# TraderCongress FAQ > Answers about congressional stock trading, where the data comes from, how hourly alerts work, Free vs. Pro, and using TraderCongress from Canada. - Source: https://tradercongress.com/faq ## Congressional Trading ### Is congressional stock trading legal? Yes — members of Congress can legally trade stocks. The STOCK Act of 2012 requires disclosure of trades over $1,000 within 45 days but does not ban trading outright. For the full legal breakdown including enforcement gaps and 2026 reform attempts, see our detailed guide: tradercongress.com/blog/is-congressional-stock-trading-legal ### What is the STOCK Act? The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act, signed in 2012, requires every member of Congress to publicly disclose stock trades over $1,000 within 45 days. For a complete guide — history, requirements, penalties, and enforcement gaps — see: tradercongress.com/blog/stock-act-guide ### Does Congress beat the stock market? Multiple academic studies have found that congressional stock portfolios consistently outperform the S&P 500. A widely cited study showed senators' stock picks outperformed the market by roughly 12% annually — a phenomenon known as the 'Pelosi Effect.' This outperformance is attributed to the information advantage legislators have through committee hearings, classified briefings, and advance knowledge of legislation. TraderCongress tracks over 94,000+ congressional trades so you can see these patterns for yourself. ### Which Congress members trade stocks the most? Not all 535 members of Congress are active stock traders — many use mutual funds, index ETFs, or blind trusts. However, a significant minority file dozens or hundreds of individual stock transactions per year. TraderCongress tracks and ranks the most active congressional traders by transaction volume, dollar magnitude, and diversity of holdings. You can view the full ranking on the dashboard or read our data-driven analysis at /blog/top-congress-stock-traders-2026. ### What are the most traded stocks by Congress members? Based on our live STOCK Act disclosure data, the most actively traded stocks by Congress members are currently Microsoft (MSFT) with 1,000+ trades, Apple (AAPL) with 930+ trades, Amazon (AMZN) with 640+ trades, NVIDIA (NVDA) with 530+ trades, and Alphabet/Google (GOOGL) with 440+ trades. These numbers update every day as new disclosures come in. Technology stocks dominate congressional portfolios, followed by healthcare and defense sectors. ### Can I copy Congress stock trades to make money? Some investors report positive returns from mirroring congressional trades, but there are important caveats. STOCK Act disclosures can be delayed up to 45 days, so the information advantage may already be partially priced in. The most effective approach is to focus on high-conviction signals: large purchases ($50K+), bipartisan clustering (multiple members buying the same stock), committee-relevant trades, and cross-referencing with other data like insider buying and government contracts. Congressional trading ETFs like NANC and KRUZ also offer passive exposure to this strategy. ## Tracking & Tools ### How do I track what stocks Congress is buying? You can track congressional stock trades through official STOCK Act disclosures (filed with the Clerk of the House and Secretary of the Senate) or use an aggregation platform like TraderCongress. TraderCongress combines six data sources in one dashboard — congressional trades, SEC insider filings, government contracts, lobbying activity, dark pool data, and federal spending — so you can cross-reference political trading signals rather than checking six different government websites. Set up watchlists and alerts to get notified when Congress members trade stocks you own. ### What is TraderCongress? TraderCongress is a political trading intelligence platform that aggregates publicly available financial data from six sources into one dashboard: congressional STOCK Act disclosures, SEC Form 4 insider filings, federal government contracts, corporate lobbying reports, dark pool and off-exchange activity, and federal spending awards. With 94,000+ congressional trades, 109,000+ SEC insider filings, 21,000+ federal contract records and 27,000+ lobbying reports indexed, we help retail investors, financial advisors, and policy researchers understand the intersection of politics and markets. ### How do congressional trade alerts work? Pro subscribers create alert rules that match new filings by ticker, member of Congress, transaction type (purchase or sale) and minimum trade value, delivered by email or in-app notification either instantly or batched daily or weekly. TraderCongress checks the official House and Senate disclosure sources every hour, so an instant alert typically arrives within an hour of a filing becoming public. Because the STOCK Act allows up to 45 days to file, the trade itself may be several weeks old. The free plan does not include alerts. See our alerts guide at tradercongress.com/blog/congress-stock-trade-alerts. ### How is TraderCongress different from other congressional trading trackers? Most tools only show you congressional stock trades. TraderCongress aggregates seven data views in one dashboard: STOCK Act disclosures, SEC Form 4 insider filings, federal government contracts, corporate lobbying activity, dark pool and off-exchange data, federal spending awards, plus AI-powered Insights and a Weekly Digest. This lets you cross-reference signals — for example, seeing a company that's winning