Who we are

Thank you for your interest in Trafalgar Investment Advisers LLC. The company name relates to the Battle of Trafalgar in October 1805 between the Royal British Navy and the combined French and Spanish fleets at the height of the Napoleonic War.

Two days before the battle, on October 19, 1805, the Franco-Spanish Combined Fleet, commanded by Vice Adm. Pierre Charles Jean-Baptiste Sylvestre Villeneuve, had raised anchor and inched its way out of the great harbor of Cadiz. Emperor Napoleon had ordered the fleet to ferry 4,000 soldiers to Naples and to capture any ships or convoys of the Third Coalition it found in the region. The wind was so still that only seven of the 33 ships of the line managed to clear the harbor. It was not until the following day that Villeneuve was able to get his flagship, the 80-gun Bucentaure, and the rest of the fleet into the open ocean. Once under sail, the fleet set a course southeast for the Strait of Gibraltar.

The British squadron responsible for the blockade of Cadiz, under Vice Adm. Horatio Viscount Nelson, stalked its prey closely. Nelson planned a two-pronged attack that went against conventional tactics, which usually called for two fleets sailing in line opposite each other and trading broadsides. Nelson's ships would keep the weather gauge - that is, stay upwind of the Combined Fleet. When the Combined Fleet was sighted, the British would bear down on it in two columns, with one column punching through the enemy's center and the other column smashing through its rear. As the British ships broke through the Franco-Spanish line, they would engage their enemies from the leeward, or downwind, side. That would separate the main body of the Combined Fleet from its vanguard and allow the British to attain superiority in numbers. The plan, put down on paper October 8, 1805, in a document known as the Trafalgar memorandum, was dubbed "The Nelson Touch."

Nelson was a remarkable man. He combined a gentleness of character with an extreme ruthless aggression in action. This combined with his technical brilliance at sea made him an invincible enemy. Nelson's tactic at Trafalgar was simple but also full of risk. As the two British columns bore down on the Combined Fleet, the bows, masts and rigging of lead ships in each column would be exposed to enemy broadsides, with no chance to return fire until they began to pass through gaps in the enemy line. The admirals and captains of the Combined Fleet were confident that they could break up Nelson's attack by dismasting the British ships before they could break through the line. The British had one decisive advantage over the Combined Fleet, however. British gun crews could fire at least two or three times as fast as either the French or Spanish. Thus, if Nelson's bold plan of attack succeeded and the British could isolate parts of the Combined Fleet and outnumber it, then the British gunnery might administer a mortal blow to Napoleon's principal fleet.

The plan was devastatingly effective. Lord Nelson had 27 ships-of-the-line, with his flagship Victory leading the way, against the Franco-Spanish combined fleet of 33. The Franco-Spanish fleet lost 27 ships in the battle-Nelson lost none. Following the battle, the Royal Navy was never again seriously challenged by the French fleet in a large-scale engagement. Unfortunately, Lord Nelson lost his life during the battle. Having been shot on deck, he died toward the end of the battle. His last words were, "Thank God, I have done my duty."

So what does this have to do with investing? Well, the Battle of Trafalgar is a case-study of risk and reward and what today would be referred to as "outside-the-box" thinking. An investment portfolio may be compared to a battle plan. The enemy is a combined fleet of risks: inflation, market (systemic), non-market (business), regulatory, interest rate, etc. An investment plan must consider and defend against these risks, and what has always been done before (e.g. sticking to equities under any circumstance) must always be reconsidered with fresh, bold thinking.

Trafalgar Investment Advisers LLC will design a customized investment plan to meet your financial goals and objectives taking into account your tolerance for risk. We are easy to work with, always open to new ideas, passionate about our work, and ready to partner with you to navigate challenging financial markets and take advantage of investment opportunities using a unique strategy of studying macro-economic trends combined with traditional fundamental and technical market analysis.

