IASG

What IASG does

IASG is a Chicago-based, privately-held financial services firm founded in 1992 that operates a managed futures research and selection platform targeting investors and Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs). The company's core offering is a proprietary database covering 350+ managed futures strategies and 800+ CTAs, managed forex managers, and alternative investment programs, accessible via a web-based platform with screening, performance ranking, and analytical tools. The platform's proprietary tools — Blender (custom program blending and return estimation), Portfolio (alternative manager portfolio tracking), Watchlist (program monitoring and alerts), and Insight (performance reporting with Sharpe ratio, margin usage, and market diversification analytics) — are gated behind free registration and form the engagement backbone for individual investors and Qualified Eligible Persons.

IASG's revenue model is freemium to investors: CTA research, selection advisory, and portfolio design are offered complimentary, with revenue derived indirectly from FCM (Futures Commission Merchant) referrals for account opening and from CTA partnership economics. CTAs receive free database listings, pre-qualified investor leads, administrative support, back office services, and trade execution referrals. The firm also produces a family of benchmark indexes — the IASG CTA Index (inception November 1, 1984) and sub-indexes for Trend Following, Systematic, Discretionary, Agricultural, Diversified, Stock Index Trader, and Option Strategy strategies — that serve both as data products and as content marketing infrastructure distributed via blog, email newsletters, and a resource library. Per firmographics, reported headcount is 1-10 employees, indicating a small specialist operation despite the breadth of listed programs and reach of its content surface.

Name

IASG

Legal name

IASG

Website

https://iasg.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

IASG operates a managed futures research platform connecting investors with 800+ Commodity Trading Advisors, offering complimentary advisory services, proprietary analytical tools, and a CTA database for portfolio diversification.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Managed Futures & Alternative Investment Advisory

NAICS

Commodity Contracts Intermediation (52316), Securities and Commodity Contracts Intermediation and Brokerage (5231), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Commodity Contracts Brokers & Dealers (6221), Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Managed Futures / CTA (Trend, Carry, Global Futures) (FSAHAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Hedge Funds — Commodity Systematic/CTA (Managed Futures) (FSAHAHAC), Clearing Broker / Carrying Broker (FCM & Clearing) (FSAEACAF)

Keywords

• Managed futures research
• Commodity trading advisors
• Alternative investment advisory
• CTA portfolio analytics
• Futures broker referrals

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. CTA Research and Selection Services: Provides futures-specialized financial advisory services to help investors identify and select alternative investment managers. Services are complimentary to investors. Revenue is derived from CTA partnerships and FCM referrals rather than direct advisory fees.
2. CTA Database and Listing Services: Free listing service for CTAs on the IASG database. CTAs receive pre-qualified leads, administrative support, client acquisition assistance, back office administration, and trade execution services. Revenue model supports CTA ecosystem participation.
3. Portfolio Monitoring and Management: Ongoing monitoring of alternative investment portfolios with daily surveillance, proprietary analytics, and dedicated support team. Services help investors stay on track toward performance targets.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

IASG operates a managed futures investment platform that combines a proprietary database of 350+ commodity trading advisor (CTA) strategies and 800+ alternative investment programs with free investor-side research and selection services. The platform provides proprietary analytical tools (Blender for portfolio blending, Portfolio for tracking, Watchlist for monitoring, Insight for performance reporting) and ongoing portfolio monitoring services for qualified investors, while enabling CTAs to access pre-qualified investor leads and administrative support.

