Global financial services company Marex today revealed that it has established an office in Minneapolis. The new office will serve as a central hub for commodity risk management, with major agricultural companies and large commodity risk managers located in the region.
As part of the move, Marex has hired agricultural industry veterans Dan Hofstad and Charlie Fee lead the operations of the new the office. As co-heads, they will oversee further growth of OTC agricultural offering in the US.
Hofstad and Fee report directly to Kirk Bonniwell, Head of Agricultural OTC Sales for Marex North America.
Bonniwell said:
In addition to their product expertise, Dan and Charlie bring outstanding experience to our team, great insights into the talent and relevant businesses in the area and an appreciation for our focus on high-touch service and lasting client relationships. We look forward to building on the team in the region under their leadership and addressing the growing demand for these customized solutions.
Minneapolis office
The company’s new Minneapolis office will serve as a launch pad for further expansion of its listed and OTC offerings, including structured products. Marex Solutions, the OTC arm of the company, will introduce a new North American OTC dairy business out of this hub. Hofstad will lead the new business as a complement to the firm’s existing exchange-traded dairy products business.
Ram Vittal, Chief Executive Officer of Marex North America, said:
We’re delighted to expand our business with another on-the-ground presence that puts us close to our clients as they navigate their risk management challenges. We continue to identify new opportunities to grow our franchise in North America and leverage the global breadth of products and services that Marex has to offer.
Fee will further develop Marex’s grain origination franchise with expertise on the consumer side of the market. Both Hofstad and Fee will grow the team and build on the firm’s reach in the soft commodities, protein and energy industries.
In the past six months, Marex has undertaken a series of strategic moves in the commodity space. The firm recently expanded into Australia with a new Sydney office. It also recently acquired Volcap Trading, which established a commodity and structured products business operating out of London and Paris, and Arfinco S.A., one of Europe’s leading agricultural brokers.