What we do

• Trafalgar Investment Advisers LLC will open a personal account of any kind (individual, trust, custodial, college savings, etc.) for you at Fidelity Investments (one of the largest financial institutions in the world) or another custodian of your choice. Your personal check(s) for opening the account(s), or when adding funds, are always made out to the custodian (never to Trafalgar Investment Advisers LLC). These funds are immediately deposited into your Fidelity (interest bearing) Money Market Fund, or similar account if at a different custodian, while your investment account is built. Note that if you already have established accounts, you need not move them if you do not wish to. Trafalgar Investment Advisers LLC will work with any custodian you choose.
• Trafalgar Investment Advisers LLC does not require you to enter into a binding contract. We do not charge consultation, advertising, entrance, or exit fees. Our business does not require such fees. If our clients at any time are not satisfied with our performance, we do not penalize them for leaving. Our objective is to do the very best for our clients. If a client, for whatever reason, should decide to cancel his or her agreement, he or she could have the account closed or transferred within five business days. Also, if the client wishes to keep the account with the custodian, we would simply remove the trading authorization for Trafalgar from the account. No penalties - no strings attached - no explanation needed!
• A "Management Agreement" that outlines your personal goals and objectives and describes your risk tolerance gives us the important personal information to make the right investment decisions for you. The "Trading Authorization" enables us to trade (sell/buy) within your account. (We do not have access to our clients' assets!)
• Every investment within each account's portfolio will be viewed on a regular basis. Trafalgar Investment Advisers LLC pays trusted outside resources to provide specialized investment and economic research which our principal, Gregg D. Killoren, analyzes for investment opportunities. A proper allocation/diversification of stocks and fixed income assets is a key to our success. Every investment portfolio is customized to fit the client's needs.
• Trafalgar Investment Advisers LLC does not receive a commission, or in any way make a profit, on buying or selling your stocks (excessive and unnecessary trading only reduces the value of the account and is considered "churning"). We are performance driven. We strive to meet our standards for excellence (performance) as we continue our partnership with you.
• Every purchase or sale of a security has a trading fee, payable to the chosen custodian. The custodian provides custodial services in exchange for the fees it earns on trades made. Trafalgar Investment Advisers LLC uses Fidelity Investments as its preferred custodian, but there is no agreement between the companies for payment of any fees. The current per trade fee, again payable to Fidelity, is $8.00, which is Fidelity's lowest price point (Fidelity's standard per trade fee is $19.95). If you choose another custodian, that particular custodian's transaction fees will apply. Trading and other fees may vary greatly from one custodian to another. Our fee, paid quarterly, (generally 1 percent of assets under management annually) will be billed to you directly.
• We encourage all investment-related inquiries. We do not use an automated telephone service. You will have the opportunity to speak with an investment advisor as a part of our service.
• We believe the investing environment will be extremely challenging for years to come. The old strategy of buy-and-hold and being overweight stocks worked well during the incredible bull market from 1982-2000. However, that period, while it may have come to feel like the "norm" was really an aberration when viewed historically. Though bull and bear markets come and go roughly every 18 years, one reason we have experienced such a severe correction both economically and in equity markets is due to the extreme run up during the last bull market/economic expansion and the overleveraging that enabled the expansion to continue at unsustainable levels. As easy as things were then, they will be equally as difficult for the next 5-10 years. Trafalgar's unique strategy of growth with income, combined with defensive positions designed to combat macroeconomic changes, has preserved its clients' capital and positioned them for further growth when the economy stabilizes and begins growing again.
• When your accounts(s) are open, you will have the opportunity to access all your account data (performance status, trading history, form 1099, etc.) online through Fidelity's website. You will have complete control of your assets. You will also have access to Trafalgar's financial and economic Internet publication, Raw Finance (http//:rawfinance.wordpress.com), and periodic market updates and analysis only available to clients as part of our service.
• Any information you have provided to us is strictly confidential (See Privacy Policy). This information will in no way lead to unsolicited, unwanted phone calls. We also do not sell your personal information to a third party and our client list, unless we receive individual written permission for personal testimonials, is private.
• Trafalgar Investment Advisers LLC has been successful because we consider strategy from a carefully researched and unique perspective, combining traditional investing strategies with economic analysis to create fresh, customized investment portfolios tailored to each client's goals and objectives.