Product overview

IASG offers a comprehensive managed futures investment platform with proprietary tools including the Blender (custom blend creation), Portfolio (portfolio tracking), Watchlist (program monitoring), Insight (proprietary reporting with analytics), and a CTA Database (300+ strategies). The platform also provides advisory services for trading advisor research and selection, portfolio monitoring and management, and free CTA listing services. These tools work together to help investors discover, analyze, and manage commodity trading advisor (CTA) investments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• IASG Blender A custom blending tool that enables investors to combine managed futures programs, set allocations, and estimate returns for portfolio diversification. Available to registered users on the IASG platform.
• IASG Portfolio Investment portfolio management tool that allows users to build and track alternative investment manager portfolios, add programs, view historical returns, and check current values.
• IASG Watchlist Custom watchlist tool for tracking programs and signing up for performance updates and alerts from alternative investment managers, enabling due diligence before capital allocation.
• IASG Insight Proprietary reporting platform providing portfolio performance views, daily performance data, allocation summaries, and advanced analytics including Sharpe ratio tracking, daily volatility monitoring, margin usage analysis, and market diversification metrics.
• CTA Database / Screener Searchable database of over 350 managed futures strategies and 800+ CTAs, managed forex managers, and alternative investment programs, filterable by performance, minimum investment, and sector.
• Trading Advisor Research & Selection Services Futures-specialized financial advisory service that helps investors identify and select commodity trading advisors through personalized consultation, CTA research, evaluation, and due diligence using qualitative and quantitative methods.
• Portfolio Monitoring & Management Services Ongoing portfolio monitoring service with daily surveillance, proprietary analytics, and a dedicated support team to keep investors on track toward performance targets.
• CTA Services Free listing service for commodity trading advisors to appear in the IASG CTA database, receive pre-qualified investor leads, administrative support, client acquisition assistance, back-office administration, and trade execution services.

Quantifiable outcome

• Access to 350+ managed futures strategies
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• BarclayHedge: BarclayHedge operates one of the largest databases of managed futures, hedge funds, and CTA performance with proprietary indices (e.g., CTA Index) dating back decades. Directly comparable to IASG in tracking CTA performance, providing due diligence data, and serving as an investor research gateway into managed futures.
• Altegris (iCapital Network): Altegris was a managed futures and alternatives platform for advisors and high-net-worth investors that merged into iCapital. Both firms curate CTAs and alternative managers, offer research and due diligence, and facilitate investor-CTA matching; highly comparable GTM and product to IASG.

Emerging players

• CAIS: CAIS is an alternative investment platform connecting advisors to hedge funds, private credit, and structured products with similar research, due diligence, and matching workflows to IASG but broadened across alternative categories and advisor channels.

Broad incumbents

• StoneX: StoneX is a global FCM, broker, and execution platform that consolidated with R.J. O'Brien. As an FCM and futures execution venue, it is part of the referral ecosystem IASG monetizes, and a structural competitor for futures-cleared investor accounts.
• CME Group: CME Group operates the underlying exchange where the CTAs in IASG's database execute trades. As the dominant listed derivatives venue, CME is the upstream infrastructure provider and increasingly a competitor in distributing market analytics and benchmark content.
• Morningstar (PitchBook): Morningstar offers broad investment data, research, and advisor tools that include alternative investment and managed futures coverage. Larger and more diversified than IASG, with overlapping analytics and benchmarking use cases for advisor clients.
• Refinitiv (LSEG): Refinitiv (part of LSEG) provides financial market data, analytics, and alternative investment benchmarks used by institutional investors evaluating CTAs and managed futures managers. Comparable institutional data infrastructure to what IASG offers for retail/qualified-investor channels.

Others

• NFA (National Futures Association): National Futures Association is the U.S. self-regulatory organization for the futures industry and operates the BASIC database tracking registered CTAs. While a regulator rather than a commercial platform, its public performance and registration data overlaps with IASG's research database.
• Man AHL: Man AHL (part of Man Group) is one of the largest systematic trend-following CTA managers and is itself listed on databases like IASG's. As a leading CTA, it shapes investor demand flows into the managed futures category that platforms like IASG curate.
• Societe Generale Securities Services: SG Securities Services provides clearing, execution, and post-trade infrastructure including FCM services referenced by CTA-distribution platforms. Indirectly comparable through the broader FCM referral ecosystem IASG monetizes.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/iasgcta

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about IASG