How do you seize the attention of investors looking to maximise their returns? For two trading executives turned fintech moguls, the answer is in their slogan: “No derivatives. No borrowing.”

Tony Barchetto, the former head of corporate development at then-upstart exchange Bats, and Alfred Eskandar, former chief executive of FactSet’s Portware trading technology provider, have an alternative to leverage — the standard, if risky, tool many investors have used to super-charge their returns.