FintekNews is pleased to offer our weekly feature column 3 Questions. Each week, we feature a thought leader within a unique sector of fintech and ask them to answer just 3 questions for our audience in their vernacular. This week, we’d like to introduce you to Gurinder Ahluwalia, Chief Executive Officer at 280 CapMarkets, which combines cloud-based technology with the in-depth market expertise and execution services of a traditional broker-dealer to enable independent financial advisors to buy, sell, and manage bonds with greater ease, transparency, and confidence.
NAME: Gurinder Ahluwalia
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280 CapMarketsWEB ADDRESS:
https://www.280capmarkets.com/What does your firm do/offer within the fintech sector?
Advisors deserve a level playing field of access and pricing when investing the savings and retirement of their clients. We efficiently bring the fixed income capital markets to advisors, allowing them to make investment decisions with greater clarity and confidence. This in turn benefits both institutions and issuers. We do this by aggregating the markets, contextualizing the bond offerings, curating and providing expertise, and finally bringing institutional pricing power. The ultimate goal is to save advisors time and money.
What do you believe the next major innovation in financial technology will be and why?
Specialized providers that fit into the advisor workflow. This will be accelerated because of the API approach of custodian partners and other platform providers. I think the API revolution is underway so the major impact will be from connecting best-in-breed services together. The brand leaders will be firms that pursue this client-first approach. It is a hard decision sometimes because of the unintended impacts on the business, but firms serving the independent space will reap the rewards of loyalty.
How do you feel consumers (or if more relevant for your firm – businesses) are adapting to the facet of fintech that your company operates within?
We started 280 CapMarkets because advisors told us they weren’t satisfied with their choices in the marketplace for buying individual fixed income securities. They were frustrated with the access to fixed income and also the ability to quickly search and evaluate the relative value in a meaningful way. And finally – equally important – they wanted someone sitting on the same side of the table, just as they do for their clients.
Gurinder Ahluwalia brings over 25 years of operating and financial services experience building businesses, most recently in wealth management. Two years ago, he was intrigued by the untapped opportunity to serve advisors more simply and transparently in the fixed income space and joined the team as a co-founder. Mr. Ahluwalia has provided leadership in several different roles including CEO and President, COO, Chief Risk Officer and Operating Advisor.