Financial Technology Partners
“Can a single boutique investment bank own the entirety of fintech M&A and private capital advisory globally by focusing exclusively on the sector?”
Founded in 2002 by Steve McLaughlin, formerly Global Head of FinTech investment banking at Goldman Sachs, FT Partners was established as the only investment bank focused exclusively on the financial technology sector. The firm identified a gap in the market where traditional financial institution bankers found fintech deals too small and technology bankers found them too unusual. Over two decades, FT Partners grew from a one-man operation assisted by unpaid Berkeley interns into a firm with ~250-321 employees advising on hundreds of fintech M&A and capital-raising transactions globally. The firm's embedded finance angle is advisory — it serves as the deal intermediary and strategic advisor for fintech companies, rather than operating embedded finance infrastructure itself.