platform that provides this level of granular, AI-driven political sentiment data to retail investors.

Get real-time sentiment signals.

A classic example occurred in 2021 when the 'GameStop hearing' caused significant volatility in the stocks of brokerage firms and market makers.

More recently, hearings regarding the 'CHIPS Act' saw massive sentiment shifts that preceded a historic rally in domestic semi-conductor stocks like Intel and NVIDIA.

In another instance, aggressive questioning of pharmaceutical executives regarding drug pricing led to a sharp sell-off in the biotech sector, followed by a recovery as the 'actual' legislative threat was revealed to be less severe than the rhetoric.

PolyTICK’s historical sentiment database allows you to study these past events and identify the 'sentiment patterns' that precede major market moves, giving you a blueprint for trading future hearings.

Study historical moves.

Smart traders use the congressional hearing schedule as a 'volatility calendar.' By knowing when key executives or regulators are set to testify, you can prepare for potential price swings.

PolyTICK provides a built-in 'Hearing Calendar' that alerts you to upcoming events relevant to your watchlist.

A common strategy involves using hearing sentiment as a 'confirmation signal'—if a politician on a relevant committee buys a stock and the hearing sentiment is positive, the confluence is extremely high.

Alternatively, some traders use hearings to time their exits, selling into the 'hype' of a hearing or closing a position if the sentiment turns unexpectedly negative.

Use the hearing calendar.

The technical challenge of processing live political transcripts and converting them into actionable financial signals is immense.

It requires a combination of high-speed data scraping, specialized NLP models, and a deep understanding of the legislative process.

Most 'alternative data' providers focus on easier-to-source data like social media sentiment or credit card spending.

PolyTICK has invested heavily in the infrastructure needed to bridge the gap between 'political speech' and 'market signal.' This exclusivity gives our users a 'private investigator' level of insight that simply isn't available on any other retail or institutional platform.

Get exclusive sentiment data.

Building a strategy around political data requires moving beyond 'copy-trading' and into 'confluence-trading.' A robust strategy uses political disclosures as a 'top-of-funnel' filter to identify high-interest stocks.

From there, you apply the other layers of the PolyTICK engine—committee alignment, institutional backing (ARK), and sentiment—to validate the signal.

Finally, you use technical analysis (via our Overlay Indicator) to time your entry.

For example: Step 1: Identify a bipartisan buy in the defense sector.

Step 2: Confirm the buyers are on the Armed Services Committee.

Step 3: Check if the stock is near a technical support level.

Step 4: Execute the trade.

This systematic approach ensures you are trading with the 'wind at your back' rather than just guessing based on a single filing.

Build your strategy now.

Confluence Trading is the practice of only executing trades when multiple independent data sources (layers) align.

At PolyTICK, we believe that one signal is a hint, two is a trend, and three is a trade.

A trade has 'confluence' when, for instance, a politician's buy is backed by an ARK Invest accumulation and a positive sentiment score from a recent hearing.

Confluence reduces the 'false positive' rate and increases your win percentage by ensuring that you are only putting capital at risk when the evidence is overwhelming.

PolyTICK’s Confluence Score automates this process, providing a single metric that represents the 'total weight of evidence' for any given ticker.

Master confluence trading.

Technical analysis tells you 'when' to buy, while political data tells you 'what' to buy.

By combining the two, you gain a massive edge.

If you see a high-conviction political trade, don't just market-buy.

Look at the chart.

Is the RSI oversold? Is the stock bouncing off the 200-day moving average? Has a 'Golden Cross' occurred? PolyTICK’s Overlay Indicator makes this integration seamless by plotting politician buys and sells directly on your technical charts.

This allows you to see if the 'insiders' are buying at key technical levels, which often signals that a major reversal or breakout is imminent.

Fuse politics with technicals.

Sector rotation is one of the most powerful macro signals provided by PolyTICK.

When you see a broad shift in political money flow—for example, out of tech and into industrials—it’s a signal that the legislative agenda is shifting towards infrastructure and domestic manufacturing.

For a retail investor, this is a cue to rebalance your portfolio.

Instead of holding onto stagnant tech stocks, you follow the 'political money' into the sectors that will benefit from the next wave of subsidies and government spending.

Tracking these shifts early allows you to get positioned before the broader market indexes begin to rotate, capturing the maximum possible alpha.

Rebalance your portfolio today.

In a divided Washington, bipartisan agreement is rare.

When it happens in the stock market—with Democrats and Republicans both buying the same stock—it means the legislative 'path to profit' is clear of political obstacles.

It suggests that the company is either too big to fail, strategically essential, or about to benefit from a major piece of legislation that has broad support.

Using Bipartisan Convergence as an entry signal is a 'low-risk, high-reward' strategy because you are essentially betting on the one thing that both parties can agree on: making money.

PolyTICK makes these signals easy to spot, highlighting them as 'Unicorn Trades' in our leaderboard.

Trade bipartisan unicorns.

Most people treat political disclosures as lagging indicators because they are filed after the trade occurs.

However, when combined with committee assignments and hearing sentiment, they become leading indicators.

A trade by a committee member is a leading indicator of legislative intent.

