The client is a hedge fund which focuses on publicly listed mining and energy resources companies, among its many investment themes. As such, the hedge fund needed to stay on top of news, developments and price movements of the commodities produced by these listed companies - such as coal, metals and oil - given that stock prices are influenced significantly by fluctuating commodity prices. Recent market developments have also increased the price volatility of these commodities, which makes having the right information and insights even more critical for risk mitigation.
To gain as comprehensive a view as possible of these commodity markets, the hedge fund subscribed to a suite of Platts services. Platts Market Data provided easy access to the latest price assessments, based on confirmed trades, bids and offers and transactions. The firm also leveraged Platts Analytics to gain clarity into changes in commodity supply and demand flows, built on the research of a global team of Platts analysts which looks deeply into the infrastructure and supply chain of the energy and commodity complex. Finally, Platts Market Reports and Platts Alerts gave the hedge fund detailed daily market reports, with news delivered to trading screens in real time.
One of the key benefits was detailed pricing information such as confirmed trades, bids and offers and transactions not easily available on the public domain. The firm could also examine its data and assumptions behind its own analysis and benchmark its in-house market view against an external analysis to obtain an alternative perspective and eliminate blind spots. Frequent updates also gave the traders greater conviction navigating volatile commodity markets. In particular, the firm valued the detailed coverage of the thermal coal market from Platts analysts, which helped to generate new trading ideas for the team.
If you would like to find out more, please contact: Elisha Low, Marketing Manager, Asia Elisha.Low@spglobal.com
