How Congressional Trading Disclosure Works
The STOCK Act (2012)
The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act requires all 535 members of Congress — plus senior staff — to publicly disclose stock trades above $1,000 within 45 days of the transaction.
Where disclosures are filed
House members file at disclosures.house.gov. Senators file at efts.senate.gov. Both are public databases. Disclosures name the member, ticker, trade type, value range, and transaction date.
The 45-day gap
Congress members have up to 45 days to disclose after a trade. That gap is the market edge window — public information, but late-arriving. AlphaSignal alerts you within 24 hours of each new filing.
What we track
We filter disclosures for high-conviction signals: purchases over $50K, sector-committee alignment (e.g. defense reps buying defense stocks), and unusual option activity in the filings.
Recent Congressional Trades
Source: STOCK Act disclosures · house.gov / senate.gov · Updated manually
| Member | Ticker | Type | Amount | Trade Date | Disclosed | Delay | 12-mo Performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) | NVDA | Purchase | $1M – $5M | Feb 28, 2024 | Mar 14, 2024 | 15 days | +68% (12 mo after) |
| Austin Scott (R-GA) | MSFT | Purchase | $50K – $100K | Mar 12, 2024 | Mar 31, 2024 | 19 days | +22% (12 mo after) |
| Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) | TSLA | Sale (Full) | $100K – $250K | Apr 5, 2024 | Apr 22, 2024 | 17 days | Avoided –34% |
| Mark Green (R-TN) | LMT | Purchase | $15K – $50K | Jan 18, 2024 | Feb 2, 2024 | 15 days | +19% (12 mo after) |
| Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) | SPY | Purchase | $250K – $500K | Feb 20, 2024 | Mar 8, 2024 | 17 days | +24% (12 mo after) |
Past performance of disclosed trades is not indicative of future results. This is public government disclosure data, not investment advice. Congressional stock trades carry additional risk — public scrutiny and regulatory changes can affect outcomes.
Why Committee Assignments Matter
The most statistically significant congressional trades have committee alignment — members buying stocks in sectors they regulate. Academic research (Ziobrowski et al., 2011) found senators beat the market by 10% annually before the STOCK Act. Post-STOCK Act, committee-aligned trades still outperform the S&P 500 by 4–6% on average.
Get Congressional Trade Alerts Delivered
Our Starter plan ($29/mo) includes congressional trade alerts filtered for committee alignment and trade size — delivered within 24 hours of a new STOCK Act filing. The free newsletter includes a monthly digest.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is trading on congressional disclosures legal?
Yes. STOCK Act disclosures are public government documents. Using publicly available information to inform investment decisions is legal. You are not receiving material non-public information — you are reading a government filing.
How old is the data when it becomes available?
Congress members have up to 45 days to file. Most file between 15–30 days after the trade. We post new filings within 24 hours of appearing in the official databases. The free newsletter is a monthly digest; the Starter plan gets near-real-time alerts.
Does this actually work as a trading signal?
Academic research shows committee-aligned purchases historically outperformed the market. However, the edge has narrowed since 2012. Use it as one data point — not a standalone strategy. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. All investing involves risk.
Which database do you pull from?
House disclosures come from disclosures.house.gov (eFD system). Senate disclosures come from efts.senate.gov. Both are official government sources maintained by the respective chambers.