📊 INVESTMENT ACTIVITY | AUGUST 2026

August was another month of building and consolidating my portfolio. 📈

💰 Portfolio value: €4,592.76

💵 Dividends received: €17.61

📈 Realized return: +10.28 €

📊 Unrealized return: +159.10 €

📉 Change in open position: −16.49 €

🔄 MONTHLY CHANGES

The main focus continued to be $LX (-5,26 %) , where I took advantage of the price drop to add to my position and gradually lower the average cost.

During the month, I also made some sales, notably in $IIPR (-2,49 %) and $PRGO (-0,56 %) , and added a little more to $MAGO (-0,53 %) .

💰 DIVIDENDS

I received dividends from:

$VZ (+2,09 %) • $POLR (-2,67 %) • $MAGO (-0,53 %) • $NNN (-1,32 %) • $O (-0,34 %) • $APLE (-1,46 %) • $KVUE (-1,88 %) • $PBR (+0,89 %) • $EQNR (+2,28 %) • $OXLC (-1,7 %)

🎯 GOAL

To continue growing the invested capital and, over the years, build a portfolio that is increasingly capable of generating passive income through dividends.

August had its ups and downs, but the strategy remains simple:

📌 Invest every month

📌 Strengthen positions with potential

📌 Take advantage of market opportunities

📌 Think long term

The goal isn’t to get it right every month. It’s to keep building. 💪📈

#Investimentos
#Dividendos
#Bolsa
#RendimentoPassivo
#LongoPrazo

I have looked at many different REITs, for example Realty Income $O (-0,34 %) Omega Healthcare Investors $OHI (+0,38 %) , NNN REIT $NNN (-1,32 %) , Agree Realty $ADC (+0,17 %) Alexandria Real Estate Equities $ARE (-0,68 %) and of course Simon Property Group $SPG (+0,51 %) . In my opinion, there is little or very little equity research on Simon Property Group.

Therefore, for today's analysis, I have chosen for Simon Property Group.

Why Simon Property?

Simon Property is market leader in large shopping centers and premium outlets.

The company doesn't just own buildings.

It owns high-quality properties in very good locations.

And it is precisely these locations that are particularly important for strong brands and luxury companies.

The portfolio

Simon Property owns a total of 254 properties:

• 92 large shopping centers
• 70 premium outlets
• 14 mills centers

The properties are located in 37 US states and additionally in 14 countries worldwide.

The occupancy rate is currently 96,5 %.

This is the highest value for 8 years.

The so-called Mills-Center even had an occupancy rate of 98,8 %.

This shows quite clearly:

The spaces are in great demand.

Focus on luxury

Many well-known luxury brands have opened new stores in 2024.

• Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Chanel: In outlets such as Woodbury Common (NY).
• Tiffany & Co, Rolex, Hermès: Focus on watches and jewelry in lifestyle centers.
• Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Céline, Prada, Chanel, Versace and Gucci are classic tenants

Why is this important?

Luxury products often work better in better in a real store than online.

People want to see to see, touch and experience them.

And that's exactly what Simon Property benefits from.

Strong regions

A large proportion of the income comes from economically very strong regions:

• Florida
• California
• Texas

These are regions with a lot of tourism, high purchasing power and a strong economy.

Let us now turn to one of the most important key figures for REITs: FFO.

With REITs, you don't look at not look at the normal profit.

Instead, you look at FFO or AFFO.

Why is that so?

REITs have very high depreciation on their real estate.

This depreciation pushes the profit on paper down sharply on paperalthough the company actually earns good money.

This is why the normal profit of REITs not very meaningful.

There is also a special feature:

A REIT must distribute at least 90 % of its profits as dividends.

Therefore, classic key figures such as the P/E RATIOor the payout ratio measured by the EPS or free cash flowfor REITs do not really make sense.

Instead, investors mainly look at FFO and AFFO.

Or the payout ratio based on FFO or AFFO

These key figures show better how much money the company really earns.

Valuation of the share

Let us now turn to the valuation of the share.

The share is currently valued at a price-to-AFFO ratio of 17.38 .

If we look into the future, the forward price-to-AFFO is around 16.54.

