SmarterMarkets™

Summer travel is here this holiday weekend! Join us as Jeff Currie, Goldman Sachs’ Global Head of Commodities Research, and host David Greely go around the world in just under an hour.  Originally meeting at the University of Chicago in 1992, they worked together in the 2000s through the “revenge of the old economy” commodities bull market. Today, we’re bringing them back together to discuss what’s different this time and what remains the same. In the first track of our SmarterMarkets™️ Summer Playlist, Jeff and David turn up the heat with a freestyle conversation touching on everything from carbohydrates to hydrocarbons — and how we can encourage, rather than discourage, the investment required to provide the food, energy, and metals we need.

After exploring algorithms, data and models, host David Greely takes a deep dive into the human element of optimizing risk management with Chief Risk Officer at Abaxx Exchange, Ryan Ingram. Join us for an episode dialed in on chronic issues facing risk managers in today's commodities and energy markets along with an optimistic take on what’s gone right after an unprecedented two years containing a global pandemic, extreme price volatility and war.

We're thrilled to be joined by Thomson Reuters Senior Columnist, Andy Home, for a pulse check on current metals markets. In this episode, he and David Greely explore the readiness of these markets for the supply challenge of decarbonization and how the European power crisis has impacted their preparedness for the energy transition. Join them to uncover what's needed to prepare and optimize our critical minerals markets for a demanding road ahead.

The role of risk managers is rapidly expanding, requiring the need for integration across organizations and deeper relationships between risk, data and digital product teams. Pursuing net zero targets, participation in new markets such as carbon and LNG, and digital transformation all generate new opportunities for risk —  despite the great opportunities they present. Today, we sat down with Global Head of Digital Product at Abaxx Technologies, Carrie Jaquith, to explore how risk teams can balance risk and reward and what role data and product teams play in the process.

David Greely sits down with Mike Prokop, Director of Sustainability & Digital Transformation at The Alliance Risk Group, to learn how Prokop’s 30+ years in energy markets and risk management shape his view of the maturing LNG market and how the emerging operational and reputation risks presented by climate change and net zero pledges inform his work with Alliance.

This morning we’re driving to the intersection of energy, commodities and risk with University of Houston, C.T. Bauer College of Business Professor, Craig Pirrong. Pirrong's extensive research focuses on the economics of commodity markets, the relation between market fundamentals and commodity price dynamics — and the implications of this relation for the pricing of commodity derivatives. If you're interested in hearing two economists discuss Wednesday's CFTC roundtable discussion on the FTX proposal, you won't want to miss this episode. This week's headlines aside, we’re tapping into Craig's expertise for his take on what tools and technologies could push us toward more secure and smarter markets.

Bob Anderson, Executive Director of the Committee of Chief Risk Officers, joins us to share his perspectives on improving risk management for today’s energy markets. We’ll discuss what’s on the CCRO’s agenda: from the need for better tools and techniques to value LNG, to managing liquidity pressures from margin calls, to building stronger and more collaborative relationships with FCMs and other members of the market ecosystem.

Between the FTX Congressional Hearing and FIA’s upcoming Commodities Forum, President and CEO of the Futures Industry Association, Walt Lukken, made time to sit down with David Greely to kick off SmarterMarkets newest series: Systems at Risk. In this episode, Lukken and Greely dig into FIA’s “Modernizing the Listed Derivatives Workflow: A Blueprint for Change" and the challenges of achieving industry-wide improvements to the trading and clearing processes while balancing risk and security amidst a global pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war and fragments in market infrastructure.

On our final episode of Demystifying the Carbon Markets, host David Greely sits down with Governing Board Member of the ICVCM and Managing Director + Head of Sustainable Finance at IIF, Sonja Gibbs, to explore the ongoing efforts in establishing core carbon principles and benchmark standards to scale integrity and governance in the voluntary carbon markets in time to meet the necessary requirements of urgent climate action.

This morning, SmarterMarkets host, David Greely, sits down with tradfi turned defi commodities expert, Maryam Ayati, to explore the role of blockchain and decentralized finance in the carbon markets. Join us as we identify technological opportunities and tools available to make carbon markets more transparent, less prone to error, faster, and more efficient to solve for net zero with integrity.