How a seasoned entrepreneur turned internal frustrations into a game-changing platform that’s democratizing global wealth management for Independent Financial Advisors across borders.
In the gleaming offices of Seguro Group in the UAE, a $300 million wealth management firm with over 200 advisors, Satinder Aggarwal was running into the same wall repeatedly. His business was thriving, yet every day brought the same frustrations: shrinking product margins, limited access to global investments, and a labyrinth of administrative hassles that kept advisors from doing what they did best – advising clients.
“We were managing significant AUM, but we kept running into problems every Independent Financial Advisor faces,” recalls Satinder, now CEO & Founder of Equitybasket Capital (EQBAC). “To make our own work easier, we began developing a digital platform for Seguro’s internal use. The goal was simple: reduce friction, cut down administrative burden, and give our advisors more control.”
But as the platform took shape, a realization struck: they weren’t just solving Seguro’s problems. They were solving universal challenges faced by every IFA worldwide.
That epiphany gave birth to EQBAC on October 1, 2024 – a platform built by advisors, for advisors.
From Internal Tool to Market Solution
The wealth management landscape is fragmented and inequitable. While large private banks and brokers dominate with sophisticated tools and global access, Independent Financial Advisors – the backbone of wealth advisory – struggle with limited resources. For domestic investors, INR products offer shrinking margins with little diversification beyond borders. For NRIs, traditional NRE/NRO accounts create currency conversion nightmares, capital gains liabilities, and cumbersome repatriation processes.
“Existing exchange platforms largely focus on short-term trading, leaving little emphasis on long-term wealth creation,” explains Satinder. “We saw an opportunity to shift that focus entirely.”
EQBAC’s solution is elegantly comprehensive: a unified platform connecting custodians, private banks, brokers, fund houses, and IFAs under one roof. Advisors gain access to global equities, ETFs, bonds, and mutual funds across key jurisdictions including GIFT City, Singapore, Mauritius, and Ireland – all through a single login.
For NRIs, the platform offers offshore funds with zero capital gains liability in their domiciled jurisdiction, smooth USD-based redemptions, and elimination of unnecessary currency conversions. Investments can start as low as $1, democratizing access to global markets.
A Team Built on Collective Experience
What sets EQBAC apart isn’t just technology – it’s the depth of experience behind it. Satinder leads a core team that collectively brings over 100 years of expertise and has managed more than $5 billion in AUM.
Tarun Balani, with 20 years in sales and operations across financial services, drives business development and IFA network expansion. Ankur Agarwal, who led financial control functions for global clients at Citibank and Deutsche Bank, oversees finance and governance. Sweety Masand heads operations and compliance, bringing experience managing transactions exceeding $1 billion for clients in India and the UAE. Snehman Aggarwal, with over a decade at institutions like Standard Chartered and Axis Bank, ensures seamless backend execution and compliance monitoring.
“The core team had already worked closely together at Seguro,” says Satinder. “When we decided to take this forward as a standalone solution, we came together once again. EQBAC is, in many ways, the product of our lived experience.”
This isn’t a team theorizing about problems – they’ve lived them, solved them internally, and now they’re scaling that solution globally.
The Power of Pricing Control
EQBAC’s unique selling proposition centers on a radical idea: giving advisors pricing power that has historically been restricted to large private banks.
“For the first time, advisors have the ability to customize entry loads and advisory charges for their client segments,” Satinder explains. “This strengthens client relationships and enables long-term AUM growth on their terms.”
The platform operates exclusively as B2B2C, ensuring advisors retain client ownership while monetizing advice under better terms. Unlike competitors focused on direct-to-consumer models, EQBAC empowers the advisor throughout the client journey.
“Our primary competitor is Kristal.AI,” notes Satinder. “But we differentiate by focusing on advisors rather than disintermediating them. Our lower marginal cost and advisor-first approach strengthen our position.”
The pricing model itself reflects this philosophy: a lean 0.35% per annum trail fee, with flexibility for advisors to structure client charges based on individual needs.
Building Trust in a Trust-Driven Business
Launching in October 2024, EQBAC’s journey to traction reveals the realities of financial services entrepreneurship.
“When we entered the market, we assumed there would be quick acceptance,” admits Satinder. “Given the clear gaps we were addressing, we expected immediate resonance.”
Reality proved more nuanced. Financial services is fundamentally trust-driven, and credibility is earned through consistent delivery, not just innovation.
