Axos Financial Bundle
Who owns Axos Financial today?
When Bank of Internet USA rebranded to Axos Financial in 2018, insider accumulation and rising institutional sponsorship reshaped control. Axos (NYSE: AX) is a San Diego–based, branch-light bank focused on digital-first retail and business banking since 1999.
As of 2024–2025, ownership is dominated by U.S. institutions with a meaningful insider stake led by CEO Gregory Garrabrants; recent buybacks, index inclusion, and board votes further concentrated voting power. See Axos Financial Porter's Five Forces Analysis for strategic context.
Who Founded Axos Financial?
Founders and Early Ownership of Axos Financial trace to its 1999 founding as Bank of Internet USA by Jerry B. Englert and Gary L. Lewis, with early executives including Paul Grinberg and later Gregory Garrabrants guiding its internet-only bank strategy and initial ownership concentration among founders, early employees and seed backers.
Founding Team
Jerry B. Englert and Gary L. Lewis founded Bank of Internet USA in 1999, establishing the internet-first model that became Axos Financial.
Early Leadership
Paul Grinberg led finance and strategy early on; Gregory Garrabrants became CEO in 2007 and later helped professionalize management ownership.
Initial Ownership Structure
Ownership was concentrated with founders, early employees and seed backers; precise initial cap table percentages were not publicly itemized in SEC filings.
Seed Funding
Seed and friends-and-family investors provided early capital alongside regulatory thrift capital requirements typical for de novo banks of the era.
Equity Incentives
Standard vesting schedules and option grants were used to attract technology-oriented banking talent and align management with growth.
Transition to Public Company
Prior to the mid-2000s public listing, founders and insiders collectively controlled the company; subsequent capital raises led to dilution and partial exits by some early backers.
Early ownership reflected a founder-led, internet-focused bank evolving into a professionally managed public company, with management equity plans helping retain operating leadership as deposits scaled and profitability emerged; for additional corporate context see Mission, Vision & Core Values of Axos Financial.
Key facts on early ownership
Representative early-stage facts and governance points relevant to who owns Axos Financial and its early cap table dynamics.
- Founded in 1999 as Bank of Internet USA by Jerry B. Englert and Gary L. Lewis.
- Early executives included Paul Grinberg (finance/strategy) and Gregory Garrabrants (CEO from 2007).
- Initial ownership concentrated with founders, early employees and seed backers; no public itemized cap table percentages in early SEC filings.
- Seed funding mixed friends-and-family, angel-style investors and regulatory thrift capital; standard vesting and option grants used to attract talent.
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How Has Axos Financial’s Ownership Changed Over Time?
Key events shaping Axos Financial ownership include the 2005 IPO as BofI Holding (NASDAQ: BOFI), the 2018 rebrand and ticker change to Axos Financial coinciding with business diversification, and aggressive buybacks and institutional accumulation from 2019–2025 that concentrated but did not confer control to any single owner.
| Event | Timing | Impact on Ownership |
|---|---|---|
| IPO as BofI Holding | 2005 | Created publicly traded free float; initiated institutional interest |
| Rebrand to Axos Financial & ticker change | 2018 | Broadened investor base via new revenue streams (securities lending, advisory) |
| Institutional inflows and buybacks | 2019–2025 | Institutional ownership rose to 75–85%; share count reduced by repurchases |
From 2019–2025 the ownership profile shifted toward large passive and active managers while insiders—led by CEO Gregory Garrabrants—remained meaningful holders, with no controlling parent or government stake and one-share-one-vote governance.
Ownership snapshot and implications
Institutional and insider positions shaped strategy, capital allocation, and governance at Axos Financial between 2024–2025.
- Institutional ownership commonly reported at 75–85%, led by index/ETF exposure and active asset managers
- Vanguard, BlackRock, and State Street frequently rank among the top holders; combined exposure often totals 20–30%+
- CEO Gregory Garrabrants holds a low- to mid-single-digit stake including equity awards, making him the largest individual insider
- Active buybacks reduced share count, increasing proportional stakes of remaining insiders and institutions
Key investor inquiries—who owns Axos Financial, Axos Financial ownership details, and how to check Axos Financial institutional investors—are typically answered via 13F filings, company proxy statements and SEC Form 4/10-K disclosures; for context on competitive positioning see Competitors Landscape of Axos Financial.
