What if you had copied April McClain Delaney?
House member, MD-6
The verdict
Copying April McClain Delaney's reported trades from Mar 2025 would have turned $10,000 into $9,479, less than the S&P 500 did.
The S&P 500 turned the same $10,000 into $13,626 over the same days. The copy returned −3.6% a year against +23.4% for the S&P 500, 27 points a year behind. Its worst fall was 15.2%, from Aug 22, 2025 to Jun 3, 2026. The S&P 500's worst fall over the test was 13.7%.
Copied Mar 21, 2025 to Sep 10, 2026 · House trade reports and daily closes
What $10,000 became
- Copying April McClain Delaney$9,479
- S&P 500$13,626
- Kept every buy and ignored their sales$9,898
If you had kept every buy and ignored their sales, you would have ended at $9,898, so following every move cost $419. The test stops on Sep 10, 2026, when they left the House, so there was nothing left to follow.
- $10,000 copied
- $9,479
- −5.2%, −3.6% a year
- In the S&P 500
- $13,626
- +36.3%, +23.4% a year
- Kept every buy
- $9,898
- Their sales ignored
- Worst fall
- −15.2%
- Aug 22, 2025 to Jun 3, 2026
- Trades
- 323
- 224 buys, 99 sales
The moves that made the most
Held from Apr 2025 to Feb 2026, the stock up 54%
- LHLabcorp+$288
Held from Mar 2025 to Sep 2026, the stock up 33%
- VIKViking+$252
Held from Mar 2025 to Mar 2026, the stock up 81%
Held from Apr 2025 to Mar 2026, the stock up 25%
Held since Mar 2025, the stock up 70%
- ITT+$120
Held from Apr 2025 to Sep 2026, the stock up 66%
The moves that cost the most
- TSCOTractor Supply−$330
Held from Mar 2025 to Aug 2026, the stock down 35%
- ROLRollins−$187
Held from Mar 2026 to Sep 2026, the stock down 38%
Held from Apr 2025 to Apr 2026, the stock down 20%
- PAYXPaychex−$169
Held from Mar 2025 to Sep 2026, the stock down 15%
- BROBrown & Brown−$160
Held from Aug 2025 to Sep 2026, the stock down 27%
- PTC−$141
Held from Aug 2025 to Feb 2026, the stock down 31%
Year by year
| Year | Copy | S&P 500 | Gap, pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025from Mar 2025 | +8.7% | +22.0% | −13.2 |
| 2026to Sep 2026 | −12.8% | +11.7% | −24.5 |
A historical test on paper, before costs and taxes. It trades at the close of the first trading day after each report comes out, up to 45 days after the trade, sizes from reported ranges, and skips delisted companies, which flatters it.