Nvidia draws attention back to Pelosi's stock picks

Stock investments by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her husband, venture capitalist Paul Pelosi, are again in the spotlight after shares of Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) declined again after the pair reduced their interest in the semiconductor company.

Pelosi is the first female Speaker of the US House of Representatives and second in line to the presidency (after Vice President Kamala Harris). Considering her very public position, her financial matters and by extension, her husband's, always attract attention.

In July, the couple sold 25,000 Nvidia shares in a transaction valued between $1 million and $5 million. The shares were sold at $165.05 apiece, reflecting a loss of $340,000. On Sept. 1, Nvidia fell 18.3%, and if not for the July transaction, the Pelosis would have lost $753,000, the news platform added.

NASDAQ: NVDA 1D

While the decision may have just been due to good investor instinct, it is being marred by controversies. The filing of a bill in Congress, as well as a visit in Taiwan are making it harder to simply brush some of the controversies under the rug.

Semiconductor boost

Paul Pelosi invested in Nvidia on June 17 with the exercise of 200 call options for shares in the company at a price of $100 per share. The transaction was also valued between $1 million and $5 million..

It came at a time when the CHIPS Act is tabled for approval in Congress. The bill, which President Biden signed into law in August, aims to strengthen domestic semiconductor manufacturing, design and research. According to TechRepublic, the law will provide $52 billion for semiconductor manufacturing incentives and research investments, as well as a 25% investment tax credit for semiconductor manufacturing, which would be a great help to companies like Nvidia.

New York Post columnist Charles Gasparino labelled the investment the "latest home run" for Pelosi, who Gasparino wrote, "has been killing it in the stock market in recent years," winning with companies that benefit from governmental legislation.

Congresswoman Pelosi supported the CHIPS Act. Following the July sale, people have started singing a different tune that the transaction may have been done to alleviate conflict of interest concerns. 

Or it could be another smart investment move. Nvidia fell nearly 3% at close of trading Sept. 2. It has been on the red that week, likely due to the US government's restriction of the company's sales to China.

Another event connecting the House Speaker to the semiconductor industry is her visit to Taiwan on Aug. 2. The visit, which according to BBC was "strongly condemned" by China, involved a meeting with Mark Liu, chairman of the world's biggest chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. or TSMC (TPE: 2330).

Other investments

Aside from Nvidia, the Pelosis have other investments in public companies. Business Insider reported in July that they have shares in companies including:

• AllianceBernstein (NYSE: AB).
• The class A (NASDAQ: GOOGL) and C stocks (NASDAQ: GOOG) of Alphabet.
• Amazon.com  (NASDAQ: AMZN).
• American Express (NYSE: AXP).
• Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL).
• Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU).
• Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT).
• Paypal (NASDAQ: PYPL).
• Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM).
• Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), Visa (NYSE: V).
• Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS).
• And Warner Bros. Discovery Series A (WNASDAQ: WBD).

Speaker Pelosi's involvement in these companies prompted a legislation that would prohibit members of the US Congress from trading stocks. After months of resistance, Pelosi dropped opposition of the proposed legislation.

Insider included the House Speaker in its list of 25 richest members of Congress, with a net worth of at least $46.1 million. Amid insinuations that this may have something to do with information she passes on to help her husband with his investment decisions, the congresswoman told reporters in July that this was never the case.