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Month: June 2023

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News

First Rate and bondIT Announce Strategic Partnership to Provide AI-Driven Fixed Income Analysis and Reporting Solutions for the US Wealth Market

Arlington, TX/New York, NY – June 26, 2023 – First Rate, a leading provider of wealth management solutions to the financial services marketplace, and bondIT, a leading provider of next-generation investment technology, announced today their partnership to provide advanced Explainable AI (XAI) technology and an innovative API-driven client reporting tool to wealth management firms.  This strategic partnership is driven by the initiative to facilitate better investment decision making and enhance transparency.

bondIT’s Scorable solution, leverages the analytical power of Machine Learning and Explainable AI to turn data into actionable insights and helps firms to anticipate critical bond rating changes ahead of the market. Scorable Credit Analytics predicts downgrade and upgrade probability of more than 3,000 rated corporate and financial issuers worldwide within a 12-month timeframe. The Scorable Rating Transition Model analyses more than 250 unique variables daily, allowing wealth managers to make informed investment decisions, outperform peers, and stay ahead of fixed-income changes. Thanks to its XAI approach, Scorable creates transparency and enables users to understand the drivers behind the predictions.

“Through our partnership, bondIT and First Rate empower wealth managers with advanced tools and capabilities to enhance their credit risk research and reporting,” explains David Curtis, Partner at bondIT.

“By leveraging technology, wealth managers can make well-informed investment decisions, effectively manage exposures, and provide comprehensive insights to clients,” adds Andrew Merrill, Head of North America Sales at bondIT.

First Rate’s AI-driven reporting tool allows wealth managers to customize their client reports by integrating Scorable’s Explainable AI technology using custom APIs and widgets. With the ability to pull in data from structured and unstructured data sources, this integration allows the advisor to aggregate data sets and communicate the full investment story as well as upside and downside trends including advanced reporting options such as average rating transition classes and rating trends. Our team of data and performance experts provide recommendations to support strategic objectives.

“The partnership of First Rate and bondIT adds strategic value to customers of both firms by providing insight into their fixed income assets’ risk and opportunities through explainable AI and top-tier client reporting.”, says Alex Serman, Managing Director of Wealth at First Rate. “Combining the analytics with holistic reporting will create more informed conversations with clients and deepen advisor relationships while creating value to the portfolio.”

The First Rate and bondIT partnership empowers advisors to broaden research capacity and efficiently manage their exposures through volatile market environments as well as create transparent and compelling investment stories for their clients.

 

About First Rate

First Rate exists to help wealth management companies grow and thrive as stewards of their clients’ investments. Our innovative services and solutions help financial firms create absolute transparency, enhance efficiency, and empower advisors to create more meaningful and intelligent investment strategies for their clients. It’s technology as it should be.

First Rate’s flexible solutions adapt to the evolving demands and complex challenges of the wealth management industry. With a proven track record including more than 30 years of experience, our relentless focus on meeting the diverse needs of our partners is unmatched in the industry.

Through data aggregation, performance calculation, client reporting, and intelligent data analytics backed by a powerful AI engine, our innovative technologies enable wealth managers to grow their businesses by enhancing efficiency and providing strategic value to investors.

Website: www.FirstRate.com

Follow us: @FirstRatePerf

 

About bondIT

bondIT provides next generation front office investment technology. We combine Data Science, Explainable-AI (XAI) and Advanced Technologies with Fixed Income investment know-how to improve the performance, accuracy and efficiency of our clients’ investment processes and businesses. bondIT is privately owned and paving the way for financial institutions of all sizes to integrate the power of greater technology in their investment processes. bondIT adheres to the highest privacy and security standards and is SOC 2 certified by Ernst & Young. For more information, please visit bonditglobal.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

 

Categories
News

Pershing’s John Goodheart introduces Bondwise on Bloomberg

John Goodheart, head of trading services at Pershing, talks to Bloomberg about  the evolution of fixed income investing and the launch of Bondwise, a new destination wealth platform by bondIT & Pershing. 

Click here to listen to the full interview: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/audio/2023-06-08/conversations-from-insite-audio 

In the Bloomberg interview, John Goodheart emphasizes the significant growth in retail demand for fixed income, surpassing industry metrics by 3x the previous year’s par value. This surge in demand has prompted advisors to seek support after their primary focus on equities in recent years. 

“Retail demand for fixed income investments has increased significantly”

Pershing has teamed up with bondIT to create a destination bond platform for advisors and broker-dealers. The platform has been branded Bondwise because it helps advisors become wiser about bond investing. 

The platform offers a user-friendly solution, enabling clients to navigate the fixed income market and make informed investment decisions. It leverages bondIT’s artificial intelligence-driven technology to optimize fixed income portfolios based on customized criteria such as yields to maturity and ratings. Clients, including those primarily focused on equities, can review the platform’s recommendations and execute trades by using the Buy and Sell button. 

“bondIT helps clients navigate the fixed income market”

Advisors and broker-dealers can access Bondwise via Pershing’s NetX 360 platform. As fixed income investments gain prominence again, bondIT’s technology assists advisors in effectively navigating this evolving landscape. 

To find out more about our technology or to arrange a demo, contact the bondIT team now. 

Categories
Blog

Fixed Income Direct Indexing: A New Frontier in Investment

By Andrew Merrill, bondIT 

Gone are the days of relying solely on the performance of a mutual fund or ETF to track a fixed income index. Technological advances in recent years have created another way to invest like an index with important advantages for investors: direct indexing. 

Fixed income direct indexing involves purchasing individual fixed income securities, such as bonds, in the same proportions as a fixed income index or benchmark. Instead of investing in a fixed income mutual fund or ETF, investors can build a portfolio of bonds that replicates the performance of a specific index or benchmark. 

Direct Indexing offers customization and tax benefits 

Just like with equity direct indexing, fixed income direct indexing offers greater control and customization compared to traditional fixed income investment vehicles. Investors can tailor their portfolios to align with their preferences, goals, and risk tolerance. They have the flexibility to exclude certain bonds or sectors that they do not favor or tilt their portfolio towards certain themes they believe will outperform the market, such as growth, value, or elements of ESG investing. 

One of the key advantages of fixed income direct indexing is tax efficiency. Similar to equity direct indexing, investors can strategically harvest losses by selling individual bonds that have declined in value to offset capital gains from other investments. This ability to selectively sell positions without impacting the overall exposure to the index can help investors lower their tax liabilities. 

However, direct indexing does come with some potential challenges. It can be more complex and expensive than buying index funds or ETFs. It requires expertise in bond selection, as well as knowledge of the specific index or benchmark being replicated. Investors need to consider factors such as bond duration, credit quality, and yield when constructing their portfolios. Additionally, like any investment strategy, fixed income direct indexing is subject to market risk and fluctuations in interest rates. 

Technology democratizes access to Direct Indexing 

Previously, direct indexing was primarily available to wealthy investors who could afford separately managed accounts (SMAs) managed by professional advisors. However, with the emergence of advanced technologies, direct indexing has become more accessible to individual investors. Today’s technology automates the process of building and maintaining direct indexing portfolios, incorporating features such as tax optimization, portfolio customization, and performance reporting. 

bondIT is at the forefront of this democratization of direct indexing. We have developed technology that automates the creation and optimization of direct indexing portfolios, enabling investors to build rule-based portfolios that reflect their personal preferences while generating tax benefits. Our portfolio construction software can significantly reduce the time and effort required to implement direct indexing strategies, making it accessible to a wider range of investors. 

Contact the bondIT team now to find out more and arrange a demo.