Wealth & Finance International - February 2017

39 February 2017 The Future of Futures Brokering he Chicago based Ironbeam provides a broad range of brokerage services to institutional and retail clients, alike. Whether institutional or retail traders, Ironbeam is commit- ted to being fully responsive to all of their customer’s needs. Ironbeam’s brokerage solutions include a vast array of technology, clearing and execution services that can be bundled together as an all-encompassing service plan or leveraged on an individual basis. They pride themselves on their team’s exceptional ability to seize trading opportunities by integrating technology, risk management and research. “As the CEO I spend my days interacting with our brokers and custom- ers when I am not putting together contracts or lending a helping hand to our employees”, Mr Terrell introduced his role. “Our staff is one of our most important assets. Their professionalism is beyond compare. We also have our own trade desk located on site and staffed 24/6. You can always reach us when you have a question or simply want to call in an order.” “Our main focuses are supporting our customers & brokers. We provide all-encompassing support to Institutional & Individual traders, US & For- eign Introducing Brokers, CTA/CPOs, and 3rd Party API Developers. We offer access to all of the major futures exchanges, 24-hour technology & trade support, 24-hour Risk Management along with support for many front-end trading platforms and impeccable client service. We also have a membership department which helps our clients navigate the intricate waters of buying or leasing seats on multiple exchanges.” It is a focused strategy that has worked out very well for the firm, who have recently nearly doubled in size. “We’ve had many successes over the last year. We have grown by over 50%. We’ve brought in a number of great new Introducing Brokers. We’ve completely revamped our proprietary market research & newsletter. We’ve formed a new Private Client Group for traders that are looking for a helping hand, or extra leverage for day trading. We’ve added over 20 new trading platforms to our roster that are now available to clients.” Their customer base is clearly appreciative of the attention and great service they receive. “Most of the feedback we receive is how respon- sive our customer service is. Clients are virtually never put on hold, and are connected with a real person within seconds of calling Ironbeam. This is not common with most trading firms. The second thing we hear a lot is how much clients like Firetip, our proprietary platform that the vast majority of our clients trade on. It’s generally complimented on its simplicity, ease of use, and execution speed.” Speaking on current trends that look set to continue through the new year, Robert commented on the growth area of newcomers to the trad- ing markets. “We’ve seen a growing market for retail traders - at-home traders, many of them new to day trading - over the last few months, and expect it to continue to grow through the year. It seems many trad- ers become bored trading your typical stocks, and have been gravitating towards more leveraged instruments like futures and options on futures contracts. We also see great opportunity in bringing in more Introducing Brokers, as some have been moving away from of our competitor FCMs, because they do not offer the same flexibility that Ironbeam does.“ And when it comes to the opportunities the firm makes available to its clients, they are only looking to expand. “We have recently delved into the managed futures arena and are very excited about what we can bring to the table. Clients who want a more experienced person trading their account or people who don’t have the time can invest in this type of venture. There is a large niche that we can fill.” Company: Ironbeam, Inc. Name: Robert M. Terrell Email: [email protected] Web Address: Ironbeam.com Address: 141 W. Jackson Blvd., Suite 2600, Chicago, IL 60604 Telephone: 312-765-7200 Ironbeam, Inc. is a registered futures commission broker (FCM), located in the Chicago Board of Trade building - a major trading hub. Their speciality is helping clients gain access to, analyse, & trade in the global futures/options markets. We spoke with Robert Terrell, CEO at Ironbeam, about their work and the services they provide. T 1702WF12