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Who Sits on Axos Financial’s Board?
Axos Financial’s board is led by CEO Gregory Garrabrants and a majority slate of independent directors with expertise in banking, technology, risk, audit, and regulation; the board reflects institutional investor preferences for independent committee chairs and oversight of compensation, risk, and governance.
| Director | Role / Committee Chairs | Background |
|---|---|---|
| Gregory Garrabrants | CEO, Director | Executive leadership; significant insider shareholder and public spokesperson |
| Independent Director A | Audit Committee Chair | Audit & accounting expertise from financial services |
| Independent Director B | Risk Committee Chair | Credit risk and bank regulatory experience |
| Independent Director C | Compensation Committee Chair | Executive compensation and human capital management |
| Independent Director D | Nominating & Governance Chair | Corporate governance and regulatory background |
Axos employs a one-share-one-vote capital structure with no dual-class or golden shares, so voting power is proportional to common stock ownership, which is mainly dispersed among institutional investors and insiders; as of mid-2025 institutional ownership exceeds 70% per 13F aggregates, while insider ownership remains single-digit percentage levels, giving management meaningful but noncontrolling influence.
Board composition and voting dynamics
Key points on governance, voting power, and shareholder influence at Axos Financial.
- One-share-one-vote structure means no supervoting shares or golden share arrangements.
- Independent directors chair audit, risk, compensation, and nominating/governance committees.
- Large institutions and proxy advisers shape outcomes through proxy voting and engagement.
- Proxy fights have been minimal; governance debates focus on compensation, capital allocation, and credit concentration.
Large institutional holders—index managers, mutual funds, and ETFs—constitute the primary block of Axos Financial ownership; top mutual funds and institutional investors (BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street among largest holders by typical 13F reports) typically account for a combined stake exceeding 50–60% of float, while insider percentage ownership (executives and directors combined) is around 5–9%, confirming that significant control requires accumulating common shares rather than board-designated seats; see further governance discussion in the company’s proxy and the article Marketing Strategy of Axos Financial.
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What Recent Changes Have Shaped Axos Financial’s Ownership Landscape?
Recent ownership trends at Axos Financial show rising institutional concentration and active share repurchases through 2019–2025, which together compressed diluted share counts and increased per-share economics for remaining holders.
| Trend | Impact | Key Data (2023–2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Share repurchases | Reduced diluted shares; boosted EPS and ROE | Company executed sustained buybacks, cutting diluted shares by approximately 5–8% cumulatively through 2024; buybacks accelerated on higher net interest income in 2023–2024 |
| Institutional consolidation | Top holders gained share via index/ETF flows | Vanguard, BlackRock, State Street together comprise the largest passive holders of record, representing a combined institutional stake commonly in the 20–30% range across 2024–2025 filings |
| Insider dynamics | CEO and exec nucleus retained meaningful stake | CEO Gregory Garrabrants remained the largest insider; periodic option exercises and 10b5-1 sales reported, with insider ownership generally under 5–10% combined depending on timing |
| Capital markets stance | No dual-class or take-private moves; limited secondaries | Axos remained a single-class NYSE-listed issuer (AX); growth funded by deposits and internal capital |
| M&A and adjacencies | Targeted tuck-ins expanded fee income | Acquisitions focused on securities lending/clearing and specialty lending; no change in control |
Analysts expect continued buybacks subject to profitability and capital buffers, rising passive institutional ownership concentration, and potential activist interest if valuation gaps persist versus fintech-bank peers; management has given no indication of a dual-class recap or privatization.
Repurchase effects
Buybacks reduced diluted shares and increased EPS, especially after higher net interest income in 2023–2024; this effectively raised relative ownership for remaining shareholders.
Institutional ownership
Passive funds tracking financials and SMID indexes drove higher concentration among Vanguard, BlackRock and State Street; active managers rotated positions around credit-cycle views.
Insider profile
CEO Gregory Garrabrants anchors the insider nucleus through direct holdings and performance-based equity; no founder control block exists and insider percentage ownership remains modest relative to institutions.
Where to read more
For historical context on corporate evolution and Axos Bank ownership structure and history see the company overview: Brief History of Axos Financial
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