EquitiesFirst
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2002
- HeadquartersIndianapolis, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What EquitiesFirst does
EquitiesFirst is a privately held specialty finance firm founded in 2002 by Alexander Christy Jr. and headquartered in Indianapolis. The company provides "Progressive Capital" — a non-recourse, equity-backed financing product that lends against publicly traded securities held by founders, entrepreneurs, and significant shareholders, allowing borrowers to access liquidity (typically 60-70% loan-to-value at 3-4% fixed interest) without selling their positions and without recourse to other personal assets. The firm operates from 13 offices across 8 countries (US, UK, Dubai/DIFC, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul, Bangkok, Singapore, and four Australian cities) under multiple regulatory licenses including FCA authorization in the UK, Hong Kong SFC Type 1 and Money Lenders' Licenses, Australian AFSL 387079, and DFSA registration in DIFC Dubai.
All loans are funded with the firm's own capital, without leverage, and the company manages a diversified global public equities portfolio constructed from the equity collateral received in financing transactions. Revenue is generated primarily through fixed interest income on loans and secondary gains from portfolio rebalancing and alpha generation by the in-house trading team, which includes alumni of Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Viking Global, and other major institutions. GTM is relationship-driven, relying on direct origination by portfolio managers, a network of bank and top-tier law firm referrals, and thought leadership through a co-branded research partnership with Institutional Investor Custom Research Lab, the proprietary Asset Pulse newsletter (featuring the Liquidity Pulse index), and a podcast series. As of 2026, cumulative financing issued exceeds $7 billion across thousands of transactions, and the company serves a customer base described as hundreds of partnerships concentrated among high-net-worth individuals, family offices, and institutional investors.
EquitiesFirst firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- EquitiesFirst
- Legal name
- Equities First Holdings, LLC
- Website
- https://equitiesfirst.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2002
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
EquitiesFirst industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Securities-Based Lending
- NAICS
- Credit Intermediation and Related Activities (522)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Margin Lending & Equity Financing (FSACAFAC)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Private Credit / Direct Lending (FSAAAHAG)
Keywords
Where EquitiesFirst is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Indianapolis
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices13 records
Markets served
EquitiesFirst business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Interest Income on Non-Recourse Loans: EquitiesFirst provides non-recourse capital to equity holders, receiving equity as collateral. The firm earns fixed interest income on the loans issued. Interest rates typically range between 3–4% per annum, and LTV ratios typically range between 60%–70%, with a typical loan-to-value ratio of 65%. All loans are closed with the firm's own capital without leverage. The firm generates returns through interest payments over the loan term while managing the equity collateral as part of its diversified global portfolio.
- Portfolio Appreciation and Alpha Generation: EquitiesFirst manages a public equities portfolio constructed through the equity collateral received from financing transactions. The investment team generates alpha through fundamental and technical analysis, ongoing trading, and portfolio rebalancing activity. The portfolio appreciation and trading gains contribute to overall firm returns.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Typical commercial loan terms for equity-backed financing |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
EquitiesFirst product offering
Product offeringCore offering
EquitiesFirst provides non-recourse, equity-backed loans (branded Progressive Capital) to founders, entrepreneurs, and significant shareholders of publicly traded companies who want liquidity without selling their shares. Loans are funded with the firm's own capital at typical loan-to-value ratios of 60-70% (averaging 65%) and interest rates of 3-4% per annum, with the borrower's only at-risk asset being the pledged stock. The firm also earns portfolio returns by managing the equity collateral it receives as part of a diversified global public equities portfolio.
Product overview
EquitiesFirst operates as a specialized financing services provider offering Progressive Capital — a single core product line centered on non-recourse, equity-backed financing solutions. The company provides long-term capital to founders, entrepreneurs, and significant shareholders of listed companies, with loans typically structured at 3-4% interest rates and 60-70% loan-to-value ratios. Supporting the core financing product, EquitiesFirst offers complementary research and thought leadership through its Equity Market Research publications produced with Institutional Investor, the Asset Pulse newsletter featuring the proprietary Liquidity Pulse index, and the Shelter from the Storm podcast series. The Everest Project represents a brand initiative rather than a product offering.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Institutional Investor Research Partnership: Research partnership with Institutional Investor Custom Research Lab producing equity market outlook reports
- Asset Pulse
- Liquidity Pulse
- Everest Project
Products and services
- Progressive Capital A non-recourse, equity-backed financing solution that provides long-term capital in exchange for equity collateral, allowing borrowers to retain beneficial ownership and upside appreciation while accessing liquidity. Loans are typically structured at 3-4% interest rates and 60-70% loan-to-value ratios (averaging 65%), funded entirely with the firm's own capital without leverage. Targeted at founders, entrepreneurs, and significant shareholders of listed companies who need capital without selling their shares.
Quantifiable outcome
- Total financing exceeding $7 billion through thousands of transactions over 24 years
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use EquitiesFirst
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
EquitiesFirst technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
EquitiesFirst partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.
- GXD Labs / Blockchain Recovery Investment Consortium (BRIC)coreGXD Labs, managing the Celsius bankruptcy estate through the Blockchain Recovery Investment Consortium (BRIC), negotiated a comprehensive settlement with EquitiesFirst resolving all claims related to loans EquitiesFirst made to Celsius Network. The resolution included $500 million in payments to the Celsius estate and dismissal of an adversary proceeding filed in September 2023 and related arbitration. BRIC was appointed Complex Asset Recovery Manager and Litigation Administrator in the Celsius Network bankruptcy in January 2024. The settlement represents a significant milestone for the bankruptcy estate.