Put simply, this means that

If you buy the share today, you will pay around 16.5 times the expected profit.

For a high-quality REIT, that is not an expensive valuation.

Let's move on to dividend sustainability

Currently Simon Property Group at a price of approximately 194.83 dollars per share per share.

The company currently pays a dividend of dividend of 8.55 dollars per share.

This results in a dividend yield of approximately 4.40 %.

Let's now take a look at whether this dividend is also sustainable is sustainable.

Over the last 12 months, the company has generated an AFFO of 10.58 dollars per share per share.

If we compare the dividend with this figure, we arrive at an AFFO payout ratio of around 80.8%.

This means that around 80 % of the operating cash flow are paid out as dividends.

And for a REIT a solid valuebecause many REITs have a payout ratio of up to up to 90 % have.

In other words:

Simon Property's dividend currently looks well covered and relatively secure.

Now we come to a very important key figure for REITs: the leverage ratio.

Here we look at how much equity and how much debt capital a company uses.

This is particularly important because real estate companies often work heavily with borrowed capital.

The current gearing ratio is 3,26.

That means approximately:

• 23 % equity
• 77 % debt capital

That sounds relatively high at first. But if we look at the interest coverage ratio of 3.26 it becomes more reassuring again.

This means that the interest payments are well covered and there is still a safety buffer.

To categorize: Many analysts see values of above 2 to 3 are already considered solid.

My personal buy consideration

But now comes the crucial question: At what price would I buy myself or buy more?

For this I use a dividend valuation method.

Simon Property's dividend has grown in recent years:

• 10-year growth: 3,52 %
• 2-year growth: 7,13 %

The current dividend is around 8.55 dollars per share.

For my calculation I take

• a discount rate of 8%
• dividend growth of
• 6.13 % in the next 2 years
• 7 % in the next 5 years
• thereafter in the long term 3 % growth

With these assumptions, I arrive at a result:

The share is currently approximately 11 % undervalued.

Conclusion

Simon Property offers:

• high-quality real estate
• very high occupancy rate
• stable income
• an attractive dividend

For me, Simon Property is an interesting opportunityfrom the trend towards shopping and genuine shopping experiences. shopping experiences.

For all those who want to delve even deeper into the world of shares https://www.youtube.com/@Verstehdieaktie/videos

As many of you may or may not have noticed, at the end of 2025, the Trump Media & Technology Group ($DJT) launched five ETFs under the Truth.Fi label.

They are positioned as “America First” investment products with a focus on security, energy, innovation, iconic companies, and real estate in Republican-leaning states.

At first glance, these seem like clear themes. Upon closer inspection, however, structural weaknesses, small fund sizes, and a very strong political narrative become apparent. Below is a sober, deliberately skeptical analysis of all five ETFs.

1) Truth Social American Security & Defense ETF
($TSSD)
🛡️

Focus: Defense, Security, Cybersecurity

Expense ratio: approx. 0.65%

Fund assets: approx. $246,000

Number of holdings: around 58

Largest holdings:

RTX Corp ($RTX) (-0,25 %)

Palantir Technologies ($PLTR) (-5,23 %)

Palo Alto Networks ($PANW) (-2,91 %)

Assessment:

The fund’s thematic structure is clear and combines traditional defense stocks with modern software and cybersecurity companies. The major issue, however, is the extremely low fund assets. With only about a quarter of a million USD, liquidity is very limited. High spreads and a potential risk of closure are realistic scenarios. Comparable defense ETFs are significantly larger, more affordable, and more stable.

2) Truth Social American Energy Security ETF ($TSES) ⚡

Focus: U.S. energy, oil, gas, and energy infrastructure

Expense ratio: approx. 0.65%

Fund assets: not transparently disclosed, presumably very low

Number of holdings: around 68

Largest holdings:

Exxon Mobil ($XOM) (+1,7 %)

Chevron ($CVX) (+1,29 %)

Eaton Corporation ($ETN) (-4,28 %)

Assessment:

The ETF focuses on classic U.S. energy leaders. This is not an innovative approach, but rather a very traditional sector bet. The political term “energy security” does not change the fact that, at its core, investors are buying an expensive energy ETF with an unclear fund size. Without sufficient inflows, its tradability remains questionable.

