I spent twelve years writing investment memos. The kind that get faxed to qualified clients with eight-figure accounts. The kind with break criteria, scenario tables, signed authors, post-mortems when we got it wrong. Inside the building it was assumed every word was readable and every claim was defensible. Outside the building, retail investors were being sold an entirely different product: opaque allocations, vague theses, gamified surfaces designed to maximize trades rather than returns.
I'd watch friends — smart, careful, professional people in their thirties — show me their brokerage accounts. They could not, in any single case, tell me why they owned what they owned. Not in the sense of "what is the multiple" or "what is the thesis horizon" — in the simpler sense of: what does this company do, why is the position this size, what would tell me to sell. The platforms they used had given them no answer to those questions, and had never asked them.
Tarn is what happens when you take the conventions of an institutional research desk — the writing standard, the two-reviewer rule, the public archive of wins and losses, the named accountability — and ship it to a phone, with a $1 floor and an automated portfolio underneath. The thoughtfulness of a hedge fund. The floor of an app. That's the company. That's the only sentence that matters.
We are taking outside investment from no one. The founders own the firm; that lets us hold pricing stable, refuse PFOF, and resist the every-few-quarters pressure to ship something we wouldn't.
These are the commitments we hold ourselves to. They are visible to every employee on day one. They are reviewable in this page's history. If we ever break one of them, we will publish a memo explaining what changed and why — before the change, where we can; immediately after, where we cannot.
Tarn Advisors LLC intends to operate as a Registered Investment Advisor with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. As an RIA we would be subject to the fiduciary standard, the recordkeeping requirements of Rule 204-2, and the disclosure requirements of Form ADV. Brokerage services are provided through our clearing partner, currently in selection; assets are held at the clearing partner in accounts titled in your name, with SIPC coverage up to applicable limits.
Performance fees are charged only to clients who meet the SEC's "qualified client" standard under Rule 205-3. Form ADV Part 2A and the relevant Part 2B brochures are available at signup, on this page, and on request — never hidden, never behind an email gate.
We do not currently accept clients in jurisdictions where doing so would require additional registration. We will tell you, before you sign anything, if your state or country requires a regulatory hand-off.
For account, deposit, transfer, and access questions. Most answered same business day. Core users have priority routing.
For suggestions on what to cover next, or for corrections to thesis content. The desk reviews these weekly.
For media, journalists, and writers. We do not retain a press agency; the founder responds.
For regulatory matters, supervisory questions, or complaints. CCO responds within 5 business days.
See the careers page for current openings. We hire slowly. Every candidate meets the founder.
Visits by appointment only. Most of the firm is remote-friendly; the office exists for the research desk and customer ops.