About Forbidden Brands
Why Forbidden Brands?
My career began in 1996 as an analyst at Willey Brothers Inc., supporting some of the largest banking mergers of that era. I spent over 250 days a year on the road, learning firsthand how institutions structure, scale, and navigate complexity. Those early years taught me discipline, rigor, and the value of approaching finance with institutional precision.
In 2007, I shifted into the retail advisory space, joining Estate & Financial Strategies Inc., where I deepened my knowledge of insurance and retirement planning. By 2013, I had acquired the firm and became its CEO. That same year, I founded Truth of Investing LLC, initially a research shop evaluating annuities versus bond portfolios. By 2017, we had grown into a Registered Investment Advisor, and in 2019 we merged with Markowski Brothers Holdings, where I served as Portfolio Manager.
The turning point came in 2021. One of my advisors had a client with $12 million in cash—fully earned through his state-legal cannabis business. No bank would take it. The SEC and FINRA had issued a hard “no.” Despite being fully compliant at the state level, this entrepreneur was locked out of the financial system.
That experience forced a realization: entire industries were being denied the most basic financial, insurance, and legal infrastructure simply because of stigma. I recruited top legal and insurance minds, and together we proved a pathway forward. Since insurance is regulated at the state level, we created a solution: Evergreen Insurance Company, the first life insurer willing to serve cannabis clients. Today, I still serve on its board of directors.
But cannabis was just the beginning. Along the way, I met adult creators, gaming operators, fertility clinics, and other entrepreneurs—all facing the same barriers: denied banking, rejected insurance, inconsistent legal support. They weren’t lacking demand or profitability; they were lacking access to institutional-grade solutions.
That is why I founded Forbidden Brands Capital.
FBC exists to bring clarity, credibility, and capital to stigmatized industries. We combine deep regulatory expertise with discretion, professionalism, and respect—unlocking opportunities in sectors overlooked not because of weak economics, but because of stigma. Our mission is simple: to serve the entrepreneurs and investors who operate at the cultural edge of the economy, and to do so with the same rigor and discipline I first learned in the halls of Wall Street.
Anthony R. Cloutier
Chairman & CEO
Our Partners
