Guides Understanding congressional stock trading

Plain-English explainers on how the public record works, how to read it, and what it does — and doesn't — mean. No hype, no "copy Congress" pitch; just the context you need to read the data well.

6 min read The STOCK Act, explained Every congressional stock trade you can read about exists because of one 2012 law. Here is what the STOCK Act actually requires, what it leaves out, and why it keeps making headlines. Read the guide → 7 min read How to read a congressional trade disclosure A Periodic Transaction Report packs a lot into a few fields — and leaves a lot out. Here is how to read one properly, and what separates a routine filing from one worth a closer look. Read the guide → 7 min read Does following Congress beat the market? “Copy Congress and beat the S&P” is a popular pitch. We tested the idea on our own data and here is the straight answer — including the parts that aren't flattering. Read the guide → 6 min read How our Interest Score works Thousands of trades are disclosed every month. The Interest Score is how we surface the handful worth a closer look — and it's built to measure notability, not profit. Read the guide → 5 min read What is a bipartisan cluster? One member buying a stock is a data point. A dozen members from both parties buying the same stock in the same few weeks is a pattern — and patterns are worth noticing. Read the guide → 6 min read Committees and sectors: where conflicts hide The sharpest question in congressional trading isn't whether a member traded — it's whether they traded in the very industry their committee regulates. Here's how that mapping works. Read the guide → 5 min read Why the President isn't tracked here A fair question we get a lot: what about the President, the Vice President, and Cabinet members — can we see their trades too? The honest answer is that they live under a different rulebook, one that doesn't produce the trade-by-trade record this site is built on. Read the guide → 5 min read The disclosure lag: why you read a trade weeks after it happened The single most important thing to understand about congressional trade data is that it is not live. A trade you read about today may have been made weeks ago — and that gap changes what the number means. Read the guide → 6 min read The push to ban congressional stock trading Disclosure is the status quo. But a recurring question is whether members of Congress should be allowed to trade individual stocks at all. Here is the debate, laid out fairly. Read the guide → 6 min read Stocks, options, bonds and crypto: what members of Congress actually trade Not every congressional 'trade' is a share of stock. Options, bonds, funds and other instruments all appear in the filings, and each carries a different meaning. Here's how to tell them apart. Read the guide → 5 min read House vs. Senate: how the two disclosure systems differ There is no single congressional filing system. The House and the Senate each run their own, and the differences affect how quickly and how easily the public can actually see a trade. Read the guide →