The Balance of Trade

The Balance of Trade provides advisory and educational services to individual investors and, on occasion, to trusts, investment companies, family offices, and pension plans. Its written brochure describes offerings in asset allocation advice, trading-methodology education (including options and futures), and broader financial planning, and it notes that the firm currently has no regulatory assets under management, takes no custody of client assets, and will not exercise discretionary trading authority.

The firm’s approach emphasizes a top-down strategic allocation framework with tactical adjustments based on market dynamics, employing both quantitative and qualitative analysis of returns, variance, and correlations. It places particular emphasis on derivatives-based risk metrics (delta, vega, gamma, theta) and implied volatility as tools to help clients refine exposures, while positioning its role primarily as educator and consultant rather than a discretionary manager.

Compared with many peers, the firm contemplates several less-common services: paid subscription products or newsletters, the possibility of publishing proprietary securities ratings, periodic workshops or multi-day seminars drawn from the principal’s collegiate teaching experience, and consulting for pension plans. Its stated fee model centers on prepaid hourly engagement and paid subscriptions rather than a percentage-of-assets model, and it explicitly contemplates using volatility and index-level signals in tactical guidance even though it does not propose formal market-timing authority.