The Public investment platform offers access to members to invest fractionally in corporate and government bonds on desktop and mobile.
Retail investors will have access to an extensive range of government and corporate bonds, where they can search an advanced screening tool with thousands of bonds at different interest rates and maturities and access advanced financial metrics that allow them to evaluate.
Bonds have traditionally been more readily available to institutional investors, but recently, as interest rates have risen, they have become favored by modern retail investors. However, they remain difficult to buy, as evidenced by the roughly one percent of retail investors who directly hold corporate bonds. Public’s bond offering comes with a new layer of framework to help issuers understand the life cycle of these securities, including relevant financial metrics and benchmark data associated with a bond to ensure investors make educated decisions through an easy-to-use experience.
“For the past 15 years, bond markets have been largely irrelevant to retail investors, but after an unprecedented string of rate hikes, retail demand for fixed income products has exploded and investors are facing friction with existing offerings that are archaic and they have high minimums,” said Jannick Malling, co-CEO and co-founder of Public. “The public pioneered fractionation for equities, and we’ve always wanted to expand this feature to more asset classes. After launching bonds earlier this year, we are now doubling down on redesigning the entire user experience of how retail finds, evaluates and invests across the entire universe of corporate and government bonds.”
“Historically, direct access to bonds has been limited to institutions and high net worth investors,” said Sam Nofzinger, GM of Brokerage at Public. “Providing our members with the tools and information to invest in these securities will help them continue to diversify their portfolios and build unique bond strategies that fit their needs – just like institutional investors.”
Today at launch, investors can view the bond checklist, start a watchlist and be the first to access fractional investments in corporate and government bonds, which will be live to all members soon.
The most popular corporate and government bonds will be available for purchase in fractions, as bond minimums often exceed thousands of dollars. Public will add municipal bonds to the platform in early 2024.