Red Flags in Red States: Patriotic Investors Beware Fat Fees on Trump’s Truth Social ETFs

• President Donald Trump’s Truth Social launched a suite of ETFs for “patriotic investors”
• All five Truth Social ETFs have an annual expense ratio of 0.65% or 65 basis points
• Truth Social American Red State REITs ETF (NYSE American: TSRS) targets operators in states where a Republican won at least two out of last three elections
• Major ETFs with similar REIT strategies such as Schwab charge as little as 7 basis points for a diversified mix of U.S. REIT investments

By John Jannarone

This week, Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. (Nasdaq: DJT) offered a late Christmas gift to retail investors that isn’t a newfangled cryptocurrency like the $TRUMP and $MELANIA coins that might scare off older conservative Americans. Instead, it’s a suite of well-established vehicles known as an exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that bundle together shares of companies for “patriotic investors who want to invest in American ingenuity.” Before pouring in any hard-earned cash, such patriots should dig a little deeper into the fees the Truth Social ETFs charge.

The premise of the ETFs is straightforward: Invest in “securities with a Made in America focus spanning diverse industries” and hope to reap financial returns. There’s been a raft of individual companies such as PSQ Holdings, Inc. (PSQH) to go public in the last few years (which also have heavy ties to the Trump family) offering a similar mantra around “America first” principles but the new ETFs aim to bundle stocks rather than create any new operating business.

The ETFs include Truth Social American Security & Defense ETF (NYSE American: TSSD), Truth Social American Next Frontiers ETF (NYSE American: TSFN), Truth Social American Icons ETF (NSYE American: TSIC), Truth Social American Energy Security ETF (NYSE American: TSES) and Truth Social American Red State REITs ETF (NYSE American: TSRS).

But investors, particularly those who are retired and seeking income in the form of yield, may be surprised how much the ETFs charge. Take Truth Social American Red States ETF, which charges 65 basis points like its sister ETFs (all of them track indexes rather than pay an active fund manager). Schwab U.S. REIT ETF (NYSE: SCHH), by comparison, charges just 7 basis points. Vanguard Real Estate ETF (NYSE: VNQ) which has a heavy focus in red, sunbelt states, charges 13 basis points.

While the difference may seem small, it would add up over time. Assuming both assets held steady in value over a decade (while paying out distributions from real estate income), the Red States ETF would collect 6.5% in expense fees while the Schwab U.S. REIT ETF would charge just 0.70%.

What’s the difference between the two? Truth Social says in a prospectus that “[t]o qualify for initial inclusion, a company must have at least 65% of its revenues or net operating income from, or 65% of its properties in, states that voted for or carried a Republican presidential candidate in two of the last three presidential elections (i.e., as determined or called by a state’s electoral college, or a majority of the electoral college for states that split electoral votes). Existing constituents may remain in the Underlying Index with at least 50% of revenues or net operating income from, or properties in, states that voted for or carried a Republican presidential candidate in two of the last three presidential elections.”

But even a cursory analysis shows the big Red States ETF assets are quite similar to what one might except in a diversifed U.S. REIT ETF. Take its top holding, VICI Properties Inc. (NYSE: VICI). VICI focuses on casino and entertainment real estate, boasting marquee properties such as Caesars Palace Las Vegas, MGM Grand and the Venetian Resort Las Vegas, all on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada. It’s actually unclear if the Strip properties counted for or against VICI as a constituent: While Trump won in Nevada in 2024, it was the first Republican victory since George W. Bush in 2004.

VICI Properties also states that it owns “93 experiential assets across a geographically diverse portfolio consisting of 54 gaming properties and 39 other experiential properties across the United States and Canada.” Those include properties in Gavin Newsom’s California, such as Bowlero Brentwood and Bowlero Vacaville, according to its investor website.

VICI Properties Portfolio

Going further down the list of big holdings, most are large, liquid REITs that investors can buy themselves easily with zero annual expense fees, such as Realty Income Corp. (NYSE:O). While these may be great, it’s unclear why investors should pay another layer of fees to Truth Social to own them.

Neither Yorkville America Equities, LLC, the investment adviser on the deal, nor Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. responded to requests for comment from CorpGov.

On its website, Truth Social states “[t]ogether, we’re not just building portfolios, we’re building a movement.” Investors keen to join the movement should just make sure to evaluate the true price of admission.