By Noel Randewich

(Reuters) – A year since a Reddit-driven retail frenzy rocked markets and created the “stock meme” https://www.Reuters.com/business/why-did-sec-release-report -gamestop-2021-10-18 ‘phenomenon, US lawmaker Nancy Pelosi’s investments have become a meme in their own right.

Google searches for “Pelosi stock trades” hit an all-time high earlier this month as users of social media platforms including Twitter, Reddit, Youtube and TikTok scrutinize his investments, believing that the US President of the Chamber could have an edge on Wall Street.

Discussion of Pelosi’s trades is a recurring theme on social media, including “wallstreetbets”, the Reddit forum where retail investors banded together a year ago to coordinate frenzied buying https://www.Reuters. com/business/flush-reddit-rally-gamestop-plots-store-revival-2021-07-22 from video game retailer GameStop and other companies, which eventually became known as meme stocks.

The business disclosures filed by Pelosi, a multi-millionaire, were widely shared on social media shortly after they appeared on the House website. Companies whose transactions she disclosed last year include Apple, Amazon, Tesla and Microsoft.

Like other congressional lawmakers, Pelosi is legally required to disclose her stock trading. His reports have drawn growing attention amid a massive surge in retail – as well as recent calls to ban lawmakers from trading, a debate Pelosi has been embroiled in in recent weeks.

On Monday, 27 House members signed a letter calling for a floor vote on recent proposals to bar members of Congress from holding stock “in light of recent misconduct.”

It was the latest push to ban stock trading by lawmakers after Pelosi in December defended their rights to trade. In a U-turn, Pelosi last week signaled a willingness to eventually advance legislation that could ban lawmakers from stock trading. Last year, Pelosi filed transaction reports showing her husband, financier Paul Pelosi, transacted up to $5 million at a time in “Big Tech” companies that now face an antitrust bill in Congress. These companies are also among the most widely held on Wall Street, making investments relatively common.

A 2012 law prohibits lawmakers from using information from their work in Congress for personal gain. They are required by law to disclose stock trades by themselves or their family members within 45 days.

Transaction reports are typically filed within days of actual purchases and sales, making it potentially difficult for merchants aiming to mimic lawmakers’ specific transactions.

“It’s nonsense, it’s very difficult to replicate what others are doing and have an edge,” said Sahak Manuelian, managing director of trading at Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles.

That hasn’t stopped TikTok users from focusing on his reveals, with a video clip https://www.tiktok.com/@realmeetkevin/video/7047663843400600878?lang=en about recent sound option purchases husband in companies such as Alphabet, Micron Technology and Roblox earning 45,000 likes.

Businesses in Pelosi

2021 Business Disclosures

Apple

You’re here

Amazon

Alphabet

Microsoft

Walt Disney Co.

Nvidia

SlackTechnologies

Micron Technology

Roblox

Salesforce.com

AllianceBernstein

Holding

Yet a recent analysis by Unusual Whales, a financial data sales service, concluded that congressional lawmakers traded $290 million in stocks, options, cryptocurrency and other assets last year, and that they have on average outperformed the market.

Pelosi’s performance ranked sixth in 2021, with Republican Congressman Austin Scott leading, according to the analysis.

The Justice Department ended investigations into the stock trading of at least three senators before the 2020 market crash caused by the coronavirus pandemic without filing charges.

(Reporting by Noel Randewich; Editing by Ira Iosebashvili, Michelle Price and Kenneth Maxwell)