Coquest

What Coquest does

Coquest Inc. is a Dallas-based, privately held institutional brokerage founded in 1990 by John Vassallo and Dennis T. Weinmann, veterans of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The company operates as a full-service introducing broker across three product pillars: Energy Services (brokerage and hedging for crude oil, natural gas, and structured products), Agriculture Services (agricultural commodities brokerage, consultative research, and risk management and hedge consulting), and Trade Services Group (operational consulting and portfolio monitoring). It also operates two specialty sub-brands, Coquest Advisors (launched 2015) for due diligence on commodity trading advisors and hedge funds, and Coquest Managed Assets (launched 2016) for alternative asset portfolio construction for high net worth individuals, family offices, RIAs, and institutional clients. Mega Capital, LLC, an introducing broker specializing in managed futures, was acquired in 2014 and is retained as a wholly owned subsidiary.

The firm's technology stack centers on the proprietary Portfolio Monitoring Application for tracking client positions and post-trade operations, supplemented by electronic trading platforms with password-protected client access and integrations with clearing firm platforms. Content and brand assets include the Daily Energy Reports covering crude oil and natural gas futures and the annual CTA Challenge competition that showcases top managed futures programs. The company holds CFTC commodity broker registration and memberships in the National Futures Association and National Introducing Brokers Association, and maintains offices in Dallas (headquarters), Chicago, and Houston.

Coquest earns revenue through three streams: transaction-based commissions on futures and options trades executed for institutional clients, energy companies, and managed futures accounts; professional services fees from Coquest Advisors' due diligence, research, and portfolio management; and managed services revenue from Coquest Managed Assets and Coquest's hedge consulting engagements. Distribution is direct and field-led, targeting multinational corporations, institutional banks, oil companies, utilities, energy marketers, CTAs, hedge funds, family offices, and RIAs, with pricing structured on a custom quote basis typical of institutional brokerage. The firm is founder-controlled with no disclosed private equity or venture capital investment and no public ticker.

Name

Coquest

Legal name

Coquest Inc.

Website

https://coquest.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Coquest is a Dallas-based institutional futures and options brokerage founded in 1990, serving energy companies, agricultural clients, institutional investors, family offices, and managed futures participants with brokerage, hedging, risk management, and alternative investment advisory services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Institutional Futures Brokerage

NAICS

Commodity Contracts Intermediation (523160), Securities and Commodity Contracts Intermediation and Brokerage (5231)

SIC

Commodity Contracts Brokers & Dealers (6221), Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211)

akta.pro primary industry

Derivatives & Futures Brokerage (FSAEACAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Co-Investment Aggregators & Multi-Manager Co-Invest Vehicles (FSAHAKAJ), Multi-Asset / Cross-Asset Brokerage (FSAEACAM)

Keywords

• Institutional futures brokerage
• Energy commodities hedging
• Agricultural commodities trading
• Managed futures advisory
• Alternative asset consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Dallas

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Futures and Options Brokerage: Coquest earns commissions on futures and options trades executed for institutional clients, energy companies, and managed futures accounts. As one of the largest independent introducing brokers in the U.S. derivatives markets, they facilitate trading across energy, agriculture, and managed products markets.
2. Managed Futures Consulting and Advisory: Coquest Advisors provides due diligence on commodity trading advisors and hedge funds, investment research, and portfolio management services. Revenue comes from consulting fees and advisory service arrangements with high-net-worth individuals, family offices, and institutional clients.
3. Alternative Investment Consulting: Coquest provides consulting services to institutional clients including structuring managed futures portfolios and offering risk management and hedge consulting for agriculture and energy clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Coquest is a full-service institutional brokerage providing futures and options execution, hedging services, and structured products across energy (crude oil, natural gas) and agricultural commodities markets. The firm also delivers managed futures consulting, commodity trading advisor (CTA) due diligence, alternative asset portfolio design, and operational consulting for institutional clients including multinational corporations, energy producers, banks, family offices, and registered investment advisors.