government contracts, being heavily lobbied for, and being purchased by multiple Congress members gives you a far more complete picture than trade data alone. ## Data & Accuracy ### Where does the data come from? All data is sourced from official public records. Congressional trades come from STOCK Act disclosures filed by all 535 House and Senate members. Insider filings come from SEC EDGAR Form 4 submissions. Government contracts, lobbying records, and federal spending data come from official government databases. We aggregate these sources so you don't have to monitor six different government websites. ### How often is the data updated? TraderCongress checks for new congressional trades and insider filings every hour, and updates government contracts, lobbying records, off-exchange data and federal spending once a day, every morning US Eastern time, all from official sources. Paid plans see the newest data with no delay; the free tier sees data with a 60-day delay. ### Is the data accurate? We strive for high accuracy but depend on third-party data sources and official government filings. Congressional disclosures may be amended after filing, and there can be a lag of up to 45 days between when a trade occurs and when it's publicly disclosed under the STOCK Act. We deduplicate records using SHA-256 hashing and sync continuously to minimize gaps. We recommend verifying critical data points against official sources before making investment decisions. ## Pricing & Account ### Is this financial advice? No. TraderCongress is strictly for informational and educational purposes. We are not a registered investment advisor, broker-dealer, or financial planner. The fact that a member of Congress traded a stock does not constitute a buy or sell recommendation. Always do your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. ### What's the difference between the plans? We offer two plans. Free gives you congressional trades and government contracts on a 60-day delay, plus a watchlist of up to 3 tickers. Pro removes the delay — congressional trades and SEC insider filings are checked every hour, and contracts, lobbying, dark pool and federal spending data update daily — and adds unlimited watchlists, unlimited email and in-app alerts, the Trump Trades tracker, Trends and Insights, and the weekly email digest. Current prices are on the pricing page, and you keep the rate you signed up at for as long as your subscription stays active. ### Can I cancel my subscription? Yes, you can cancel anytime from the Billing page in your dashboard. Your subscription stays active until the end of the current billing period. No partial-month refunds are issued, but you won't be charged again after cancellation. ### How do I delete my account? You can delete your account from the Settings page. This permanently removes all your data including watchlists, alerts, notification history, and preferences. This action cannot be undone. ### Do I need trading experience to use TraderCongress? Not at all. TraderCongress is designed for investors of all experience levels. The dashboard presents data in clear, filterable tables with representative names, party affiliations, transaction types, and ticker symbols — no technical analysis knowledge required. Set up a watchlist for stocks you already own, and we'll notify you when a Congress member trades them. ### Is there a free trial? There is a free plan instead of a trial: no credit card and no time limit, with congressional trades and government contracts on a 60-day delay and a watchlist of up to three tickers. Pro is billed monthly or annually, can be cancelled anytime from the Billing page, and you keep the rate you signed up at for as long as your subscription stays active. Current prices are on the pricing page. ## Canada & International ### Can I use TraderCongress from Canada? Yes. TraderCongress is a web app available anywhere and is built for investors in the United States and Canada. Prices are in U.S. dollars and Stripe accepts Canadian cards. The data covers the U.S. Congress, SEC insider filings and U.S. federal contracts and lobbying, which is what matters if you hold U.S.-listed stocks through a Canadian brokerage, TFSA or RRSP. Our guide for Canadian investors is at tradercongress.com/blog/track-us-congress-stock-trades-from-canada. ### Does TraderCongress track Canadian MPs or other countries' politicians? No. TraderCongress covers the U.S. Congress only. Canada has no equivalent of the STOCK Act: Members of Parliament file a confidential disclosure statement with the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner and only an annual summary is made public, with no trade-by-trade reporting. The same is true of most other countries, which is why congressional trading is a uniquely U.S. data set. ### Is TraderCongress priced in Canadian dollars? No. Plans are priced and billed in U.S. dollars through Stripe; your card issuer converts the charge at its own exchange rate. There is no separate Canadian plan because the product is identical everywhere. --- Markdown version of https://tradercongress.com/faq. TraderCongress tracks U.S. congressional stock trades, SEC insider filings, federal contracts, lobbying and dark pool data for investors in the United States and Canada; official disclosures are checked every hour. It is informational only, not financial advice. - Start free (no card): https://tradercongress.com/signup - Plans and prices: https://tradercongress.com/pricing - Site index for LLMs: https://tradercongress.com/llms.txt