Members of Congress Found to Get ‘Abnormally High’ Stock Returns Read more: Members of Congress Found to Get ‘Abnormally High’ Stock Returns

A new study has found that investments held by members of Congress significantly outpace the broader market, raising questions about insider information available to elected officials — but not to ordinary Americans.

The study of stock investments by members of the House of Representatives replicates a previous study of U.S. Senators’ investments with similar results: House members were able to exceed the market’s gains by 55 basis points per month, more than 6 percent a year.

The earlier study on Senators had found that they were able to beat the market by 10 percent, owing in part to their ability to delay or block legislation by filibuster.

(Getty Images photo)

“Overall we find that the common stocks purchased by Members of the U.S. House of Representatives earn statistically significant positive abnormal returns,” the researchers write.

“Our results indicate that Representatives, like Senators, also trade with a substantial information advantage.”