One of President Donald Trump’s top homeland security officials is intentionally investing his money just like a congressional Democrat, according to a new federal financial disclosure reviewed by NOTUS.
Pedro M. Allende, an under secretary for science and technology at the Department of Homeland Security, recently purchased five-figures worth of shares in an exchange-traded fund that prioritizes “equity securities purchased or sold by members of Congress who are registered members of the Democratic Party and their family members,” according to a fund prospectus.
Known as the Unusual Whales Subversive Democratic Trading ETF, the fund uses the ticker symbol “NANC” — a not-so-oblique reference to Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-California), who Republicans have long lambasted for her husband’s prodigious stock trading.
“Let’s also ensure that members of Congress cannot corruptly profit from using insider information,” Trump said in February during his State of the Union address, then quickly adding: “Did Nancy Pelosi stand up, if she’s here? Doubt it.”
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“Look at your own self,” Pelosi shot back later.
Allende purchased between $15,001 and $50,000 worth of the Unusual Whales Subversive Democratic Trading ETF on May 15, according to a filing with the federal Office of Government Ethics.
In his role at DHS, Allende “leads a multidisciplinary team of experts focused on delivering innovative science and technology solutions” and “oversees the primary research and development arm of the department.” He reports to Secretary Markwayne Mullin.
Tech stocks Nvidia, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, CrowdStrike Holdings and Micron Technology ranked among the Unusual Whales Subversive Democratic Trading ETF’s top 10 stock holdings as of June 30, according to a fund fact sheet.
Congressional financial disclosures indicate that numerous congressional Democrats have made recent tech-focused personal stock trades in recent weeks. Among them were Rep. Cleo Fields (D-Louisiana), who purchased up to $45,000 worth of Nvidia stock last month, and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island), who traded shares he owned in Nvidia, Apple and Micron Technology.
Rep. Gil Cisneros (D-California) traded shares of Advanced Micro Devices, Apple, Boston Scientific and GoDaddy.
The wife and dependent children of Rep. Ro Khanna (D-California) made dozens of trades last month, including a host of tech- and science-related companies, such as Nvidia, Broadcom, Motorola Solutions, Apple, Micron Technology, IBM, Intel and Palantir Technologies.
And Pelosi’s husband, the financier Paul Pelosi, purchased up to $5 million in Intel stock, and up to $1 million in Uber Technologies stock, on May 28.
In a statement to NOTUS, DHS said that Allende’s investment in the Unusual Whales Subversive Democratic Trading ETF is “consistent with rules allowing government officials to invest in diversified and widely held ETFs such as this one, and it was reviewed and cleared by DHS ethics officials as part of their regular review of periodic transaction reports.”
Department officials did not answer specific questions about Allende’s investment, including why he chose to invest his money in this fund and whether the investment presents a conflict of interest with his government work.
In his July 2025 ethics agreement, signed before his Senate confirmation, Allende pledged to “avoid any actual or apparent conflict of interest” while serving as a Department of Homeland Security under secretary.
He would later sell off stocks that ethics officials considered potential conflicts, including shares in Apple, Palantir, Altria and ExxonMobil, according to a federal certificate of divestiture.
Unusual Whales is an investment data platform that advocates “leveling the playing field for retail traders” and provides regular analysis on the financial trading habits of elected officials, Democrats and Republicans alike.
“Invest like the oligarchy,” is how Unusual Whales markets its Subversive Democratic Trading ETF and related Unusual Whales Subversive Republican Trading ETF.
It is an “inherent conflict of interest” for someone in Allende’s position to invest in the fund, said Dan Weiskopf, a senior portfolio manager for Tidal Financial Group, which oversees the Subversive Democratic Trading ETF.
“I don’t think they should be investing” in it, Weiskopf said by phone, noting that the Democratic Trading ETF has outperformed the S&P 500 index by more than 2 percentage points since its inception.
Allende is the latest in a string of top Trump administration officials who’ve made notable personal financial trades or deals while serving in public office.
They include FBI Director Kash Patel, Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, Ambassador to Italy Tilman Fertitta, Federal Highway Administration Administrator Sean McMaster, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, Environmental Protection Administration Assistant Administrator Douglas Troutman and former Department of Health and Human Services general counsel Mike Stuart.
Trump’s own personal finances, which include numerous individual stock, bond and cryptocurrency holdings, have exploded in value since he began his second presidential term in January 2025.
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