Connor Coughlin is Chief Commercial Officer at Apex Fintech Solutions Inc.
What was the highlight of 2023?
The highlight of 2023 was the “retail-ization” of fixed income. For too long, fixed income markets were dominated by large market participants – meaning large trade sizes, higher minimum investments, pricing opacity, and dealer-to-dealer relationships. This year, Apex Fintech Solutions Inc. collaborated with industry leaders to change that through the launch of our latest disruption: fractional fixed income.
We’re committed to breaking down barriers to allow all investor types to gain access to investing. As we enter the next phase of dynamics in the economy, democratizing financial products and asset classes can be impactful for the success of retail investors.
What are the expectations for 2024?
As we look ahead to 2024, we expect a continued convergence of self-directed, robo, and human advice in investing. Retail investors love choice. They want to feel in control, but they also want personalized guidance and advice along the way to ensure they are making informed decisions for themselves. As AI is introduced further into investing, we’ll see technology accelerate to a hybrid model of human + digital supercharging the personalization of financial services.
What are your customers’ pain points and how have they changed from 1 year ago?
Our customers’ most significant pain point is the inertia of asset movement from old-school to new-school trading and wealth management. As millennials age, grow their assets, develop more sophisticated needs and experience the great wealth transfer, our customers, from fintechs to advisors, must continue to mature. They’ll need to evolve their product set to capture this money in motion and unseat the incumbents who have a breadth of products but deliver them with great cost and friction.