Product overview

Coquest is a full-service institutional brokerage offering a platform of integrated services across three core areas: Energy Services (brokerage and hedging for crude oil, natural gas, and structured products), Agriculture Services (agricultural commodities brokerage, consultative research, and risk management consulting), and Trade Services Group (operational consulting and portfolio monitoring). The company also operates two specialized sub-brands: Coquest Advisors (independent research and advisory for commodity trading advisors and hedge funds) and Coquest Managed Assets (alternative asset portfolio customization for high net worth and institutional clients). The portfolio of offerings is unified under Coquest Inc.'s brokerage umbrella with subsidiaries providing specialized research, advisory, and managed asset services, complemented by the annual CTA Challenge competition that showcases top managed futures trading programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Coquest Advisors: Independent research and advisory firm providing due diligence on commodity trading advisors and hedge funds
• Coquest Managed Assets

Products and services

• Energy Services Institutional brokerage and hedging services for energy markets, including crude oil and natural gas futures, with structured products and market access offerings for oil companies, utilities, energy marketers, and multinational corporations.
• Agriculture Services Agricultural commodities brokerage and consulting services covering agricultural futures, consultative research, and risk management and hedge consulting for agricultural producers and commercial hedgers.
• Trade Services Group Operational consulting and portfolio monitoring services for brokerage clients, including day-to-day brokerage operations, trade operations support, and post-trade reporting for Coquest and Mega Capital customers.
• Coquest Advisors Independent research and advisory firm providing due diligence on commodity trading advisors and hedge funds, with investment due diligence and portfolio management services for institutional and high-net-worth clients.
• Coquest Managed Assets Alternative asset portfolio design and customization services for high net worth individuals, family offices, registered investment advisors, and institutional clients seeking managed futures and other non-correlated return sources.

Quantifiable outcome

• Coquest CTA Challenge winners have achieved returns ranging from 16.69% to 23.24% annually, outperforming S&P 500 in challenging market years

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Altegris Clearing Solutions LLCminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 12 February 2015Coquest was engaged to provide commodity-futures consulting and support services to Altegris Clearing Solutions LLC. G. Maxwell Eagye joined Coquest to further develop managed futures and brokerage businesses with responsibilities including providing consulting services to ACS.
• Mega Capital, LLCcoreOthers · 15 May 2014Coquest completed the acquisition of Mega Capital, LLC, an introducing broker specializing in managed futures. This acquisition allows Coquest to diversify operations and leverage its energy market expertise throughout its brokerage and managed funds business. Mega Capital customers benefit from added trading knowledge, market access, and lower fees.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• ED&F Man Capital Markets: One of the largest independent futures introducing brokers globally, focused on commodity and FX derivatives for institutional clients. Directly comparable to Coquest as a multi-asset IB serving energy, agriculture, and managed futures participants.
• R.J. O'Brien: Long-standing U.S. independent futures broker and clearing firm serving institutional and commercial hedgers across agriculture, energy, and financials. Closely aligned with Coquest on customer type (energy/ag producers, banks) and product set (futures and options intermediation).
• Marex: London-listed global commodities broker providing execution, clearing, and market intelligence across energy, agriculture, and metals derivatives. Highly comparable to Coquest's energy/agriculture institutional brokerage franchise, with a similar focus on intermediating commercial hedgers.
• ADM Investor Services: Futures brokerage arm of Archer Daniels Midland specializing in agricultural and soft commodity clearing and execution for commercial and institutional clients. Directly comparable to Coquest on agriculture-sector brokerage and managed futures services.
• Rosenthal Collins Group: U.S.-based independent futures and options introducing broker serving institutional, commercial, and managed futures clients. Closely comparable to Coquest on being a smaller multi-asset IB with energy/agriculture focus.

Broad incumbents

• StoneX Group: Fortune 500 commodity and financial services firm combining brokerage, clearing, market intelligence, and asset management. Comparable as a larger incumbent offering the same integrated brokerage-plus-advisory stack Coquest operates, just at global scale.
• Man Group: Global investment management group anchored by AHL and other managed futures programs, with deep roots in systematic commodity trading. Relevant to Coquest as a much larger institution that consumes the same managed futures talent pipeline Coquest curates through the CTA Challenge.

Emerging players

• iCapital Network: Technology platform for alternative investments serving wealth managers, family offices, and RIAs. Comparable to Coquest Managed Assets and Coquest Advisors as an allocator of client capital across multiple alternative managers, though operating more broadly than just managed futures.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CoquestInc
• Facebookfacebook.com/coquest.inc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/coquest-inc/about

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries3 records

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 Coquest