On Wednesday, Trump Media revealed its plans to venture into the financial services sector, which marks a significant expansion for the company known for its social media platform, Truth Social. The move will encompass a variety of investment options under a new division called Truth.Fi.
The announcement sent shares of the company, trading with the ticker DJT, soaring by 6%. President Trump, through a revocable trust, holds a substantial stake with 114,750,000 shares directly associated with him.
Truth.Fi aims to start strong with an initial funding of up to $250 million, which will be handled by the well-known brokerage, Charles Schwab, as highlighted in the company’s press release. This capital injection is set to be directed towards a mix of tailored exchange-traded funds and cryptocurrencies, among other financial instruments. The firm anticipates rolling out its new products and services, which will include their bespoke investment vehicles, before the year wraps up.
Devin Nunes, CEO and Chairman of Trump Media, emphasized this strategic expansion as a seamless progression of the Truth Social initiative. “We kicked off with a free-speech social platform, added a speedy TV streaming service, and now we’re foraying into investment instruments and decentralized finance,” Nunes stated in the announcement.
He further elaborated, “Creating America First investment tools is key to bolstering a strong ecosystem that can shield American patriots from a world fraught with cancellation, censorship, debanking, and privacy threats posed by Big Tech and politically driven corporations.” Nunes, a former California congressman, appeared confident about the future direction of Truth.Fi.
While the release didn’t provide specifics on the types of investment vehicles Truth.Fi plans to offer, it did note that Schwab will “broadly advise” on the investment strategy. Their focus will be on sectors like American growth, manufacturing, and energy, aiming to fortify what they dub the “Patriot Economy.”
It’s also notable that Samantha Schwab, connected to the founding family of Charles Schwab, holds a significant position at the U.S. Treasury. This ties into broader issues raised by Republicans, who have accused banks of being biased against conservatives. In a recent virtual meeting at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump expressed his grievances directly to Bank of America’s CEO, Brian Moynihan, over allegations of the company restricting access to conservatives.
Trump openly stated, “I hope you start opening your bank to conservatives because many have voiced complaints about exclusion, including at Bank of America.” He didn’t hold back criticism aimed at Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, either.
“You and Jamie and everybody, I hope you’re going to open your banks to conservatives because what you’re doing is wrong,” he asserted, echoing ongoing tensions between Republicans and major banking institutions. Allegations last year from state attorneys general accused these banks of discrimination based on religious and political lines, claims that the banks have resolutely denied.
This issue resonates within the crypto community, which had strong ties with Trump during his presidential tenure, similarly concerned about restricted banking access.
Following the success of the Trump memecoin, which launched just before the inauguration and reaped substantial preliminary returns for Trump’s businesses, Truth.Fi appears poised to carve a niche in financial services. However, they may face competition, notably from Elon Musk’s X, which just struck a partnership with Visa as part of its plans to extend beyond social media. Musk is acknowledged as a close advisor to President Trump, hinting at an interesting intersection of business and political alliances.
