Senators' Stocks Beat the Market by 12 Percent

[Kbick]

http://tinyurl.com/3d59u

Published: February 24, 2004

US senators' personal stock portfolios outperformed the market by an average of 12 per cent a year in the five years to 1998, according to a new study.

"The results clearly support the notion that members of the Senate trade with a substantial informational advantage over ordinary investors," says the author of the report, Professor Alan Ziobrowski of the Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University.

He admits to being "very surprised" by his findings, which were based on 6,000 financial disclosure filings and are due to be published in the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis.

"The results suggest that senators knew when to buy their common stocks and when to sell."

First-time Senators did especially well, with their stocks outperforming by 20 per cent a year on average - a result that very few professional fund managers would be able to achieve.

"It could be argued that the junior senators most recently came out of private industry, so may have better connections. Seniority was definitely a factor in returns," says Prof Ziobrowski.

There was no difference in performance between Democrats and Republicans.

[OneBlueSky]

1. gasp! . . . I'm shocked!! . . .

shocked, I tell you!!! . . . who ever woulda thunk that our politicians are less than honorable? . . . oh, woe is me, woe is me, woe is me . . .

[brokensymmetry]

8. Less than honorable you say?

Oh, what cruel doubt! What an unkind interpretation! :cry:

Surely you realize that our Senators are so very much smarter than simple folk like us? They make more money because they're smarter - and, frankly, better people than we could ever be. :evilgrin:

[dweller]

2. Ruh Roh!!

lining their pockets while inside the corporate's pockets?



dp

[sweetladybug]

4. Almost all politicians from all political parties have a little crook in

them, so I quess I'll vote for the crook who will do the most to help the lower and middle income people. I just don't have much pity for those poor poor millionaires/billionaires who have to let go of some of their money and pay taxes. (I was taught to help others and to share with other's that don't have as much as I have). RE-ELECT A DEMOCRAT IN 2004!!!!

[dweller]

9. unless you want a candidate

not in the pocket of the corporate stranglehold.

http://www.kucinich.us/issues/">try this one

peace,
dp

[Mokito]

12. PAGE NOT FOUND! (sweet sweet irony)

nt

[aquart]

3. The idiot was surprised???

Do we tell him about the Easter bunny?

[Ilsa]

5. This, plus good pay, health insurance, and a

pension. Gee, must be nice.

[Muddleoftheroad]

6. How silly

Many senators have jobs and contacts in private industry and are much more "in the know" than average investors. I'm surprised they didn't do better.

[catzies]

7. THUD.

(that was me passing out and falling out of my chair. OMFG).

[xchrom]

10. nothing to this corporate influence -- eh?

hmmm -- this should make headlines -- but it won't.

[snippy]

11. An analysis like this covering only a 5 year period is deeply flawed.

The time period is too short to have any significance. That being said, powerful politicians always have had access to IPOs only because of their position.