What is the Coquest Trade Services Group?
The Coquest Trade Services Group (TSG) is a highly specialized team of investment operation professionals, keenly focused on the futures and OTC FX markets. TSG acts as a hub & spoke, single point of contact and client advocate. TSG facilitates front-, middle- and back-office aspects between multiple Futures Commission Merchants (FCMs), Prime Brokers, traders and clients.
When was the Trade Services Group started?
The Coquest Trade Services Group was established in 2015 when a team of industry veterans joined Coquest to expand the firm's global institutional services in the managed futures investment space. The original TSG was founded in February of 2007 and has its original members still leading today.
How is the Trade Services Group different from any other broker?
For the Coquest TSG team, the customer always comes first. While this seems cliché, we find more often than not that the FCM or Prime Broker, and their business mandates, come before the client’s needs. Trading and investing access is typically coupled with layers of fees and lack of personalized service, which has created a stigma in the industry. The Coquest Trade Services Group breaks this mold by being the client advocate first.
TSG focuses heavily on making the act of investing and trading in the futures and OTC FX markets as easy and straightforward as possible for market participants of all shapes and sizes.
What products does the Trade Services Group specialize in?
Coquest TSG is the premier global futures and OTC FX market execution and clearing solutions provider. We specialize in structural consulting for market participants like CTAs, CPOs, mutual funds and institutional investors, while also offering services to customers and traders of all shapes and sizes that want to participate in the futures and OTC FX markets.
Our experienced team can help efficiently bring to market complex US onshore and offshore investment vehicles as well as provide counterparty introductions and assist in fee negotiations. TSG also specializes in diverse execution setups for algorithmic and discretionary trading teams, low latency market access through multiple platforms, as well as black-box or phone order desk & pit access for traders of all types.
Who are Trade Services Group clients?
The Coquest Trade Services Group caters to all participants in the futures and OTC FX industry. Clients range from physical commodity producers and users looking to hedge exposure, commercial and multi-national corporations, energy companies and banks, speculative traders looking to trade their own account, investment fund platforms, hedge fund managers and fund-of-fund companies, Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs) and Commodity Pool Operators (CPOs), Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) and wealth management firms, board-directed pensions and endowments, 1940-act mutual funds and private investment firms, plus institutional investors and high-net-worth investors looking to invest in managed futures products.
What unique benefits do Trade Services Group clients experience?
Clients of TSG experience many benefits across the entire spectrum of Coquest’s execution and clearing consulting and brokerage offerings. The most predominant is personalized service that caters to the specific needs of each customer in the futures and OTC FX markets. Our diverse and experienced team has catered to the needs of Wall Street institutions and global money managers for years and now offer that expertise to our direct clients looking to participate in the managed futures industry. Coquest TSG has 276 years of combined experience, averaging 23 years for each of our 12 associates, all focused on managed futures investments and infrastructure.
What kind of experts are on the Coquest Trade Services Group team?
The Coquest Trade Services Group is comprised of professionals from all facets of the investment industry. Team members have extensive experiences ranging from institutional banking management, CTA and CPO consultants, managed futures brokers, quantitative analysts, collegiate professors, trade desk managers, market makers, institutional hedging consultants, CAIA and CFA registrants, and investment trading company principals.
You can find more information about the Trade Services Group as well as the rest of the Coquest team members in their bios, found here: https://www.coquest.com/our-team
How is Order Execution performed in the Trade Services Group?
The Coquest TSG team assists client and traders, both individuals and professional groups, in selecting the proper trading screen, pit broker, specialist desk, or combination of setups to maximize the order execution experience. TSG does not take customer orders directly. Instead, we empower individuals and professionals by providing access to the best and most diverse suite of execution services available in the industry.
TSG uses its extensive network of independent brokers, FCMs, exchanges and technology contacts to mix and match services with the goal of meeting the specific needs of any futures and/or OTC FX market participant. Customized order execution arrangements can be made for a single account, a suite of accounts, or for block allocations spread across multiple accounts at multiple FCMs and Prime Brokers around the globe. The process involves evaluating the client’s needs for futures and OTC FX market access, infrastructure, functionality and cost. Once all factors are considered, TSG will help the establish an optimized setup that meets or exceeds the client’s mandate on order execution for the best service and cost available.
What FCMs does the Trade Services Group clear through?
As of May 2020, Coquest and its Trade Services Group utilize the clearing services of the below FCMs:
- SG Americas Securities LLC (SGAS)
- UBS Securities LLC (UBS)
- ADM Investor Services Inc (ADMIS)
- RJ O’Brien & Associates LLC (RJO)
- INTL FCStone Financial Inc (FC Stone)
- ED&F Man Capital Markets Inc (EDF Man)
- RCG Division of Marex North America LLC (RCG)
- Gain Capital Group LLC (Gain)
- Straits Financial LLC (Straits)
More FCMs are being added to meet customer needs.
What is Collateral Management at the Trade Services Group?
The TSG team actively monitors client account balances to mitigate margin needs versus deposits. If account balances drop below margin requirements through losses or position sizing, triggering a margin call, the client could experience trading restrictions and immediate funding demands from the FCM. TSG monitors account activity and communicates with clients typically in advance of margin calls to ensure no hiccups in trading or market access, allowing for smooth operations for all parties.
What is Coquest TSG Operational Consulting?
Specific to CTAs and CPOs and regulated products, the Coquest TSG team specializes in consulting and streamlining the infrastructures of money management firms that deal in futures and OTC FX markets as a way to protect clients from possibly unforeseen operational pitfalls. Our experienced team will work with CTAs and CPOs to utilize best practices, identify and resolve gaps in back and middle office operations, evaluate and help establish/replace (when applicable) appropriate outsourced service providers as well as consult on filling any noticeable operational gaps. TSG’s focus is to streamline operations, increase efficiency and cut costs in the name of client protection. Our goal is to help CTAs and CPOs improve their business operations so they can focus more on trading and risk management, maximizing the client/investor experience, and let TSG take care of the rest.
Where can I read about Trade Services Group news and how do I subscribe?
To learn more about the Coquest Trade Services Group, please visit https://www.coquest.com/trade-services-group
Additional news is available only to CTAs and CPOs that require timely market announcements. Please email tsg@coquest.com to sign up.
What is the Coquest.net Portfolio Monitoring Application?
Coquest.net is a proprietary, online account performance and tracking tool that is available to clients of Coquest. This robust software allows for viewing of futures and OTC FX accounts for performance, drawdown analysis, margin and risk monitoring, trading activity, open positions with top-day pricing, and daily statements. Analysis and metrics are provided at the individual account level as well as at the customer portfolio level. Coquest.net plugs in to multiple FCMs, normalizes the account data and then displays it back to the customer is a robust yet easy to understand manner.
Who can I contact at Coquest if I have additional questions about the Coquest Trade Services Group?
Contact:- Michael Lock, Director of Brokerage, Coquest Inc
- mike@coquest.com
- 1-214-580-4220