SyntheticFi

Market position

SyntheticFi positions itself as a lower-cost alternative to bank- and custodian-controlled securities lending, bringing strategies previously limited to institutions and ultra-high-net-worth clients (served by private banks for individuals above roughly $30M) to independent advisors. It compares its pricing against Schwab's Pledged Asset Line, bank SBLOCs such as GS Select and Bancorp, and custodian margin loans at Schwab, Fidelity and E*Trade. As of June 2026 it reported more than $2 billion in regulatory assets under management on the platform and use by 300+ advisory firms and 3,000+ advisors, roughly triple its scale at the start of 2026.

Key claimed differentiators are pricing derived from exchange-cleared options rather than an intermediary's balance sheet; interest deductibility with no cap and no itemization requirement because interest is treated as a capital loss; minimum loan sizes from $10,000; onboarding in under a week versus about a month for bank and custodian products; five-year fixed-rate options with no principal ever due and the ability to switch between fixed and floating; and an asset-light model in which clients keep assets at their existing custodian instead of transferring them to a lender.

Technology

The platform automates institutional options-based borrowing: box spreads on liquid S&P 500 index options priced near the Secured Overnight Financing Rate, and synthetic variable prepaid forwards for concentrated positions. It wraps these strategies in a compliance-ready software layer for RIAs, with borrowing-capacity assessment under Reg T (typically 50% release) or Portfolio Margin (up to about 85% release), and integrations with major custodians including Charles Schwab, Fidelity, Pershing and Interactive Brokers. Planned engineering work covers automated position rollover and risk-monitoring dashboards to track margin-call exposure during volatile markets.

Go-to-market

The company partners with independent RIAs, and has extended outreach to mortgage brokers and realtors through a partnership program tied to its Hybrid Mortgage offering. Its site markets to advisors on the basis of client savings, wallet share and retention, using demos, custom loan builds and advisor-built client proposals; testimonials come from advisors at firms including Oui Financial, Fortress Financial Partners and Sankus Wealth Solutions. Content marketing (blog guides, case studies, a Cboe-featured article by a co-founder) and coverage in trade and financial press support advisor acquisition, and the company is hiring a Head of Strategic Partnerships.

Registered investment advisors and advisory firms in the United States, and through them mass-affluent to high-net-worth clients with liquid, non-retirement investment portfolios. The company describes its offering as particularly relevant for clients buying homes worth more than $750,000, those with unconventional income streams or sensitivity to debt-to-income ratios, holders of concentrated stock positions, and clients facing liquidity events, capital calls, tax bills or higher-cost existing debt.

Geography

Headquartered at 156 2nd St, Suite 610, San Francisco, CA 94105, serving advisory firms and clients nationwide across the United States; one open role is listed as remote (US).

History

Founded in 2023, SyntheticFi participated in Y Combinator's Summer 2023 batch. Its first launch offered what it described as the cheapest securities-backed line of credit available on a client's existing brokerage platform. It later launched the Hybrid Mortgage, combining a securities-backed loan with a traditional mortgage at a quoted 4.64% APR fixed for five years, after partnering with more than 150 advisors. Trade and financial press coverage followed, including Bloomberg (October 2025) and Financial Planning (February 2026). In June 2026 the company announced it had raised $13 million in total and crossed $2 billion in regulatory AUM.

Risks & controversies

The strategies involve margin borrowing against pledged securities, and the company notes plans for risk-monitoring dashboards to protect advisory firms from abrupt margin calls during volatile markets; borrowing capacity depends on Reg T or Portfolio Margin release rates. Quoted rates are indicative rather than guaranteed, and SyntheticFi states it does not provide tax, legal or accounting advice, advising clients to consult their own professionals; the tax treatment of interest as a capital loss is central to the value proposition. Press coverage characterizes the tax-smart borrowing tool as suited to risk-tolerant clients.