- Institutional Investor Custom Research LabflagshipEquitiesFirst partnered with Institutional Investor Custom Research Lab (II Research) to co-produce extensive research on global equity markets and investment strategies. The partnership produced a landmark global study in 2023 capturing views of over 300 investment decision-makers, followed by regional reports for Asia Pacific, Europe, and North America. The research reveals investor sentiment on equity returns, volatility expectations, geopolitical risks, and investment strategies across markets. This thought leadership partnership positions EquitiesFirst as a research-driven alternative credit provider.
- Nimsdai Purja / 14 PeaksminorEquitiesFirst partnered with legendary mountaineer Nimsdai Purja (Nims) MBE for his record-breaking Everest summit in May 2022. Nims summited Everest, Lhotse, and Kanchenjunga in eight days, 23 hours and 10 minutes without oxygen, setting two world records. The partnership aligns EquitiesFirst's brand with themes of determination, achievement, and the 'nothing is impossible' mindset, reinforcing its philosophy of progressive financing solutions.
- Nasdaq Governance SolutionscoreEquitiesFirst and Nasdaq Governance Solutions united industry leaders in Asia Pacific to determine corporate governance priorities. This initiative launched EquitiesFirst's Asia Pacific Corporate Governance Initiative in May 2021, bringing together corporate leaders to discuss governance frameworks and best practices in the region. The partnership reinforced EquitiesFirst's commitment to corporate governance thought leadership in Asia.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
EquitiesFirst competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- UBS: UBS Wealth Management provides lombard lending and securities-backed credit facilities to global UHNW clients with concentrated equity positions — directly overlapping with EquitiesFirst's value proposition in international wealth hubs.
- Interactive Brokers: Interactive Brokers offers margin lending against equity portfolios to retail and professional clients globally — closest functional analog to EquitiesFirst's collateralized, multi-currency, cross-border margin product, scaled through an electronic brokerage franchise.
- Goldman Sachs: Goldman Sachs Private Bank and PWM offer securities-backed lending solutions plus margin financing to UHNW clients — overlapping with EquitiesFirst's target customer and collateral type, but offered as part of a full-service wealth franchise.
- JPMorgan Chase: JPMorgan Securities-Based Lending and Private Bank lines let clients borrow against marketable securities for non-purpose uses, mirroring EquitiesFirst's collateral structure with the backing of a universal bank.
- Charles Schwab: Charles Schwab offers securities-based lending (SBL) lines to brokerage clients who maintain pledged equity collateral — the direct large-scale analog to EquitiesFirst's product, served through a broad wealth-management franchise rather than a specialty focus.
- Fidelity Investments: Fidelity's Wealth Services provide securities-backed lines of credit to clients with pledged brokerage positions — directly analogous collateral and use-case profile to EquitiesFirst, embedded in a much larger retail wealth platform.
- Wells Fargo: Wells Fargo Private Bank and Wealth Management offer securities-based credit lines and portfolio lending to HNW clients with concentrated stock positions, comparable to EquitiesFirst's product but as part of a full-service bank relationship.
- Morgan Stanley: Morgan Stanley's securities-backed lending and Private Bank products serve HNW clients needing liquidity against concentrated equity positions, functionally identical to EquitiesFirst's offering but inside a larger wealth-management platform.
- Citigroup: Citibank's Mortgage and Securities Lending / Citi Private Bank offers non-purpose loans collateralized by marketable securities to wealth-management clients — competitive overlap with EquitiesFirst in product mechanics and customer segment.
Emerging players
- EquityZen: EquityZen operates a marketplace for shareholders of private companies to monetize concentrated pre-IPO equity positions — overlapping with EquitiesFirst's liquidity-against-stock wedge, but focused on private shares rather than public-collateral non-recourse lending.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
EquitiesFirst social profiles
Digital presenceEquitiesFirst compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance5 records
EquitiesFirst financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
EquitiesFirst leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles26 records
EquitiesFirst subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries4 records
EquitiesFirst funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
EquitiesFirst 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 EquitiesFirst
What does EquitiesFirst do?
EquitiesFirst provides non-recourse, equity-backed loans (branded Progressive Capital) to founders, entrepreneurs, and significant shareholders of publicly traded companies who want liquidity without selling their shares. Loans are funded with the firm's own capital at typical loan-to-value ratios of 60-70% (averaging 65%) and interest rates of 3-4% per annum, with the borrower's only at-risk asset being the pledged stock. The firm also earns portfolio returns by managing the equity collateral it receives as part of a diversified global public equities portfolio.
Is EquitiesFirst a public or private company?
EquitiesFirst is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was EquitiesFirst founded?
EquitiesFirst was founded in 2002. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is EquitiesFirst based?
EquitiesFirst is headquartered in Indianapolis, United States, in the North America region.
How does EquitiesFirst make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Interest Income on Non-Recourse Loans are the primary driver. The others are portfolio Appreciation and Alpha Generation.
Who are EquitiesFirst's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are UBS, Interactive Brokers, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Charles Schwab, Fidelity Investments, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup. EquityZen is listed as an emerging player.
Does EquitiesFirst have an API?
No public API is recorded for EquitiesFirst.
What industry is EquitiesFirst in?
EquitiesFirst's product category is Securities-Based Lending. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSACAFAC, Margin Lending & Equity Financing, with a secondary code of FSAAAHAG, Private Credit / Direct Lending. Its NAICS code is 522.