Who we are, and how to check it.

This page exists so you can check who you would be dealing with before writing to us. Everything claimed here can be verified from outside.

The name

In a Roman legion, the primus pilus was the centurion of the first century of the first cohort: the most senior centurion, and the one who stood at the front. He did not command from the rear — he held the most exposed position in the formation.

It seemed the right name for a firm that commits to a view before knowing whether it will be welcome, and that publishes its full record, including the trades that went wrong.

What we do

Two things, and they are connected.

Fractional CFO work. We take over a company's numbers — costs, margins, forecasts, systems — and turn them into information you can decide on this week rather than two months from now. It is the work described in our fractional CFO guide.

Capital systems. When operations generate surplus, we build the governed system that decides how much stays liquid and how much goes to work. We never take custody of anyone's money: capital stays in the company's own accounts and every decision is made by its owner.

What we are not

This list matters as much as the one above, and we would rather you read it before writing to us.

We are not investment advisers. We are not registered as such and we do not provide personalized advice. What we publish is general analysis, identical for every reader.

We do not hold client capital. We do not receive funds, operate anyone's accounts, or have the ability to move anyone's money.

We do not replace your CPA or your auditor. We work on what they produce; without them we have no raw material.

We do not take third-party commissions. We accept no payment from banks, platforms or vendors for recommending them. What a client pays is the only revenue we earn from that client.

How to verify what we say

The reasonable objection to any financial firm is that it chose the numbers it shows you. That is why the record does not live only on this website.

Independent tracking. Every decision our capital method has made is recorded on TipRanks, a platform we do not control: 130 public positions, 89 of them profitable, with entry and exit dates and the return on each. That includes the 41 that lost money. A record that shows only winners is not a record.

The method is published, not hinted at. The Governor — the two-variable rule that decides when risk comes down — is described on the site with both of its exact conditions, and is given away as a free tool on request. There is no black box to protect.

The analysis cites its source. Figures in our articles come from filings made to the regulator, not from third-party summaries. Where a conclusion rests on an assumption, the assumption is written down.

And we publish what makes us look bad. Our audit of 44 analyst forecasts opens by explaining that the first version of the tool was broken and took four separate fixes. That part could have been left out.

How we work

Every engagement starts with a fixed-price diagnostic. Defined scope, fixed fee, a delivery date, and written conclusions. Nobody has to sign a retainer to find out whether our judgment is worth anything, and the fee is credited in full if the work continues.

We do it for a practical reason: it is the only way a client can test the judgment before committing, and the only way we can test whether the engagement makes sense. Some diagnostics end with a recommendation to hire nobody.

From there, what gets contracted is deliverables with dates — weekly cash forecast, monthly dashboard, quarterly review — not hours.

When we say no

We turn work down, and it is worth knowing which work.

When the real problem is commercial rather than financial. When what is needed is a bookkeeper rather than financial leadership. When the business loses money because of its model and no amount of cost engineering will fix that. And when we are asked for a report whose conclusion has already been decided.

Capacity is limited and engagements are taken one at a time, so declining what does not fit is not a posture. It is arithmetic.

Contact

Everything starts by email. No intro call required and no long form: write and tell us what is happening in your company, and we will reply with what we would do and what it would cost.