Trustarte was founded in 2009 to study and publish research on private asset ownership structures. As public records and digital databases expanded the visibility of high value asset ownership increased dramatically.
Many investors have relied on corporations and LLCs to hold assets for decades. As public registries and searchable databases expanded, these structures increasingly exposed ownership information—raising new interest in private ownership structures such as commercial business trusts.
James W. Billings
1. Introduction
James is the founder of Trustarte and an independent researcher focused on the history, structure, and modern application of commercial business trusts for private investors and business owners. His work explores how ownership structures developed over centuries and how they can still be used today to protect private assets and preserve long-term control.
Through decades of experience in finance, real estate, and legal research, James identified how modern corporate registration systems increasingly expose asset ownership through public databases. His research focuses on alternative ownership structures that historically allowed property and business interests to be held privately.
This research eventually led to the development of the “After the LLC” thesis—the idea that corporate ownership structures designed before the internet era may no longer provide the same structural advantages for private asset ownership.
2. Early Foundations
James studied economics at Pepperdine University in Malibu California, where he developed an early interest in capital markets and financial systems. After graduation he began his career as a stockbroker in 1982, working directly with publicly traded securities and corporate ownership structures.
This early exposure to capital markets introduced him to the legal concept of asset title—how ownership is recorded, transferred, and protected within financial systems.
During this period James was also active in flight training at KVNY, eventually developing a lifelong involvement in aviation that would later influence his analytical approach to risk and systems thinking.
Professional Background:
- BA Economics Graduate – Pepperdine University Malibu
- NASD Series 7 Stockbroker – Thomson McKinnon Securities
- Commercial Pilot Certificate with Advanced Ratings – FAA
- Real Estate Broker – State of California
3. Capital Markets and Legal Title
Working in the securities industry revealed how ownership structures function in practice. In corporations, the entity itself holds title to corporate assets while investors hold shares representing equity interests in the corporation rather than direct ownership of the underlying property. Corporate ownership therefore operates through a separate statutory entity structure rather than a division of legal and equitable title.
Certain investment vehicles in the capital markets, however, have historically been organized as trusts, including mutual funds and real estate investment trusts (REITs). Trust structures allow legal title and beneficial interests to be arranged separately, a concept that later helped frame James’s research into commercial business trusts and private asset ownership.
As digital records and searchable databases expanded, the structural differences between corporate entities and trust-based ownership began to take on new significance for investors concerned with privacy and long-term control of high-value assets.
4. Real Estate and Title Discovery
In contrast to the speed and liquidity of capital markets, real estate transactions were relatively slow, deliberate, and planned. The illiquidity of real property forces investors to think several steps ahead when acquiring, holding, and transferring title.
While preparing for a California real estate broker’s license in 1997, James conducted title abstract research at Napa Land Title Company examining how ownership transfers are recorded through grant deeds at the County Recorder’s office and how title insurance protects the chain of title.
During this period an influential mentor taught a series of real estate seminars covering corporations, LLCs, and trusts. He introduced an important concept: land trusts to bifurcate legal title and beneficial interests while keeping personal names off grant deeds. Whenever investors considered using an LLC to hold property, they were also advised to consider the alternative of vesting title through a land trust.
This mentor also encouraged James to buy and sell single family homes door to door. The goal was simple: control and taxes. As a broker (agency) representing buyers or sellers he had little control over the outcome of a transaction. Acting as an investor (principal), however, provided direct control over negotiations, escrow and structure.
The tax consequences were also different. Agency transactions produced self-employment income subject to ordinary taxation, while reselling houses as a principal often generated short-term capital gains. Many of these transactions were structured using land trust vesting together with escrow and title insurance. Through repeated transactions, mistakes, and refinements, James gained practical experience in the mechanics of real estate ownership and title control.
