SyntheticFi
SyntheticFi is a San Francisco fintech that provides securities-backed lending to registered investment advisors and their high-net-worth clients using box spread trades on S&P 500 Index Options, offering tax-deductible interest at rates starting around 4%.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2023
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What SyntheticFi does
SyntheticFi is a San Francisco-based fintech that operates an SEC-registered securities-backed lending platform for registered investment advisors (RIAs) and their high-net-worth clients. Founded in 2023 and backed by Y Combinator (initial $500K in September 2023) and subsequent venture investors including NextGen Venture Partners, Ritholtz Wealth Management, and Social Leverage, the company has raised over $13 million cumulatively and supports more than 3,000 advisors across 300+ independent advisory firms as of June 2026.
The platform's core technology translates borrower financing requests into box spread trades on S&P 500 Index Options (SPX) listed on Cboe and cleared through the OCC. Box spreads are standardized, exchange-listed four-leg option structures with a fixed payoff at a fixed future date, which allows institutional lenders (hedge funds, ETFs such as BOXX, corporate treasuries, family offices) to compete in a regulated market for the borrower's loan, producing institutional-grade pricing. A critical structural feature is the Section 1256 contract tax treatment of SPX options, which lets interest on the loan be claimed as a capital loss (60% long-term / 40% short-term) regardless of the loan's purpose — unlike traditional securities-backed lines of credit where interest is deductible only for investment use. The platform integrates directly with the four largest US retail custodians (Schwab, Pershing, Fidelity, Interactive Brokers), enabling onboarding in under a week without requiring asset movement.
SyntheticFi offers floating-rate lines of credit (SOFR + 0.2%, starting at 3.95%), fixed-rate term loans (starting at 4.05%, terms of 3 months to 5 years), and a Hybrid Mortgage product combining securities-backed lending with conventional mortgages. Revenue is generated primarily through an approximately 0.5% annual management fee on borrowed funds, supplemented by the spread between the options-market funding rate and the customer loan rate. Customers include independent RIA firms such as Oui Financial, Fortress Financial Partners, Able Wealth Management, Divergent Capital Asset Management, and Sankus Wealth Solutions, with named case studies demonstrating client wins from wirehouses such as Morgan Stanley. The company operates a sales-led go-to-market driven by co-founders Tony Yang (CEO, ex-Stripe) and Joseph Wang (CRO), supported by content marketing, SEO, earned media in Bloomberg and Cboe Insights, and direct consultation booking.
SyntheticFi firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- SyntheticFi
- Legal name
- SyntheticFi LLC
- Website
- https://syntheticfi.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2023
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- SyntheticFi is a San Francisco fintech that provides securities-backed lending to registered investment advisors and their high-net-worth clients using box spread trades on S&P 500 Index Options, offering tax-deductible interest at rates starting around 4%.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
SyntheticFi industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Securities-Backed Lending Platform
- NAICS
- Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers (522310), Sales Financing (52222)
- SIC
- Loan Brokers (6163), Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Equity Swaps & Synthetic Prime Brokerage (TRS/CFDs) (FSACAFAE)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Synthetic Securitization & Credit Risk Transfer (CRT) (FSACACAH)
Keywords
Where SyntheticFi is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
SyntheticFi business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Securities-Backed Lending (Box Spread Loans): SyntheticFi generates revenue by facilitating securities-backed loans structured through box spread option contracts. The company charges an annual management fee on the borrowed amount (approximately 0.5% of borrowed funds, not tax-deductible). Interest rates on loans start at 4.83% (floating) and 4.05% (fixed), with the spread between the options market rate and the loan rate covering SyntheticFi's costs and margin.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Floating Rate Line of Credit — SOFR + 0.2%, starting at 3.95% |
| Usage-based | Multi-year contract | Fixed Rate Term Loan — starting at 4.05% |
| Subscription | Annual | Annual Management Fee — approximately 0.5% |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
SyntheticFi product offering
Product offeringCore offering
SyntheticFi is a securities-backed lending platform that uses box spreads on S&P 500 Index Options to provide advisors and their clients with institutional-grade borrowing solutions. The platform offers floating rate lines of credit (SOFR + 0.2%) and fixed rate term loans (3 months to 5 years) starting at 4.05% interest, plus a hybrid mortgage product. Loans are integrated directly with existing custodian accounts (Schwab, Pershing, Fidelity, Interactive Brokers) without requiring asset movement, and interest is always tax-deductible as a capital loss under Section 1256 contract treatment.
