‘Why do you have to read that?’: Nancy Pelosi clashed with CNN when confronted about insider trading — should lawmakers be allowed to trade stocks?

Pelosi shot back.

“Why do you have to read that?” she snapped. “We‘re here to talk about the 60th anniversary of Medicaid. That’s what I agreed to come to talk about.”

Tapper explained he wanted to give her a chance to respond, “[Trump] accused you of insider trading — what‘s your response to that?”

“That’s ridiculous,” Pelosi retorted without hesitation. “In fact, I very much support the stop [of] the trading of members of Congress — not that I think anybody is doing anything wrong. If they are, they are prosecuted and they go to jail. But because of the confidence it instills in the American people, don‘t worry about this. But I have no concern about the obvious investments that have been made over time. I‘m not into it. My husband is, but it isn‘t anything to do with anything insider.”

That confidence issue is exactly what lawmakers are debating. Senator Josh Hawley has introduced a bill to ban members of Congress from trading or holding individual stocks. It was initially dubbed the Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments (PELOSI) Act — a not-so-subtle nod to Pelosi — but after negotiations with Democrats, Hawley agreed to rename it the Honest Act.

For now, though, lawmakers are still allowed to trade. In fact, there are even ETFs that track their portfolios. The Unusual Whales Subversive Democratic Trading ETF (ticker: NANC — another nod to Pelosi) invests in securities bought or sold by Democratic members of Congress and their spouses. Meanwhile, the Unusual Whales Subversive Republican Trading ETF (ticker: GOP) follows the same strategy for Republicans.

‘The best thing to do,’ according to Warren Buffett

While some politicians — and hedge funds — may try to beat the market, legendary investor Warren Buffett has long advised everyday Americans to take a simpler route.

“In my view, for most people, the best thing to do is own the S&P 500 index fund,” he famously stated.

This straightforward approach gives investors exposure to 500 of America’s largest companies across various industries, providing diversified exposure without the need for constant monitoring or active trading.

The beauty of this approach is its accessibility — anyone, regardless of wealth, can take advantage of it. Even small amounts can grow over time with tools like Acorns, a popular app that automatically invests your spare change.

Signing up for Acorns takes just minutes: link your cards and Acorns will round up each purchase to the nearest dollar, investing the difference — your spare change — into a diversified portfolio. With Acorns, you can invest in an S&P 500 ETF with as little as $5 — and, if you sign up today, Acorns will add a $20 bonus to help you begin your investment journey.

The rich don’t just buy stocks — they buy this

While many wealthy Americans hold stocks in their portfolios, there’s another asset that has quietly built fortunes for generations: real estate.

Like stocks, real estate has its cycles, but it doesn’t rely on a booming market to generate returns. Even in a downturn, high-quality, essential real estate can continue to produce passive income through rent. In other words, you don’t have to wait for prices to rise to see a payoff — the asset itself can work for you.

Even the commander in chief has praised that quality. In 2011, Trump told Steve Forbes, “I just notice that when you have that right piece of property, whatever it might be, including location, it tends to work well in good times and in bad times.”

Buffett has echoed that sentiment, often pointing to real estate as a prime example of a productive, income-generating asset. In 2022, he stated that if someone offered him “1% of all the apartment houses in the country” for $25 billion, he would “write you a check.”

Of course, you don’t need billions — or even to buy an entire property — to benefit from real estate investing. Crowdfunding platforms like Arrived offer an easier way to get exposure to this income-generating asset class.