Nancy Pelosi ETF is here?
"The Nancy Pelosi ETF" internet meme has turned into a market reality after WallStreetBets decentralized application and Digital Markets teamed up to launch the Insider Portfolio ETF (INSDR) on the MERJ Exchange (MERJ). The fund is a portfolio that tracks some of America’s politicians’ trading activities and will give investors the opportunity to benefit from the kind of inside information accessible by them.
What is Nancy Pelosi ETF?
The Nancy Pelosi ETF has been a trending keyword on Google, Twitter and Reddit for quite some time after young investors discovered that 81-year-old Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi and her husband Paul have been making winning trades. The discovery was translated into apps and websites that track her performance and other congress members and are widely considered as the "crystal ball" for stock tips.
The newly launched ETF comes at a time when Congress has initiated discussion around bills restricting members of Congress from trading stocks. The bills have increasingly gained bipartisan support — including from a former opposer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — after a series of investigations hinted to a potential insider trading by U.S. politicians, particularly in the early days of the pandemic.
ETF themes around politicians are gaining traction
More ETFs revolving around politicians or political views have been emerging over the past few years. The easy to trade funds have also become a medium to express an opinion and political values. For instance, the Point Bridge GOP Stock Tracker ETF (MAGA) invests in companies that align with Republican political beliefs. The underlying "MAGA Index" is made up of 150 companies from the S&P 500 Index whose employees and political action committees (PACs) are highly supportive of Republican candidates. Another ETF called the American Conservative Values ETF (ACVF) is actively managed and invests in diversified large-cap core stocks that are "not hostile" to conservative values. Companies with avid support to the "Liberal Agenda" are excluded. MAGA and AVCF have $13 and $32 million in assets under management respectively.