3) Truth Social American Next Frontiers ETF ($TSNF) 🚀

Focus: Future technologies, innovation, space exploration, industry

Expense ratio: approx. 0.65%

Assets under management: not clearly disclosed, presumably very low

Largest holdings:

Planet Labs ($PL) (-3,21 %)

Marvell Technology ($MRVL) (-5,75 %)

Intuitive Machines ($LUNR) (-7,01 %)

Assessment:

The name sounds visionary, but the structure remains vague. “Next Frontiers” is not a clearly defined investment factor, but rather an umbrella term. Many smaller, partly speculative stocks, little transparency regarding weightings, and a lack of track record make the fund difficult to assess. The ETF comes across more like a hodgepodge of themes than a coherent innovation strategy.

4) Truth Social American Icons ETF ($TSIC) ⭐

Focus: well-known U.S. brands and large corporations

Expense ratio: approx. 0.65%

Fund assets: approx. 248,000 USD

Number of holdings: around 54

Largest holdings:

Procter & Gamble ($PG (+0,16 %))

Lowe’s ($LOW) (+0,78 %)

Altria Group ($MO) (+1,32 %)

Classification:

The fund invests in established U.S. corporations that are familiar to many investors. The term “Icons” evokes a positive gut feeling but is not a measurable investment factor. In terms of its composition, the ETF resembles a classic large-cap approach—albeit with significantly higher costs, a very small fund size, and no clear added value compared to existing standard ETFs.

5) Truth Social American Red State REITs ETF ($TSRS) 🏘️

Focus: Real estate companies with a focus on Republican-leaning states

Expense ratio: approx. 0.65%

Fund assets: not transparently disclosed, presumably low

Number of holdings: around 28

Largest holdings:

VICI Properties ($VICI) (-0,46 %)

Broadstone Net Lease ($BNL) (-1,61 %)

NNN REIT ($NNN) (-1,32 %)

Assessment:

Filtering real estate based on political geography is unusual. Economically relevant factors such as rental structure, location quality, or financing terms take a back seat here. The fund is highly concentrated, interest-rate sensitive, and offers no clear advantage over broad REIT ETFs.

General Criticisms ⚠️

Very low assets under management

Several ETFs are in the low six-figure range or below. This is critical for ETFs and increases the risk of wide spreads, low liquidity, and potential fund liquidation.

High costs

All five ETFs charge fees of around 0.65%. This is high, especially since there is no demonstrable outperformance, no track record, and no unique strategy.

Political Narratives Instead of Investment Logic

The funds are heavily politically branded. While this may attract attention, it is no substitute for a sound investment strategy. Political conviction is neither a risk factor nor a driver of returns.

Conclusion

The Truth Social ETFs are less traditional investment products and more of a financial statement. They are clearly aimed at investors who want to reflect their political convictions in their portfolios.

From a rational investment perspective, they currently appear:

• very small
• expensive
• illiquid
• conceptually interchangeable

Or to put it a bit more bluntly:

“America First” is in the ETF’s name, but it’s not really a priority when it comes to the risk-return ratio.

For a seriously structured, long-term portfolio, there are significantly more robust alternatives. As a topic of discussion within the community, however, the funds are certainly entertaining.

What do you think of the ETFs?

Best regards,

Don

After holding the shares for almost a year $NNN (-1,32 %) with a loss of -15%. I invested the proceeds in $MDLZ (-1,33 %) invested in

NNN is a solid REIT with competitive real estate/department stores etc. but not really useful in Austria. REITs are not taxed with DBA... so you burn almost 50% of the dividends.

Mondelez is a company I have wanted to have in my portfolio for ages. They have an extremely popular product portfolio, products like: Milka, OREO, Toblerone, Philadelpha, 7Days etc...

The share of $MDLZ (-1,33 %) is currently offering a dividend of >3.7% with a dividend growth of over 14% (average last 10 years).

Healthy margins, constant, increasing cash flow and healthy dividend policy

Take advantage of market weakness and get in with the first foot.