“We quickly realized that every new journey requires building trust from the ground up,” he reflects. “The lesson was clear: solving pain points is only half the battle. The other half is patiently building market confidence and proving that EQBAC is a long-term partner in wealth creation.”
The team overcame initial hurdles by leveraging their existing network of IFAs for validation, onboarding respected product partners who referred business through the platform, and maintaining transparency with seamless execution. Each successful transaction reinforced ecosystem confidence.
Today, EQBAC has 120 registered users with 15-20 monthly inquiries, generating an MRR of $10,000 – steady traction as the platform expands its advisor base and product offerings.
The Cross-Border Wealth Opportunity
EQBAC’s timing aligns with a massive market shift. Cross-border wealth is the fastest-growing segment in global finance, with $180 trillion of new wealth expected by 2030. Large economies like India are only beginning to open to global investing, creating what Satinder sees as a generational opportunity.
“We’re positioned at the inflection point with minimal competition and rising demand,” he says. “We see ourselves capturing and shaping this nascent market.”
The platform addresses this by enabling bidirectional cross-border investing: USD investments into India and INR investments into global markets. Investment buckets are productized for IFA convenience, while unified account opening, trading, execution, and custody operate under a single platform.
What makes this particularly powerful for Indian investors is EQBAC’s inclusion of GIFT City funds as part of a comprehensive composite solution, alongside a complete stack of global mutual funds. All transactions execute through the client’s own offshore bank account, ensuring transparency and control.
Technology Meets Human Insight
While EQBAC is technology-powered, Satinder is clear about the irreplaceable role of human advisors.
“Investments can get complex, especially around valuations,” he explains. “While algorithms provide efficiency, human advisors explain the logic behind valuations and sustainability, which ultimately determine returns. This human insight provides context and discipline, creating trust and clarity in complex investment decisions.”
The platform’s features – digital onboarding, real-time tracking, transparent pricing – don’t replace advisors but empower them. By alleviating the fear of the unknown and providing ease of access, EQBAC builds investor confidence while enabling advisors to scale their practice.
“Technology powers seamless onboarding, investment execution, settlement, and reconciliation,” notes Satinder. “But discipline is maintained through our B2B2C model, with advisors at the center.”
Lessons in Entrepreneurship
Backed by an angel investor and Beyond Seed, EQBAC has benefited from more than just capital. Strategic guidance, expanded networks, and mentorship have helped refine the business model and accelerate growth.
For Satinder, two decades of entrepreneurship have crystallized into clear lessons: “A significant learning has been the necessity of adaptability and embracing change. Markets, tools, and opportunities constantly evolve. Rigid plans rarely succeed.”
He emphasizes time management over money management: “Focus on building systems and leveraging time rather than just pursuing money, since time cannot be recovered.”
His advice to new founders is direct: “Stay persistent, maintain strict control over costs to extend your runway, and keep unwavering focus on your core business priorities.”
Scaling the Vision
Looking ahead six months, EQBAC’s milestones are ambitious but grounded: expand the IFA base to 100+ advisors and scale AUM to $15 million USD. These targets reflect a focus on growth through trusted relationships and deeper product penetration rather than aggressive customer acquisition.
The broader vision extends far beyond these near-term goals. EQBAC isn’t just building another investment platform – it’s constructing the infrastructure for a new era of cross-border wealth management where advisors have the tools, access, and pricing power to compete with the largest institutions.
“We’re building the first advisor-centric global investment marketplace,” says Satinder. “Unlike traditional exchanges focused on short-term trades, EQBAC emphasizes long-term wealth creation.”
The Advisor Revolution
In an industry increasingly dominated by direct-to-consumer fintech platforms threatening to disintermediate advisors, EQBAC is making a contrarian bet: that Independent Financial Advisors remain essential to wealth management, and that empowering them – rather than replacing them – is the path to sustainable growth.
By bringing product manufacturers, private banks, custodians, exchange brokers, fund houses, advisors, and clients together under one integrated platform, EQBAC is proving that technology and human expertise aren’t opposing forces but complementary strengths.
From the internal frustrations of a UAE wealth management firm to a platform operating from Dubai’s World Trade Center, EQBAC’s journey represents more than one entrepreneur’s vision. It’s a reimagining of how global wealth management should work – transparent, accessible, and advisor-empowered.
As Indian investors increasingly look beyond domestic markets and NRIs seek seamless offshore solutions, EQBAC stands ready to bridge the gap between ambition and access, one advisor relationship at a time.
The barriers to cross-border investing are falling. And the advisors have finally found their platform.