Aviation also played a role in shaping his analytical approach. Flying was a long-standing discipline. Training began at age fifteen and he continued flying for decades, eventually earning a commercial pilot certificate with advanced ratings. Over the years he accumulated many hundreds of hours flying cross-country throughout the western United States and owned several twin engined aircraft – using a trust for title.
Pilot training emphasized situational awareness—constantly monitoring conditions, anticipating problems and preparing solutions in advance. This forward-thinking mindset later helped James recognize how the expansion of public databases and internet search was fundamentally changing the risk profile of traditional corporate and LLC ownership structures.
These experiences led to deeper curiosity about trusts for commercial activities. James began discovering commercial business trusts, a relatively obscure organizational form that was largely unknown in the modern United States but historically used for a wide range of business purposes, including holding real property.
At the time, researching ownership structures still required microfilm searches at county recorder offices and written requests through the U.S. mail to state agencies. As the internet rapidly expanded, however, James realized that these same public records were becoming searchable online.
This systems-oriented mindset raised an important question: how would investors maintain privacy over business affairs and real property ownership? Earlier generations of business owners never faced this problem.
5. The Privacy Problem Emerges
As government records became searchable through digital systems, James observed that traditional ownership structures such as corporations and LLCs increasingly exposed investor information through public registries and filings.
For many investors the combination of internet search, government disclosure requirements, and expanding litigation risks created a new challenge: preserving discretion and long-term control over valuable property and business interests.
This realization became the foundation of his research into historical trust structures as an alternative form of ownership designed to separate control from title.
6. Independent Research
Over many years James conducted independent research into the historical origins of trust law, including Roman fiducia, the evolution of English trusts, and their role in commerce and property ownership.
In 2012 he gained admittance to the American Academy in Rome and Vatican Libraries, where rare legal texts and historical manuscripts provided deeper insight into the early development of Roman fideicommissum.
Centuries later English trusts evolved in society and the Court of Chancery. Oxford University Press published many volumes from English legal historians such as F.W. Maitland. He described the “unincorporate body,” helping illuminate the legal foundations of fiduciary ownership in English law.
After reflecting upon this research plus his own experiences it was apparent business trusts were once widely used in commerce long before modern corporate structures became dominant.
He also discovered that by the mid-1970’s US law schools removed commercial trust law from their curriculum, and the multi-state bar exam contains virtually no questions on the subject. This easily explains why Corporations and LLCs are popular. As a result, relatively few lawyers are familiar with trust structures designed specifically for commerce activity despite 400 years of English legal history.
James continued to study essays by American legal scholars and Supreme Court rulings on Rockefeller and Carnegie trusts. Inconsistent and non-existent state statutes exposed hidden opportunities.
7. Publishing and Trustarte
In 2009 James founded Trustarte to publish research and educational material on commercial business trusts and private ownership structures.
His published works include:
• The Uncorporation (2018)
• Asset Title & Liens for Investors (2024)
These books examine the legal history, structural mechanics, and practical applications of commercial business trusts in modern asset ownership. His earlier experience with land trusts, property title, and recorded deeds provided grounding for this research.
Trustarte’s first website launched in 2014, followed by video-based educational programs beginning in 2015. These efforts were designed to teach investors and business owners about the historical origins of trusts, their legal purpose, and their wide range of commercial applications.
The business trust e-seminar was ultimately designed much like a pilot’s operating handbook—explaining the structural system, identifying potential risks, and outlining practical procedures for navigating them.
James recognized early that successful investors tend to be intellectually curious and willing to study complex systems. The online seminar format proved effective, filling a gap in modern education about commercial trust structures.
While corporations, Wyoming & Nevada LLCs, asset protection trusts, federal & state transparency acts, and various offshore trust registries remain widely discussed topics, James’s research has focused on the quiet structural advantages of private business trusts for holding high-value assets.
James is a widely recognized as an independent authority on commercial business trusts for private investors and business owners.
He resides in Buenos Aires Argentina and San Diego California.