ETFs
New Tuttle Capital ETF Mimics Congressional Stock Portfolios
The mastermind behind esoteric funds like Jim Cramer Inverse ETFTHE Tuttle Capital Short Innovation ETF(an ETF designed to provide inverse returns to those of Cathie Wood ARK Innovation ETF) and leveraged single-stock ETFs to buy and short Nvidia, Tesla and Alphabet have concocted a new bet: an ETF built around stocks in which sitting members of the U.S. Congress and/or their spouses reported investing in public records.
Tuttle Capital Management, led by CEO and Chief Investment Officer Matthew Tuttle, revealed the Tuttle Capital Congressional Trading ETF In a filing with the SEC earlier this week. The fund’s goal is to allow investors to mirror the collective investments of members of Congress and their families.
According to the filing, Tuttle will construct and adjust the actively managed fund’s portfolio based on monitoring periodic transaction reports that U.S. senators and House members are required to report under the STOCK Act.
“PTRs are due within 30 days from the time a Member of Congress or his or her spouse becomes aware of a transaction, but no later than 45 days from the date of the transaction,” according to the filing.
Tuttle will use this information “to determine which publicly traded company equity securities and how much of each equity security to select for the Fund.” The advisor selection process for members of the U.S. Congress encompasses multiple factors, including their historical investment returns performance, the committees they serve on in Congress, and their seniority. Investors should note that selection criteria may evolve over time to adapt to changes in legislative dynamics and market conditions.
The fund will adjust its portfolio as new PTRs are filed.
To create the initial portfolio, Tuttle will “obtain and use information derived by others from PTRs filed by members of the U.S. Congress over the past three years.” Purchases made during this period will be deducted from any sales of the same security to create an initial portfolio of equity securities.
Tuttle expects the portfolio to include approximately 50 securities, but the number of sizes and positions will vary depending on congressional business activity.
Tuttle declined to comment beyond the information contained in the SEC filing.
The ETF will not be the first to rely on Congressional trading activity, although it will be the first to build portfolios across Congress. THE Unusual Whale Subversive Democratic Trading ETF (NANC) invests in equity securities purchased or sold by Democratic members of Congress and their spouses while the Unusual Whale Subversive Republican Trading ETF (KRUZ) follows Republican members and their spouses.