Product overview
SyntheticFi is an institutional-grade securities-backed liquidity platform for registered investment advisors (RIAs). The platform offers a unified suite of lending products built on box spread strategies using S&P 500 Index Options, including Fixed Rate Term Loans (for terms of 3 months to 5 years with predictable costs), Floating Rate Lines of Credit (tracking SOFR with monthly adjustments for flexible access), and a Hybrid Mortgage product (combining securities-backed lending with traditional mortgages for real estate purchases). All products integrate directly with major custodians including Schwab, Pershing, Fidelity, and Interactive Brokers, allowing clients to borrow without liquidating their investment portfolios while accessing tax-deductible interest rates starting at approximately 4%.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Securities-Backed Lending Platform Core platform enabling registered investment advisors and their clients to borrow against investment portfolios using exchange-listed box spreads on S&P 500 Index Options. Offers lower interest rates than traditional SBLOCs or margin accounts, integrates directly with major custodians, and delivers universally tax-deductible interest as a capital loss.
- Floating Rate Line of Credit Open line of credit with interest rates that adjust monthly based on SOFR plus a 0.2% spread, starting at 3.95%. Allows clients to borrow, repay, and re-borrow on their own schedule with no fixed repayment deadline and no prepayment penalties; ideal for short-term liquidity needs, bridge financing, and variable cash flow situations.
- Fixed Rate Term Loan Fixed-rate loan product where clients lock in a constant interest rate (starting at 4.05%) for terms ranging from 3 months to 5 years. Both principal and total interest are due as a lump sum at term end (balloon structure); designed for long-term commitments such as real estate purchases, private investments, and predictable financing needs.
- Hybrid Mortgage Financing solution combining SyntheticFi's securities-backed lending with traditional mortgage products. Enables clients to finance home purchases with lower effective interest rates than conventional mortgages — often with no down payment required — while preserving investment portfolios and exceeding standard mortgage interest deduction caps by splitting funding between SyntheticFi and conventional mortgages.
Quantifiable outcome
- Interest rates starting at 3.95% (floating) and 4.05% (fixed) vs 6-8% for Schwab PAL, 5.5-8% for bank SBLOCs, and 8-13% for custodian margin loans
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use SyntheticFi
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
SyntheticFi technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
Feature5 records
SyntheticFi partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.
- Schwab (Charles Schwab)coreSyntheticFi integrates directly with Charles Schwab custodian accounts. Clients can access SyntheticFi's lending services through their existing Schwab accounts without moving assets. Schwab provides margin infrastructure and account management for the platform's borrowing solutions.
- FidelitycoreSyntheticFi integrates with Fidelity custodian accounts, enabling clients to borrow against their Fidelity-held investment portfolios without asset movement.
- Interactive BrokerscoreSyntheticFi integrates with Interactive Brokers accounts, providing an alternative to IB's own margin facilities with potentially lower borrowing costs.
- PershingcoreSyntheticFi integrates with Pershing custodian accounts, expanding the range of eligible brokerage platforms for borrowing.
- Sora FinancesupportingSora Finance is described as a lending partner of SyntheticFi, referring clients to SyntheticFi's securities-backed lending platform. Javier Loreto of Divergent Capital Asset Management discovered SyntheticFi through Sora Finance.
- CboesupportingCboe (Chicago Board Options Exchange) features SyntheticFi on its insights platform. Cboe is the exchange where S&P 500 Index Options (SPX) are listed — the underlying instrument for SyntheticFi's box spread lending. The relationship is content co-publishing/educational, with Cboe publishing SyntheticFi's article on long-dated box spreads as a home purchase financing tool.
- Options Clearing Corporation (OCC)coreOCC is the clearing house for all listed options trades in the US, including the S&P 500 Index Options used in SyntheticFi's box spread lending. OCC is designated as a Systemically Important Financial Market Utility (SIFMU) and guarantees the box spread trades. OCC holds an AA rating and successfully cleared trades through the 1987 crash and 2008 Global Financial Crisis.
- CME Group (Chicago Mercantile Exchange)coreCME Group operates the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, where S&P 500 Index Options (SPX) are listed. CME Group has published research validating box spreads as a financing tool, noting that large box spread trades worth hundreds of millions of dollars are consummated daily.
- BOXX ETFsupportingBOXX ETF is an exchange-traded fund with approximately $5.8B in AUM that invests funds in box spreads — a similar strategy to SyntheticFi's core technology. SyntheticFi references BOXX as a market reference point validating the box spread investment approach.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
SyntheticFi competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- SoFi Technologies: SoFi is a direct fintech peer offering consumer and student loans, personal loans, and wealth management products to a similar mass-affluent and HNW customer base. Like SyntheticFi, SoFi bundles lending products with a self-service digital platform and competes on price, speed, and product innovation against traditional banks.
