The IronHorse Back Story

There is something refreshingly traditional about taking a train, especially if you are on a long route. Let’s turn back the hands of time and consider ourselves in a by gone day. With ticket in hand you ease into the passenger car and take in the scenery. You move along toward your destination at a steady pace. Even the brief stops along the way are advantageous and offer moments of reassurance as you check your course and note that the rail staff is doing the same.

The powerful locomotive pulls both passenger car and cargo along the track toward the destination. Travelers on this journey may have once ridden horse back, by stage coach or wagon. The new iron horse makes for a more pleasant trip west toward the American dream.

Our arrival is in the hands of a few competent men. The engineer tasked with making steady forward progress, the conductor responsible for passenger comfort, and the brakeman who is charged with the safety of goods and travelers. And, while the former two roles are the most celebrated it is the latter that plays the unsung hero in our story.

During these early days of railroading, box cars and passenger cabins were made of wood. The brakeman’s job was to monitor the train’s performance for safety. He in particular, was to keep the cars from catching fire often caused by poor wheel to rail traction and the subsequent sparks thrown from irregular friction. His dutiful walk across the top of the moving train cars to tune the wheel and brake were not so much daredevil feats as they were necessary chores. He worked out a set of signals between himself and the engineer to call for more caution in the train’s progress or to affirm his speed toward the goal.

So it is now. As the iron horse carries the financial goals of the investor toward its destination, the engineer charges forward and the brakeman diligently works to see sure arrival of all concerned.

European Markets Discount Bleak Scenarios
The Street, June 1, 2011 
Global markets enter the week facing another round of schizophrenic action related to the on-again, off-again talk of Greek restructuring... more

Anxiety About Oil, Recovery Send Shares Lower

The New York Times, MARCH 11, 2011

Worries about oil supply and downbeat economic reports from threecontinents sent stocks worldwide sharply lower on Thursday, providing a reminder of the fragile nature of the global recovery... more

Asset Managers Defy Downturn
The Commercial Appeal, FEBRUARY 2, 2011 
Around the time of the financial industry meltdown of 2008, investment strategist David Waddell began wondering why there were no asset management firms capable of shielding clients from...more

Energy and the Markets (VIDEO)
The Street, JANUARY 25, 2011 
Chad Cunningham of Ironhorse Capital Management suggests an energy ETF to... more

Dow marches toward 12,000
CNN Money, JANUARY 24, 2011 
Stocks got the week off to a solid start Monday, with the Dow slowly clawing its way toward the 12,000 mark.The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) closed at 11,980, up 109 points, or 0.9% from the prior trading session... more

CPI Shows Input-Cost Inflation Tempered By Overcapacity
Forbes, JANUARY 14, 2011 
Overcapacity in the economy and commodity-price inflation seem to be the guiding forces behind Friday's consumer price report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as CPI gained 0.5% almost exclusively due to higher energy prices... more

One Year Later: Lessons Learned From the Downturn
Wall St. Journal, SEPTEMBER 16, 2009 
It's been one year since century-old Lehman Brothers lapsed into bankruptcy and sent the U.S. economy into a tailspin that's left few businesses unscathed... more

A Shaken CIT Breeds New Possibilities
Wall St. Journal, JULY 20, 2009
Even as CIT Groupputs the finishing touches on a plan to right itself, via a $3 billion emergency loan from its bondholders, other lenders haven't been so lucky... more

What Are Bank Stress Tests?
Fox Business, APRIL 23, 2009
Are your finances strong enough to withstand another couple years of this battering economy? Can you suffer additional losses and still pay your bills and, if not thrive, at least survive if the economy continues to deteriorate?... more

Stocks Continue Rally on Optimistic News
Crain's,MARCH 26, 2009
Wall Street built on its big March rally Thursday as fresh nuggets of upbeat news gave traders reason to reach for more stocks... more

Stocks Are Mixed as Market Is Gripped by 'Legislative Paralysis'
The Washington Post, FEBRUARY 3, 2009
Investors worried about the recession have turned to a strategy of cherry-picking stocks -- on Monday sending tech shares higher and industrials lower... more

Stocks Finish Lower as Investors Assess Rate Cut
USA Today, DECEMBER 18, 2008
U.S. stocks fell Wednesday as the government's effort to stave off a deep recession raised worries about mounting public debts and blunted optimism stemming from the Fed's rate cut... more

Should We Invest With "Great Expectations?"
Fast Company - Worldly Investor Blog, NOVEMBER 24, 2008
Investment markets of every type continue to discount their inventories to try to lure shoppers. It’s clearly demonstrated by dwindling trading volumes that investment shoppers remain quite content at home, anticipating further discounting to come... more

After graduating from the University of the South with a BA in Economics, David began his career with Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. in Phoenix, AZ, where he also earned his NASD Series 7 (Registered Representative) and Series 63 (Blue Sky) licenses. After being recognized for his outstanding business development record, David was promoted to the San Francisco-based Institutional Strategic Accounts Team, which interfaced with the Big 5 accounting firms and Schwab's largest customers.


David left Schwab to continue his education at the graduate level in Boston.While earning his MBA degree with a concentration in finance and investments at the F.W. Olin School at Babson College, he was appointed by the college Trustees to manage a team of seven portfolio managers overseeing the student-managed portion of Babson's endowment fund.


After earning his MBA and his experience at Schwab he took over his family business, Waddell & Associates. W&A is a client service oriented wealth management firm located in Memphis, TN. Since David took over at the helm he has grown the business from managing just under $150 Million to having assets that now exceed $550 Million. After years at W&A, David saw an opportunity for a complementary product based financial business to start and co-founded IronHorse Capital Management.


A civic leader in Memphis, David acted as founding President for Mpact Memphis. He was Chairman for The Leadership Academy and Chairman of the RISE Foundation. David sits on boards for MIFA and the President's Council of Memphis Symphony Orchestra, and was a member of the 2004 class of Leadership Memphis. He has also been recognized as one of Memphis' "Top 40 under 40" by the Memphis Business Journal, and was a finalist for "Executive of the Year" in 2007. He has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Investment News, Institutional Investor News along with other publications and on television for CNBC, Fox News, Fox Business, CBS News Channel 3 and ABC news Channel.


Kerr Tigrett, President
A driven, goal-oriented operator with strong business development skills.

He began his career working on Capitol Hill during his summers off from attending the University of Virginia. In Washington, he worked from a page to an intern for Sen. George Mitchell (D-ME), Sen. Robert Dole (R- KS), and Sen. Bill Frist (R-TN). After school and politics he shifted his focus to finance. He joined an event-driven based hedge fund in Los Angeles named Strome Investment Management. Kerr began at Strome as an Associate in the Sales and Marketing department and through the years worked his way up to Managing Director of Sales and Marketing. While there he raised just under half of the assets for the firm and gained the Strome funds access onto Société General’s, Lyxor platform. After he left Strome, Kerr moved to Tennessee to look for a more entrepreneurial opportunity. He found it with JALP Global, a product sourcing and logistics conglomerate, owned by Justin Timberlake and family. As President, he ran the business between JALP’s offices in Tennessee and Hong Kong, China, developing products for clients such as MGM, Live Nation and Target.  After leaving JALP, he moved back to finance and co-founded IronHorse Capital where he earned his NASD Series 65 designation (Registered Investment Advisor).

In the civic arena Kerr sits on the boards of Memphis in May International Festival, The University of Memphis Advisory Athletic Board, The Smithsonian’s Rock and Soul Museum, and The Leadership Academy and is a former board member of Mpact Memphis, The Rise Foundation and The Phoenix Club. He has been honored as one of Business TN Magazine’s Top 30 under 30 and The Memphis Business Journal’s Top 40 under 40.

Financial industry media often consult IronHorse representatives for insight and opinion regarding current events and world affairs as they affect investors.

Jerry Castellini, of CastleArk Management, and David Waddell, IronHorse Capital Management, share their investment strategies and stock picks.

IronHorse Capital Management's David Waddell on investing in the dollar.