By Paul R. La Monica
Trump Media & Technology Group, the social media company started by President Donald Trump following his first term in office, announced Tuesday that it had joined with two investment firms to launch Truth Social-branded Separately Managed Accounts that the company says will "offer investors access to curated, thematic investment strategies rooted in American values and priorities."
Trump Media said Tuesday that the lineup of portfolios will include strategies based on the themes of faith and values, liberty and security, energy independence and made in America.
"We're moving forward with a series of America First investment products that meet investors' demand to support a wide range of outstanding, non-woke, and innovative companies across key sectors of the U.S. economy," said Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes in a statement.
Trump Media is partnering with Yorkville America Equities, a self-described America-First asset management firm, and Index Technologies Group, a provider of thematic investment solutions, to launch the separately managed accounts. Yorkville and ITG said that they will use "proprietary values-based metrics" to score and rank companies and will rebalance portfolios quarterly.
Trump Media has been taken steps to broaden out beyond its social media business, which generated only $3.6 million in revenue in 2024 and racked up more than $400 million in net losses. The company is also bolstering its streaming capabilities with the launch of its Truth+ video app.
Earlier this year, Trump Media announced plans to launch exchange-traded funds tied to Bitcoin and other digital assets with investing firm Crypto,com. The two companies have said that the ETFs will be available later this year.
Trump Media has said that it will invest some of the company's own money in the new ETFs and separately managed accounts as well. Trump Media ended 2024 with nearly $777 million in cash and short-term investments on its balance sheet.
Shares of Trump Media, which has been a publicly traded firm since merging with a special purpose acquisition company (or blank-check firm) in late March 2024, rose more than 5% on the news. The stock, currently trading around $20, is still down more than 40% this year and nearly 75% below the peak price of just under $80 that it hit following the close of the SPAC deal a year ago.
President Trump owns nearly 115 million shares of his namesake company, a 52.2% stake that is currently worth about $2.3 billion. Those shares are now held in a revocable trust controlled entirely by Donald Trump Jr., the president's oldest child.
Trump Media's stock may also face more competition among politically conservative investors from Newsmax, the cable and social media channel that recently went public. Shares of Newsmax soared on their first two days of trading but have since plunged 90% from their peak price.
Write to Paul R. La Monica at paul.lamonica@barrons.com
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April 15, 2025 15:57 ET (19:57 GMT)
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