Apex Fintech's Connor Coughlin: We Are The 'Pipes And Plumbing' Behind The Fintech Brokerage Industry

Connor Coughlin is a chief commercial officer at Apex Fintech Solutions, a software company that provides safe, frictionless digital execution, clearing, and storage for the global universe of investable assets.

At Apex, Coughlin has held several roles across analytics, strategy, business development and corporate development. He now runs its retail business line focusing on fintech brokerage, both domestic and international, as well as wealth management.

Coughlin will speak at Benzinga's Fintech Deal Day & Awards event in New York City on Nov. 13 on the topic of "The Changing Dynamics of Traditional Advisory with Robo-Advisors." He will discuss the benefits, examine challenges and analyze potential future developments in this area.

Providing the Backbone for Modern Brokerages

"We are the pipes and plumbing behind the fintech brokerage industry," Coughlin stated in an interview with John Lothian. Still, he admitted that its role had been mainly incognito.

"A lot of people have accounts with us but have never heard of us because we're in the background doing all of that pipes and plumbing work," he added.

With the company’s technology supporting 200 clients, 25 million brokerage accounts and more than $100 billion in assets, Apex rightfully called itself "the fintech for fintechs."

"We are able to see what people are doing, everyone from a small robo with less than $100 in it to highly sophisticated traders using margin and options and trading on a very active basis.  We can compare by generation, by type of business model … and we can see exactly how they are reacting to the market," he said.

Also Read: Canaccord Genuity Bullish On MicroStrategy Citing Bitcoin Success Despite Volatility.

Working with clients such as Aries that cater to millennials and Gen Z, Coughlin noted their different investing habits compared to older generations such as boomers and Gen X.

Yet, despite an old adage that inexperienced investors succumb to cycles of fear and greed and tend to buy high and sell low, he saw many of the mobile-first investors holding on through tough times.

"At a time when the market was really slumping, we saw a lot of self-discipline. Gen Z investors were in elementary school when Lehman Brothers crashed in 2008 — so in many respects, the Q1 bank crisis was really that generation's first true financial crisis," he said, referring to the turbulent collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank.

Looking forward, Coughlin pointed out that the market environment has changed with high inflation, high interest rates, high volatility and high uncertainty. In an interview for Nasdaq TradeTalks, he acknowledged that Apex now focused on providing better fixed-income solutions.

"Fixed income has long been ignored over the past decade because there hasn't been interest. We've partnered with great teams and put together more liquidity, great pricing and fractional share trading. It will be one of the biggest launches we've ever had," he said, keeping high spirits in the era of "higher for longer" interest rates.

What better place than Benzinga's Fintech Deal Day & Awards event to learn more about trading platforms and their tools to improve traders' security and user experiences? Join Benzinga's Future of Digital Assets in New York City on Nov. 14, 2023, to stay updated on trends like AI, regulations, SEC