Emerging players
- Yieldstreet: Yieldstreet is an alternative-investment and structured-product platform offering access to non-traditional lending and income strategies to accredited investors and RIAs. It overlaps with SyntheticFi in the RIA-and-HNW distribution channel and in using structured financial engineering to deliver differentiated returns.
- Figure Technologies: Figure is a fintech lender using blockchain and capital-markets technology to offer HELOCs, home equity loans, and personal loans at lower cost than banks. It is comparable to SyntheticFi as a non-bank fintech disrupting traditional secured-lending economics with technology-led infrastructure.
- Rocket Loans: Rocket Loans is a fintech personal-loan originator under the Rocket Companies umbrella, serving a similar mass-affluent consumer base with technology-driven underwriting and online origination. It overlaps with SyntheticFi in the retail low-rate lending category but lacks the securities-collateralized structure.
- Best Egg: Best Egg is a fintech lender offering personal loans and credit products to mass-affluent consumers through a digital platform. It overlaps with SyntheticFi in targeting affluent borrowers seeking lower-cost, technology-enabled lending versus traditional bank products.
Broad incumbents
- Interactive Brokers Margin: Interactive Brokers is both a custodian partner of SyntheticFi and a direct competitor via its own margin financing (typically 8-13%). Customer testimonials specifically cite switching IB margin balances to SyntheticFi for lower borrowing costs, making IB both a partner and competitor.
- LightStream (Truist): LightStream is the online unsecured personal lending arm of Truist, offering low-rate consumer loans to borrowers with strong credit profiles. It competes with SyntheticFi's retail lending value proposition on price and digital UX, though without the securities-backed collateral structure.
- Marcus by Goldman Sachs: Marcus is Goldman Sachs' direct-to-consumer lending and deposits platform offering unsecured personal loans and savings products. SyntheticFi explicitly benchmarks its product against Goldman Sachs Select and bank-offered SBLOCs (5.5-8%) as a competing securities-backed lending alternative.
- Fidelity Securities Lending / Margin: Fidelity offers margin lending and securities-backed lending to its brokerage customers and is also a custodian partner integrated with SyntheticFi. Its margin rates (8-13%) and SBLOC products are explicitly benchmarked as the higher-cost incumbents SyntheticFi competes against.
- Charles Schwab Pledged Asset Line: Schwab PAL is a securities-backed line of credit offered to Schwab brokerage clients at 6-8% interest rates with $100,000 minimums. It is the primary incumbent SyntheticFi displaces and one of the custodian partners SyntheticFi integrates with to offer a lower-cost alternative without asset movement.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
SyntheticFi social profiles
Digital presenceSyntheticFi compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
SyntheticFi financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
SyntheticFi leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
SyntheticFi funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors4 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
SyntheticFi M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about SyntheticFi
What does SyntheticFi do?
SyntheticFi is a securities-backed lending platform that uses box spreads on S&P 500 Index Options to provide advisors and their clients with institutional-grade borrowing solutions. The platform offers floating rate lines of credit (SOFR + 0.2%) and fixed rate term loans (3 months to 5 years) starting at 4.05% interest, plus a hybrid mortgage product. Loans are integrated directly with existing custodian accounts (Schwab, Pershing, Fidelity, Interactive Brokers) without requiring asset movement, and interest is always tax-deductible as a capital loss under Section 1256 contract treatment.
Is SyntheticFi a public or private company?
SyntheticFi is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was SyntheticFi founded?
SyntheticFi was founded in 2023. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is SyntheticFi based?
SyntheticFi is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does SyntheticFi make money?
One revenue line is on record: securities-Backed Lending (Box Spread Loans).
Who are SyntheticFi's main competitors?
SoFi Technologies is listed as a direct peer. Emerging players are Yieldstreet, Figure Technologies, Rocket Loans and Best Egg. Broad incumbents are Interactive Brokers Margin, LightStream (Truist), Marcus by Goldman Sachs, Fidelity Securities Lending / Margin and Charles Schwab Pledged Asset Line.
Does SyntheticFi have an API?
No public API is recorded for SyntheticFi.
What industry is SyntheticFi in?
SyntheticFi's product category is Securities-Backed Lending Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSACAFAE, Equity Swaps & Synthetic Prime Brokerage (TRS/CFDs), with a secondary code of FSACACAH, Synthetic Securitization & Credit Risk Transfer (CRT). Its NAICS code is 522310 and its SIC code is 6163.