Innovative Fixed Income Fintech will Focus on Technology and Distribution
Palm Beach County, FL & San Francisco, CA – February 18, 2021– Incapital, a leading underwriter and distributor of fixed income and market-linked securities, and 280 CapMarkets, a technology company providing best execution trading support and price transparency, announced today they are merging to create InspereX. The new company will become a unique fintech firm with a mission of improving fixed income distribution and trading for all market participants. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the first quarter 2021, with the merger of the firms’ broker dealer businesses to occur thereafter, subject to customary regulatory approval. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The creation of InspereX unites the strengths of two pioneering companies: Incapital, with its history of success in fixed income and market-linked product origination, underwriting, trading, sales, and distribution, co-founded by Tom Ricketts 21 years ago; and Silicon Valley fintech 280 CapMarkets, co-founded by technologists and bond veterans, including Gurinder S. Ahluwalia and David Rudd, in 2016 to digitally transform how the fixed income markets are viewed, accessed, and traded by advisors, institutions, and issuers.
Incapital Co-Founder and Chairman Tom Ricketts commented, “We founded Incapital in 1999 to break down the barriers many investors and issuers faced when trying to access the full potential of the fixed income markets, and later market-linked securities. It was not a level playing field then, and while it has improved over the years thanks to the emergence of new technologies and market entrants, we believe improvement needs to accelerate for all market participants.”
Incapital CEO John DesPrez added, “The merger of Incapital and 280 CapMarkets is highly strategic and complementary, as together we seek to drive transformation in the fixed income markets. I look forward to serving as CEO as we join forces to establish InspereX.”
The InspereX Client Benefits
The business strategy for InspereX will combine Incapital’s market knowledge, diverse products, strong distribution relationships earned over 20+ years, and capital strength with the power of 280 CapMarkets’ leading-edge technologies, including the revolutionary BondNav® – one of the first cloud-native bond aggregation platforms.
By aggregating fixed income markets, InspereX will promote:
Unparalleled access to fixed income investments across asset classes;
True price transparency driven by cloud-native technology;
Liquidity and best execution support targeting price improvements; and
Industry-leading market-linked securities expertise and education initiatives.
For fixed income issuers, InspereX will offer the benefits of unprecedented market depth, liquidity, and precisely targeted distribution to a range of clients, making it easier to diversify sources of funding and lower borrowing costs.
InspereX will also include Incapital’s industry-leading market-linked products (MLP) business, which generated 2020 notional sales exceeding $5 billion and will continue to provide a significant and diversifying revenue stream to the newly created company. Focused on distribution through independent broker/dealers and banks, the professional MLP sales, trading, and product origination team provides financial advisors unparalleled web-based educational resources, access to a broad array of market-linked financial solutions issued by all major investment banks, and expertise in positioning market-linked products to attain their clients’ financial goals.
The combined firm will have approximately 200 talented individuals spread across primary offices in Palm Beach County, FL; San Francisco; Chicago; and New York City, as well as in other regional locations. John DesPrez will serve as CEO and Tom Ricketts as Chairman.
InspereX
On a Mission to Improve Fixed Income Distribution & Transparency via Technology
280 CapMarkets CEO and Co-Founder Gurinder S. Ahluwalia, who will serve as Vice Chairman of InspereX, commented, “The merger of Incapital and 280 CapMarkets will benefit all our client stakeholders, providing a new, elevated level of fixed income access, reach, transparency, and insight. More clients will benefit from our combined focus on exceptional client service and advocacy, while having access to 280’s breakthrough technology, BondNav®.”
280 CapMarkets President and Co-Founder David Rudd said, “Accelerating our technology innovation with growth capital from a dedicated partner is our next step in our quest to become a force of change in the fixed income markets. In addition, InspereX will further the long-standing commitments of both Incapital and 280 CapMarkets to advance the principles of impact investing and sustainability, with dedicated efforts to support socially responsible investing and other ESG goals for interested issuers and investors.” Mr. Rudd will become the President of InspereX.
InspereX, the new brand, encompasses the firms’ legacy and key values. The “In” of InspereX symbolizes the in-depth fixed income expertise of Incapital, while the “X” defines the market-changing innovation capabilities of 280 CapMarkets and the power of BondNav®’s technology to transform fixed income market experiences and outcomes. The “spere” reference in the name – from the Latin word “spera” for “trust” – signifies the critical importance of earning client trust and confidence and will serve as a core component to the InspereX philosophy, just as it has for the predecessor firms.
About Incapital
Incapital was founded in 1999 and today is a leading underwriter and distributor of securities to more than 500 broker-dealers, institutions, asset managers, RIAs and banks. The firm represents more than 300 issuing entities and has underwritten more than $550 billion in securities. Incapital has principal offices in Palm Beach County FL, and Chicago. Further information is available at www.incapital.com.
About 280 CapMarkets
280 CapMarkets is a financial technology company focused on delivering best execution support and price transparency to advisors, institutional investors, and issuers in the fixed income markets. Our BondNav® technology improves liquidity by aggregating bond markets, providing advisors access to institutional pricing, market insights, and analytics to evaluate bond offerings from multiple sources and displays the best available prices all on one platform. Issuers of municipal and corporate bonds can also benefit through the expanded distribution network of advisors and institutions using BondNav®. Headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in New York, Chicago, Santa Monica and Seattle, 280 CapMarkets includes a dynamic team of engineers, technologists, traders, and capital markets experts. For more information, visit www.280capmarkets.com.
Broadhaven Capital Partners, LLC acted as exclusive financial advisor to 280 CapMarkets, LLC.