Fred Allen

Fred Allen served as a helicopter gunship crew chief and door gunner with the 116th Assault Helicopter Company during the Vietnam War from 1970 to 1971.

Military Awards and Decorations: Purple Heart, Air Medal for Valor, Air Medal with Seventeen Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Commendation Medal, Vietnamese Gallantry Cross, Expert ratings with the M-14, M-16, and M-60 Machine Gun, U.S. and Vietnam Service Medals, Aircraft Crewman Wings.

Allen received an honorable discharge from the U.S. Army in 1972 and immediately entered civilian life as a commissioned sales representative for a brokerage firm serving general merchandise manufacturers and importers. Seeking greater control over product distribution, he launched his own wholesale business and relocated to New Orleans, where the offshore oil industry offered a more lucrative market. Over twelve years, he built the company into a regional operation serving independent and chain store outlets throughout south Louisiana and south Texas. When the oil economy collapsed in 1986, he relocated to Orlando and operated a successful wholesale business for several years before pivoting to real estate.

In 2007, Allen trained as a real estate investor, earned his Florida Real Estate License, and over seven years acquired thirty-six single-family homes across Central Florida. His business model focused on purchasing distressed bank-owned properties, renovating them, then reselling or renting. During that period he served on the board of one of the largest nonprofit real estate trade organizations in the country and was elected president in 2009. Under his leadership the organization received the National Award for Excellence from the National Association of Real Estate Investors.

In 2014, Allen acquired five heavily forested acres where he lives today. His focus shifted to FOREX trading and writing. He has spent more than eleven years developing and refining algorithmic trading systems for currency markets.

Allen earned his Private Pilot License in 1981 and flew fixed-wing aircraft across the United States and the Caribbean for many years, logging more than 525 hours as pilot in command. He also earned his PADI Scuba Diver certification and completed more than 300 ocean dives in Florida and Caribbean waters.

During his years in Central Florida, Allen served on the boards of two nonprofit animal rescue organizations. In 2014, working with Brevard County Animal Services, he co-produced what was at the time the largest animal adoption event in Brevard County history. The county later became one of the first in Florida to achieve No-Kill status.