Adam Curran

Adam Curran is the founder of the God Bless America ETF, ticker YALL. He grew up in Connecticut where his dad was a self-taught mechanical engineer who never made more than $60,000 a year and whose job security depended on which defense bills passed the state legislature. His mom hung her shingle as a professional clown to supplement the family income. Adam spent his childhood answering the phone "Sparkles the Clown, how can I help you?" and watching his parents obsess about money at the kitchen table. That combination of financial anxiety and entrepreneurial hustle sent him down a path that included working on the Philadelphia Stock Exchange trading floor, a stint at a hedge fund where clients needed $20 million minimums, and eventually founding his own financial planning firm in Charleston, South Carolina focused on middle-class retirees.

On this episode, Adam talks with Brad about the philosophy behind YALL, how the fund screens out companies involved in political activism, and his broader vision for building an investment firm that serves "middle-class millionaires" with the same sophistication available to the ultra-wealthy.

The Origin of YALL

Adam's entrepreneurial itch started on the trading floor. He got his first Wall Street job by showing up at the Philadelphia Stock Exchange every day after class at Drexel University and pestering traders until Susquehanna International Group gave him a job just to stop him from bothering everyone. He worked there during the electronic trading revolution, watching the transition from human specialists to algorithmic execution, then moved to a hedge fund serving ultra-high-net-worth clients.

The idea for YALL came from his financial planning practice, where he works primarily with retirees who spent their careers "pedaling uphill, clipping coupons, driving cars until the wheels fell off." These clients care about values alignment in their investments but feel ignored by the ESG movement, which tends to screen based on progressive social criteria. YALL takes the opposite approach: it starts with a broad US equity universe and removes companies that Adam believes have prioritized political activism over shareholder value. The fund's thesis isn't about left vs. right politics. It's about businesses focusing on business.

How the Screen Works

YALL's screening process evaluates companies based on their level of involvement in social and political causes that Adam believes are outside the scope of running a business. The analysis looks at public statements by executives, corporate donations to political causes, diversity and inclusion mandates that go beyond regulatory requirements, and other indicators of corporate activism. Companies that cross the threshold are excluded from the portfolio.

What remains is a diversified portfolio of US equities that meet traditional investment criteria (market cap, liquidity, fundamental quality) without the companies Adam considers to be the most politically active. The fund is designed to provide broad market exposure with a values-based exclusion screen, similar in concept to how ESG funds exclude fossil fuels or tobacco but applied through a different philosophical lens. Rebalancing and reconstitution happen on a regular schedule, and the screening criteria are documented and systematic rather than ad hoc.

Marketing Strategy and Distribution

Adam is refreshingly honest about the marketing challenge. YALL has gotten significant media attention because of its provocative positioning, but converting attention into AUM requires reaching advisors who can allocate client assets. His distribution strategy mirrors his personal brand: direct, unapologetic, and built on grassroots engagement rather than institutional relationships. He's active on social media, speaks at advisor conferences, and leans into the contrarian positioning rather than softening it.

He draws an interesting distinction between his RIA (which provides comprehensive financial planning including tax strategy, healthcare planning, Social Security optimization, and retirement income management) and YALL (which is a single-issue product based on values screening). The planning firm is what pays the bills and serves clients comprehensiveally. YALL is the entrepreneurial bet, an attempt to build a product that resonates with a large underserved market of investors who feel that ESG has become a one-way political ratchet.

The Planning Firm Philosophy

Adam's financial planning practice in Charleston focuses on what he calls "middle-class millionaires." His advisors specialize in areas that don't directly generate revenue for the firm: the progressive income tax system, Medicare Parts A and B, alternatives to long-term care insurance, healthcare planning for pre-65 retirees. He believes the financial planning industry has historically served the ultra-wealthy well while treating the mass affluent as an afterthought, running them through a sales-driven model of commission-based products and aggressive prospecting. His firm is built to deliver family-office-level sophistication at a price point that works for people with $500,000 to $5 million in investable assets.

Key Takeaways

• Adam got his first finance job by pestering traders outside the Philadelphia Stock Exchange until Susquehanna gave him a role, then worked at a hedge fund with $20 million minimums before founding his own planning firm.
• YALL screens out companies that Adam believes prioritize political activism over shareholder value, applying a values-based exclusion that is the philosophical opposite of traditional ESG screening.
• His financial planning firm in Charleston specializes in retiree planning: tax strategy, Medicare, Social Security optimization, and healthcare planning for clients he calls "middle-class millionaires."
• Adam's mother was a professional clown whose entrepreneurial hustle inspired his own drive to start businesses. His father's job insecurity as a defense-dependent engineer taught him the importance of controlling his own financial destiny.
• The fund's screening process is systematic and documented, evaluating corporate political activity through executive statements, donations, and policies that go beyond regulatory requirements.

Listen to the full conversation on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.