Senator On Finance Committee Places Bet On Market Downturn: A Look At His Bearish ETF Purchase In July

A member of Congress could be raising red flags and pushing forward calls to ban trading activity by lawmakers.

Here’s a look at one member of Congress betting against the market, including his past instances of taking similar positions.

What Happened: Senator Thomas Carper (D-DE) is once again betting against the performance of U.S. stock markets, with an ETF purchase he made in July.

A new filing disclosure shared by CongressTrading on Twitter revealed that Carper bought shares of the ProShares Short QQQ ETF PSQ. The ETF is an inverse ETF seeking to outperform the Nasdaq 100 Index by going short the leading market index.

Carper bought two stakes of $1,000 to $15,000 in the ETF according to the filing, with a trading date of July 13 listed.

The filing also showed that Carper sold U.S. Treasury Bills valued at a range of $15,000 to $50,000 and $50,000 to $100,000 in two separate transactions.

Carper also sold positions in the Ranger Equity Bear ETF HDGE, which were listed with values of $15,000 to $50,000 and $1,000 to $15,000.

“Senator Carper reports shorting (betting against) the American economy in his stock portfolio. So now is he incentivized to pass laws to ruin the economy so he makes money?” CongressTrading asked on Twitter.

Carper has served in the U.S. Senate since 2001 and announced previously that he will not be seeking re-election in 2024.

Trades by Carper often draw attention given his role serving on the Finance Committee and serving as the Chairman of the Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs and Global Competitiveness.

Related Link: 10 Best Stock Traders In Congress In 2022 

Why It’s Important: Benzinga previously reported on Carper buying a position in the Ranger Equity Bear ETF in November 2022. The ETF from Advisor Shares was launched in 2011 and seeks to earn “capital appreciation through short sales of domestically traded equity securities.”

The position in the bearish ETF was previously flagged by UnusualWhales on Twitter which said Carper was “actively shorting the US economy.”

The trade in the ProShares Short QQQ on July 13 was executed as shares traded between $10.29 and $10.42 on that particular day. Shares of the ETF trade at $10.50 at the time of writing.

Carper’s bet on the short Nasdaq 100 ETF comes as the Invesco QQQ Trust QQQ, which tracks the index, is up 41.8% year-to-date in 2023.

The index has been driven by the exceptional performance of technology stocks this year, particularly those related to the artificial intelligence sector, which have seen significant increases in valuation.

The surge in valuation in several of the top Nasdaq 100 components led to a historical re-balance in July to lower the weighting of key components.

Two members of Congress recently introduced a bill that would ban congressional members, the president, vice president, employees of the executive branch and Capitol Hill aides from owning stocks in individual companies.

“It is critical that the American people know that their elected leaders are putting the public first, not looking for ways to line their own pocket,” bill co-sponsor Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) said in a statement.

Read Next: Bernie Sanders Doesn't Own Individual Stocks But His Mutual Funds Holdings Include Stakes In Companies He's Criticized Including Tesla 

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