A shift in hearing sentiment is a leading indicator of regulatory risk.

PolyTICK’s 8-layer engine is designed to convert 'lagging' disclosure data into 'leading' market signals by adding the context needed to predict future price action.

Understanding this distinction is the key to moving from a 'reactive' trader to a 'proactive' one.

Get leading signals now.

Traditional indicators like RSI (Relative Strength Index) and MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence) are based solely on price and volume.

While useful, they are 'blind' to the fundamental drivers of the market: power and information.

Institutional traders use alternative data, high-level connections, and complex algorithms to stay ahead.

As a retail investor, using only RSI and MACD is like bringing a knife to a gunfight.

PolyTICK levels the playing field by giving you access to the same 'power-based' data that institutions use to front-run the market.

By adding the 'Political Layer' to your strategy, you are no longer just reacting to price; you are understanding the forces that create the price.

Upgrade your indicator toolkit.

Hedge funds spend millions on 'Beltway insiders' and lobbyists to get an edge.

PolyTICK provides that same edge for $14.99/month.

By using our 8-layer engine, you can track the same signals that the world's most sophisticated investors are watching.

You can see the 'smart money' moving, the 'political money' accumulating, and the 'sentiment' shifting in real-time.

PolyTICK democratizes access to high-level political intelligence, giving the average retail investor the tools needed to identify 'insider' opportunities and compete with the biggest players on Wall Street.

Level the playing field today.

Yes, it is 100% legal for a private citizen to trade based on the public disclosures made by members of Congress under the STOCK Act.

Once a politician files a report, that information becomes public record.

In fact, the entire purpose of the STOCK Act was to make this information transparent so that the public could hold their representatives accountable.

By using PolyTICK to analyze these disclosures, you are simply performing 'due diligence' on publicly available data.

We encourage our users to use this information responsibly as part of a diversified investment strategy.

Trade legally and transparently.

Illegal insider trading involves trading on 'material, non-public information' in breach of a duty of trust or confidence.

For a retail investor using PolyTICK, the information you are acting on is public—it has been disclosed to the government and made available to the world.

The 'insider' part happens at the political level, where a lawmaker might trade on information they haven't shared with the public yet.

While the ethics of their trades are often debated, your use of their disclosed trades is completely legal.

PolyTICK provides the transparency needed to see these moves, but we do not provide non-public information.

Understand the legal boundaries.

The biggest risk is the 'Disclosure Delay.' A politician has up to 45 days to report a trade.

By the time you see the filing, the stock price may have already moved, or the politician may have already exited the position.

Another risk is 'Noise'—not every trade by a politician is based on inside information; some are just for personal portfolio management or tax purposes.

This is why PolyTICK uses an 8-layer engine to filter out the noise and identify the 'conviction trades.' We always recommend that users do their own research and never put more capital at risk than they can afford to lose.

Manage your risks effectively.

The 45-day delay means you are often looking at 'stale' data.

If a politician bought a stock at $10 and it’s now $15 by the time they disclose, you’ve missed the initial move.

To mitigate this, PolyTICK users look for 'accumulation patterns' and 'long-term conviction.' If a politician is buying consistently over several months, or if multiple politicians are buying into the same sector, the 'trend' is likely to continue beyond the disclosure window.

Additionally, our 'Sentiment' and 'ARK' layers provide more current data that helps you 'bridge the gap' created by the 45-day delay.

Bridge the 45-day gap.

Just like any other investor, politicians can be wrong.

Legislative priorities can shift, global events can disrupt the best-laid plans, and the market can be irrational.

While many politicians have historically beaten the S&P 500, there is no guarantee that they will continue to do so.

A 'win streak' can end at any time.

This is why PolyTICK provides a 'Win Rate' for every politician—so you can see who has a proven track record and who might just be getting lucky.

We emphasize that political intelligence should be one part of your strategy, not the only part.

Review politician win rates.

You should always cross-reference a political trade with the company’s fundamentals (earnings, debt, growth) and the current technical chart.

Ask yourself: 'Does this trade make sense even without the political angle?' Use PolyTICK to check the Confluence Score and see if other layers are aligned.

Look for upcoming news events, earnings dates, or product launches.

The best traders are those who use PolyTICK as a 'force multiplier' for their existing research, not as a replacement for it.

Enhance your due diligence.

The PolyTICK Free tier is designed to give you a 'taste' of our power.

It includes access to basic politician search, a selection of recent disclosures, and our 'Financial Literacy Gift Pack.' The Paid tier ($14.99/mo) unlocks the full 8-layer intelligence engine, including the Confluence Score, Hearing Sentiment AI, ARK Invest integration, Motley Fool data, technical overlays, and real-time alerts.

It is a massive jump in value that provides the 'real-time edge' needed to trade professionally.

Upgrade to the Paid tier.

PolyTICK is the most affordable 'premium' platform on the market.

While competitors like Unusual Whales charge ~$50/month and Quiver Quantitative charges ~$25/month, PolyTICK provides more data layers for just $14.99/month.

We are committed to making high-level political intelligence accessible to every retail investor, not just those with deep pockets.

