Do you believe that politicians act in their own best interests? Do you believe that they’re likely to implement laws that help their aims rather than hurt them? What if you knew in which companies your politicians invested? How would that affect your own investments? Dave C. forwarded several links to opensecrets.org, which bills itself as “your guide to the money in U.S. elections”. This site is run by the Center for Responsive Politics:
The Center for Responsive Politics is a non-partisan, non-profit research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics, and its effect on elections and public policy. The Center conducts computer-based research on campaign finance issues for the news media, academics, activists, and the public at large. The Center’s work is aimed at creating a more educated voter, an involved citizenry, and a more responsive government. Support for the Center comes from a combination of foundation grants and individual contributions. The Center accepts no contributions from businesses or labor unions.
Opensecrets.org features a wealth of information derived from public domain documents. For instance, it offers a peek into the personal finances of our national politicians with data about net worth and outside income. The site also reveals the most popular Congressional investments are:
I’m generally apolitical, and not much of a conspiracy theorist, but I’ll admit that seeing that 20% of our national politicians own General Electric makes me consider it for my own portfolio.
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How to Invest like Congress and Earn Higher Returns…
Get Rich Slowly points out that 20% of our national politicians own General ElectricAnother company sharing the name, General Motors, wanted to put plants every district, so as to have the entirety of Congress beholden to them, if memory serves…….
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I’d say if you’re going the conspiracy route, you should assume the investments that make them real money are hidden from prying eyes.
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Are the congressmen just given stocks in the company or do they purchase them? if they are just being given to them, then that shouldn’t persuade you to want to buy them
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Regarding 20% of our national politicians owning General Electric stock: That’s not a conspiracy, it’s simply good investing strategy. Look at the businesses they run, and the markets they’re involved in:
1. GE Commercial Finance (Capital Solutions, Corporate Financial Services, Healthcare Financial Services, Insurance, Real Estate)
2. GE Industrial (Consumer & Industrial, Equipment Services, GE Fanuc Automation,
Inspection Technologies, Plastics, Security, Sensing)
3. GE Infrastructure (Aviation, Aviation Financial Services, Energy, Energy Financial Services, Oil & Gas, Transportation Systems–formerly GE Rail, Water)
4. GE Money (also known as GE Consumer Finance)
5. GE Healthcare
6. NBC Universal (Network, Films, Television Stations, Entertainment Cable, Television Production, Sports/ Olympic Games, Theme Parks)
Owning GE stock is like buying into a mutual fund.
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Having a lot of personal information in the public domain is one more reason why I’d eschew politics. Even though I have family members in government who swear by the thrill of running and being in office! I think the list of most popular stocks congressmen hold is spot-on though — good choices!
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There’s nothing special about these stocks. They are just mega-cap, widely held, household names.
These same stocks are among the most commonly held by mutual funds, pension funds, and individual investors… so it’s no surprise that they are also held by many in Congress.
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[...] The Sun’s Financial Diary presents the Census Bureau’s mean family net worth from the 2007 Statistical Abstract. Get Rich Slowly wonders if you should invest like your congressman. [...]
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The top stocks owned by the Congress are basically the top stocks in the S&P500 index. Apparently, if you want to buy the same stocks as our congresspeople, all you need to do is buy an SP500 index fund, or ETF!!!
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equitable life insurance…
americium trace thick employees?dilating ouch …
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