A group of U.S. officials want to know why London’s FTSE Russell, a top financial services firm, chose to include the underperforming Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) in one of its most high-profile indexes.
Their concern stems, in part, from the fact that analysts generally do not view TMTG, which owns the president’s social media platform Truth, as particularly stable. Trading under the symbol DJT, shares are down 38% year to date and currently trade at about $17.50. Last fiscal year, the company reported a net loss of $400.9 million And in the most recent quarter, it reported a loss of $20 million.
The Russell 3000 tracks the performance of the 3,000-largest publicly traded companies in the United States. While investors can’t buy the index directly, several ETFs or index funds include the Russell 3000.
Signed by Vermont State Treasurer Mike Pieciak, fiscal leaders from New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Maryland, as well as the comptroller of New York City, the letter expresses concern about TMTG’s inclusion in the Russell 3000, which occurred last year. The drop in the company’s share price, negligible revenues and risks that come with the stock are among the issues they raise.
“The Russell 3000 is one of the most influential benchmarks in U.S. capital markets, with approximately $10.6 trillion in assets,” the officials write. “Its credibility depends on consistent, transparent, and rigorous standards that ensure its companies reflect the U.S. equity market and meet the expectations of institutional investors and public stewards alike. The continued presence of TMTG in the index raises troubling questions on both financial and governance grounds, as well as on the integrity of the benchmark itself.”
London’s FTSE Russell nor TMTG responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.
Pieciak’s signature on the letter is notable. Vermont’s Republican Gov. Phil Scott has urged leaders in his state to take a less confrontational posture with the White House. (Notably, Scott rejected two requests this summer to send the Vermont national guard to Washington, D.C., as part of Trump’s federal takeover of the nation’s capital.)
In their letter, the officials have asked FTSE Russell to explain TMTG’s inclusion in the Russell 3000. They’ve also asked for an assessment of how the group accounts for the company’s risks and detail on any safeguards in place to ensure that future index picks demonstrate sound market fundamentals.
Noting that “two of the last three Trump financial ventures have resulted in significant investor losses,” the letter expresses concerns that people investing in Russell 3000 tracking indexes might not realize they’re buying shares in TMTG.
An evolving list
The Russell 3000 is an evolving list of companies. On the last Friday of each June, the list is reconstituted to reflect changes in the U.S. equity market. Companies are evaluated to determine where they lie along the investment spectrum from value to growth stocks.
FTSE typically looks at the market capitalization of the stock as a bellwether for inclusion. TMTG currently has a market cap of $4.87 billion.
That ranks the stock 3099th among publicly traded companies, as of 10:00 a.m. ET Tuesday. In June of this year, when the list was last reconstituted, shares were about $3.50 higher than they are now, which likely put TMTG within the top 3,000, which could explain its inclusion.
In January, on the final day of trading before the presidential inauguration, TMTG boasted a market cap of $8.68 billion as investors flocked to the company before Trump’s second term began.