A look at the surprising revelations in Tim Walz’s financial disclosures

Tim Walz’s financial disclosures have raised eyebrows among his political opponents, but not in the way they might have hoped.

The Minnesota governor and Democratic vice presidential nominee’s financial interests are shocking for how extremely boring they are — almost non-existent, in fact.

Walz doesn’t own a single stock, according to Axios. His disclosures also show no mutual funds, bonds, private equities, or other securities. He and his wife don’t even own property, having sold their house before moving into the governor’s mansion.

A top-flight politician with no investments is highly unusual. The disclosures of a candidate running for office are usually a gold mine for opposition researchers, who can build narratives and attack lines out of them.

Tyson Brody, an opposition researcher who has previously worked on campaigns for Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, said there wasn’t much to see in Walz’s disclosures. But he added that the releases, which cover Walz’s final year in Congress and his time as Minnesota governor, may not tell the full story of his net worth.

“What we’re not seeing are his federal benefits like the thrift savings plan, which is basically like the federal government’s 401(k),” he said, explaining that members of Congress are not required to list them on personal financial disclosures.

“And Minnesota disclosures also don’t require to list out such mutual fund-style investments, only individual stocks. He’s also likely eligible for military benefits which he has yet to start collecting, so they wouldn’t have been listed either,” he added.

Brody, who now works as a political consultant, was part of a team that researched Mitt Romney’s record as head of the investment firm Bain