Trump's $500k PTC purchase preceded $22.6B acquisition

Schneider Electric on Monday agreed to acquire PTC, a publicly traded software company, in a deal coming 77 days after Donald Trump's investment portfolio bought $500,000 of its stock.

The $22.6 billion all-cash offer values PTC at $205 per share, a 42% premium to last Friday's closing price. That represents a 64% increase from the price when Trump's portfolio purchased shares 77 days earlier.

Trump's purchase is recorded on line 1,001 of a US Department of Government Ethics filing. The president disclosed acquiring up to $1 million of PTC shares.

The public became aware of the investment on September 22.

Because Trump's trading disclosures are periodic rather than daily, it is impossible to know if he held PTC through this week's buyout until his next filing.

If Trump held PTC from July 20, his trade would have gained at least 53% based on yesterday's close, and up to 64% if the deal closes at the full $205 per share.

Who chooses Donald Trump's stock trades?

The level of Trump's involvement in his portfolio's holdings has been publicly debated.

A Trump Organization spokesperson said in May that the holdings are in "fully discretionary accounts," meaning someone actively chooses which securities to buy or sell, rather than using passive rebalancing or indexation.

The spokesperson added that Trump's personal portfolio is "independently managed by third-party financial institutions with sole and exclusive authority over all investment decisions."

The Code of Federal Regulations defines investment discretion as having "the sole or shared authority to determine what securities or other assets to purchase or sell on behalf of that account."

The regulation further says, "You retain investment discretion if you delegate investment discretion to another."

White House spokesman Davis Ingle repeated on September 22 that outside institutions manage Trump's portfolio.

However, Trump himself has said, contrary to that narrative, "My kids run it." Ingle also told Fortune that Trump's assets sit in a trust "managed by his children."

Asked about the contradictory statements, Ingle said, "defer to Trump Org."

Unconvinced, two US senators wrote to Trump in August about his trades, saying, "The timing of a number of transactions raise questions about whether you are using your knowledge of government activities, your official authority, or the vast megaphone provided by the presidency to make investments or move markets to your personal benefit."