BondLink has partnered with InspereX to connect issuers to independent registered investment advisors by directly linking BondLink’s investor relations pages with InspereX’s BondNav platform.
The partnership allows RIAs to access BondLink’s hosted investor relations pages without having to leave InspereX’s BondNav platform — the first cloud-native bond aggregation platform — enabling users to learn more about the issuer and their ongoing projects. Users will also be able to obtain documents such as preliminary official statements/official statements, capital development plans and voluntary disclosures faster, the firms said.
“Anytime you think you can do something to get more awareness, more interest, more eyeballs on your bond sale as an issuer, particularly in this difficult market, it’s a win,” said Colin MacNaught, CEO and co-founder of BondLink. “And that’s what we’re trying to do with this integration.”
BondNav and BondLink’s integration will also bring BondLink’s debt-management services for municipal issuers to a broader group of investors.
MacNaught said InspereX is a “fantastic” source in new-issue bonds for independent wealth advisors, which is an important slice of the muni buyer base. But, sometimes it can be difficult for those investors to get access to the primary market.
“It’s all about making sure issuers who are working with BondLink are front and center with investors, whether it’s the primary market, secondary market, retail or institutional, and with this, with this new partnership, we can add independent wealth advisors,” he said.
David Rudd, president at InspereX, said the firm has been looking to leverage technology to distribute new issues and gain access for financial advisors that often don’t get access. “It’s been something that has been brewing,” he said.
Incapital, an underwriter and distributor of fixed-income and market-linked securities, and 280 CapMarkets, a technology company providing best-execution trading support and price transparency, merged in 2021 to create InspereX.
BondLink’s ability to provide buyers interested in a deal with the needed information dovetails nicely with what InspereX does with its BondNav platform: connecting wealth managers directly into the capital markets through technology, Rudd said.
InspereX provides RIAs the tools for clients to search and evaluate a bond’s price, Rudd said.
“As part of that evaluation process, you want to know not only the characteristics and pricing information on the bond, but also have access to continuing disclosures and financials and a deeper dive on the credit before you decide if that’s the right security to purchase,” he said.
Through the partnership, InspereX can give its users access to all of that information in a single platform.
“It’s a more robust offering. That’s important for financial advisors, who have historically shied away from buying individual securities,” Rudd said. “But, with the backup and rates, we’re seeing them come back into the fold. And we were trying to get them as much information as possible and do it in a way that’s fully transparent.”
MacNaught said municipal investors are embracing digital transformation across the market. Funds are migrating more to technology and relying less on human capital, something that’s important for issuers to realize.
“Technology is a big driver now of investments and investment decisions. So making sure that you’re accessible, that your data and financial reporting is accessible for all types of investors is critical,” MacNaught said. “You want to close the information gaps when an investor is looking at your financial information, and you can do that through technology.”
“There are new technologies that are being built to support clients and the markets. This spans the gamut from bond issuers all the way down to the individual financial advisors who are trying to do right by their clients,” Rudd added. “And these tools will continue to develop.”
BondLink has similar integrations with a number of the municipal bond market’s leading platforms, including Ipreo for IHS Markit, Fidelity Investments, ICE Bonds, and the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA.