In 1987, Fondren started The Exchange, a confidential communication service of his ReSource Intermediary Group through which
insurance and
reinsurance companies and other financial institution clients of the firm could anonymously communicate their reinsurance, buying, selling, joint-venture, partnering and other commercial interests to an array of prospective counterparties. In 1993, with a small number of investors, he launched InterVest, an
electronic trading platform for anonymous
secondary market trading of corporate and municipal bonds and other
fixed income securities among institutional investors, brokers and dealers. It was the first SEC-regulated "Proprietary Trading System" (a precursor to the current Alternative Trading Systems). In 1995, InterVest entered into an agreement with Bloomberg LP to provide dynamic interactive access to its trading platform and to display all current orders and transactions through the roughly 100,000 Bloomberg terminals then installed. Fondren also invented "LegacyLoans", a form of non-recourse consumer loan collateralized solely by the future death benefit of a qualifying life insurance policy. Because policy owners borrow against (rather than sell) their life insurance policies, they continue to own that asset, and use the systematic loan advances to satisfy all future premium payments – leaving the guaranteed remainder of the death benefit to their beneficiaries. In 2011, Fondren founded DelphX LLC, the original DelphX corporate entity. In April 2019, Fondren was replaced as CEO of the DelphX companies by Co-CEOs, Patricia Ziegler and Stephen Bacso, who each subsequently resigned, and Fondren thereafter continued as a member of the DelphX board. In December 2020, Fondren resigned from the DelphX board. In February 2021, DelphX issued a press release stating that Fondren's prior resignation had been accepted, and further stating that Fondren was fired for cause. The company press release stated, "It has recently been discovered by the Board that, contrary to fiduciary duties to the Company, Mr. Fondren has been using the Company's property to advance his own personal interests." In March 2021, Fondren filed suit against DelphX in the Court of Common Please of Chester County, Pennsylvania, accusing DelphX of defamation of character, breach of contract and other wrongful acts. In March 2022, DelphX Corporation filed suit against Fondren in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, accusing Fondren of multiple acts of wrongdoing. In July 2022, DelphX and Fondren amicably resolved their disputes. == Federal antitrust lawsuit ==