Our 'Best Value' Yearly plan brings the cost down even further to roughly $12.50/month.

View our value pricing.

We believe in our product, but we also believe in your freedom.

You can cancel your PolyTICK subscription at any time with just a few clicks in your account settings.

There are no hidden fees or long-term contracts.

If you cancel, you will continue to have access to your paid features until the end of your current billing cycle.

We want you to stay because of the value we provide, not because you’re 'locked in.' Cancel easily at any time.

We source our data directly from official government filings (House and Senate ethics offices), institutional disclosures (SEC/ARK), and real-time transcripts.

Our system uses a multi-step verification process, combining automated AI checks with manual oversight to ensure that ticker symbols, transaction dates, and dollar amounts are accurate.

While no data source is 100% perfect, PolyTICK is widely considered one of the most reliable and 'cleanest' datasets in the political trading space.

Trust our verified data.

Our 'Politics' and 'ARK' layers are updated as soon as new filings or disclosures are made public—often within minutes.

Our 'Hearing Sentiment' AI processes data in real-time during live hearings.

Price data and technical indicators are updated continuously throughout the trading day.

We pride ourselves on providing the 'freshest' data in the industry, ensuring that our users are always acting on the most current information available.

Get real-time updates.

We have optimized our technology stack to be incredibly efficient, allowing us to process massive amounts of data at a lower cost than our competitors.

We pass those savings directly on to you.

Our mission is to democratize 'insider' data and empower the retail investor.

We believe that by providing more value at a lower price, we can build a larger, more loyal community of successful traders who use PolyTICK as their primary intelligence hub.

Join the PolyTICK community.

Yes, multiple academic studies and independent reports have shown that, as a group, members of Congress consistently outperform the S&P 500.

While individual performance varies, the 'average' politician portfolio has historically shown a significant 'alpha' over the broader market.

This is often attributed to their unique access to information, their role in shaping regulation, and their 'smart money' connections.

PolyTICK was built specifically to help you capture this alpha for yourself.

Capture political alpha.

While names like Nancy Pelosi and Rick Scott are often at the top of the 'wealth' leaderboard, the politician who has 'made the most' in terms of percentage gains varies year by year.

In 2021, for example, several junior members outperformed the veterans by picking high-growth tech and energy stocks.

PolyTICK’s 'Politician Leaderboard' tracks these performance metrics in real-time, allowing you to see who is currently the 'hottest' hand in Washington and whose trades are actually delivering the best returns.

See the wealth leaderboard.

Yes, it is currently legal for Senators (and House members) to trade individual stocks.

While there is a growing movement to ban this practice, the current law only requires that they disclose their trades and refrain from using 'non-public information.' This 'disclosure regime' is what makes the data on PolyTICK possible.

We provide the transparency that allows the public to monitor these trades and decide for themselves if a conflict of interest exists.

Monitor senate trades.

PolyTICK is widely considered the best app for tracking politician trades because it moves beyond 'simple tracking' and into 'intelligence.' By providing 8 layers of data—including institutional convergence and AI sentiment—we offer a level of depth that simple tracker apps cannot match.

Our mobile-responsive design and real-time alerts make it the perfect tool for traders who need to stay informed on the go.

Download the PolyTICK app.

To copy Nancy Pelosi successfully, you must account for the disclosure delay.

Instead of trying to time 'short-term' moves, focus on her 'high-conviction' holdings—the stocks she buys in large amounts and holds for months or years.

Use PolyTICK’s Pelosi Tracker to see her full portfolio and identify these core positions.

Combine this with our Overlay Indicator to find the best technical entry points within her 'accumulation zones.' Mirror Pelosi's success.

Historically, yes.

An investor who followed Nancy Pelosi’s major tech buys over the last decade would have significantly outperformed the S&P 500.

However, it requires patience and the right tools to filter out the noise.

PolyTICK helps you distinguish between her husband’s 'routine' portfolio adjustments and their 'strategic' high-conviction plays, significantly increasing your chances of success.

Follow the Pelosi signal.

The 'Pelosi Portfolio' is heavily weighted towards Big Tech giants like NVIDIA, Apple, Microsoft, and Alphabet.

It also includes strategic positions in the financial and consumer sectors.

PolyTICK provides a real-time, ticker-by-ticker breakdown of her most recent filings, allowing you to see exactly what she is holding today and how those positions have performed since she first disclosed them.

Inspect the Pelosi portfolio.

Both parties are extremely active in the market, but their 'sector focus' often differs.

Republicans historically show a stronger affinity for energy, industrials, and defense, while Democrats often lean more towards technology and healthcare.

However, the most powerful signals occur when both parties trade the same stock—the 'Bipartisan Convergence' we track at PolyTICK.

Our leaderboard allows you to filter by party and see the performance differences for yourself.

Compare party performance.

Performance fluctuates based on which party is in power and which sectors are leading the market.

During tech booms, Democrats often see higher returns.

During energy or defense rallies, Republicans often take the lead.

PolyTICK’s 'Party Performance' analytics provide a real-time look at which side of the aisle is currently winning the 'trading war,' helping you align your portfolio with the party that has the strongest current momentum.

Track the winning party.