Trump Media Files to Trademark New ETF, SMA Suite

Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. (DJT) applied for trademarks for three exchange-traded funds and three separately managed account products under its new Truth.Fi brand. The filing comes just days after the company announced plans to venture into the ETF space.

The move represents TMTG's first concrete step into the investment product space and positions the company to compete in the growing market for politically focused funds, marking what Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas called "the first-ever POTUS ETF issuer. What a country."

Read More: Trump's Media Group Eyes ETFs With Politically Focused Venture

TMTG's planned product lineup includes the Truth.Fi Made in America ETF and SMA, Truth.Fi U.S. Energy Independence ETF and SMA, and Truth.Fi Bitcoin Plus ETF and SMA, according to the company's filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Charles Schwab Corp. (SCHW), the fifth-largest U.S. ETF issuer, will custody up to $250 million in investments for the new products, according to the filing. This comes on top of TMTG's cash and cash-equivalent reserves of over $700 million as of year's end.

"We aim to give investors a means to invest in American energy, manufacturing, and other firms that provide a competitive alternative to the woke funds and debanking problems that you find throughout the market," TMTG CEO and former congressman Devin Nunes said in the announcement.

However, Balchunas cautioned that despite Trump's high-profile brand, these funds "will likely be microscopic in asset gathering compared to IBIT, FBTC et al." He added that the launch still "adds to the mainstreamification narrative, which matters."

Trends in Political ETFs

Existing politically conservative ETFs have had mixed results in gathering assets. Bill Flaig, co-founder and CEO of American Conservative Values ETF (ACVF), told etf.com that while there's demand for these products, success largely depends on marketing reach.

"I think most of the startups in the space … have had success gathering assets to the extent that we are getting the message out there," Flaig said. "For the smaller startup ones, it's essentially a function of successful marketing."

These marketing challenges come on top of product construction complexities.

The funds “are going to have to find a durable trend and get in at a reasonable price, and then also make sure that you're expressing that theme accurately," said Bryan Armour, director of passive strategies research at Morningstar. "You need all three of those things to work, and it's obviously an uphill battle for most investors."

DJT shares rose nearly 5.6% in afternoon trading following the announcement.