AgStockTrade

What AgStockTrade does

AgStockTrade.com, operated by Variable Investment Associates, Inc. (VIA), is a web-based Alternative Trading System (ATS) that enables registered members to post bid and ask offers for shares (stocks or capital units) of private agricultural and biofuel companies, with daily centralized matching at 5:00 PM CST. The platform was launched in September 2011 from Tea, South Dakota, and serves 12 participating issuers including ethanol producers (e.g., Glacial Lakes Corn Processors, Homeland Energy Solutions, Redfield Energy), corn and soybean processors, biodiesel producers (Iowa Renewable Energy, Western Dubuque Biodiesel), and U.S. Premium Beef. VIA is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as a broker-dealer authorized to operate an ATS, and the platform's Qualified Matching Program Rules are structured to qualify participating companies as matching services under 26 USC §7704, preserving their partnership tax status.

The technology is a simple web-based matching engine offering anonymous bidding, reserve-price protection for sellers, bank escrow settlement, and multiple account types (Individual, Joint, Company, Trust, Custodial IRA). The platform supports self-service posting as well as telephone and in-person posting through VIA representatives, runs 24/7/365, and has no public API, mobile app, or third-party distribution. A Self-Directed IRA add-on enables members to hold ethanol shares in tax-advantaged retirement accounts.

AgStockTrade monetizes exclusively through transaction fees: VIA charges sellers 2% of the gross sales price (with minimums ranging from $100 to $175 depending on the issuer, and 1.75% for U.S. Premium Beef) paid out of proceeds at closing, plus referral/introduction fees on introductions made through the site. Customers are two-sided — individual/farmer investors seeking liquidity in private agricultural shares, and the agricultural companies themselves that rely on the ATS to provide a compliant share-transfer mechanism. The firm is privately held with 11–50 employees and no disclosed institutional investors.

Name

AgStockTrade

Legal name

Variable Investment Associates, Inc.

Website

https://agstocktrade.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

AgStockTrade.com is a web-based Alternative Trading System, operated by SEC-registered broker-dealer Variable Investment Associates, Inc., that provides daily matching of buy and sell offers for shares in private agricultural and biofuel companies, serving both individual investors seeking liquidity and issuers needing IRS-compliant share transfers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Alternative Trading System (Agricultural Securities)

NAICS

Securities and Commodity Contracts Intermediation and Brokerage (5231), Securities and Commodity Exchanges (523210)

SIC

Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211), Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200)

akta.pro primary industry

Agricultural Commodities Exchanges (Grains, Oilseeds, Livestock) (FSAFAMAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Grain Handling & Farmgate Services (Retailer/Co-op Adjacent) (AFABAJAN)

Keywords

• Agricultural share trading
• Alternative trading system
• Private securities matching
• Broker-dealer services
• Ethanol share trading

Headquarters

HQ city

Tea

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Transaction Fees: VIA charges sellers a transaction fee of 2% of the gross sales price, with minimum fees ranging from $100-$175 per transaction depending on the company. Fees are paid out of seller's proceeds at closing.
2. Introduction/Referral Fees: VIA typically receives a 2% fee for introductions or referrals made through the website, with portions shared with designated bank escrow agents.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

AgStockTrade.com operates a web-based Alternative Trading System (ATS), run by SEC-registered broker-dealer Variable Investment Associates, Inc. (VIA), where registered members post bid and ask offers for shares (stocks or capital units) of participating agricultural and biofuel companies. Offers are matched daily at 5:00 PM CT using IRS §7704-compliant Qualified Matching Program Rules, with transactions settled through bank escrow services. The platform supports multiple account types (Individual, Joint, Company, Trust, Custodial IRA) and Self-Directed IRA investment options in ethanol and other value-added ag company shares.

Product overview

AgStockTrade.com operates as a single, unified Alternative Trading System (ATS) platform for agricultural investors. The core offering is the web-based trading platform enabling members to buy and sell shares in agricultural and ethanol production companies. The platform supports multiple account types (Individual, Joint, Company, Trust, Custodial IRA) and offers Self Directed IRA investment options. Trading is available for 12 participating companies including East Kansas Agri-Energy, Glacial Lakes Corn Processors, Golden Grain Energy, Homeland Energy Solutions, Iowa Renewable Energy, and others, with various share classes tailored to each company. The system matches buyers and sellers daily at 5:00 PM CT using an auction model, with transaction fees of 2% (minimum $100-$175) charged to sellers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Alternative Trading System (ATS) Web-based Alternative Trading System that lets registered members post buy and sell offers for agricultural shares (stocks or capital units) and matches the highest bids with the most willing sellers daily at 5:00 PM CT, with bank-escrow settlement and IRS §7704-qualified matching rules. Built for individual investors holding private shares in participating ethanol, corn, soybean, biodiesel, and cattle companies.

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly $500 million in dividends returned to shareholders (Glacial Lakes Corn Processors)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)coreOthersVIA is a broker-dealer registered with the SEC and maintains registration to conduct operations as an Alternative Trading System (ATS).
• Internal Revenue Service (IRS)coreOthersThe platform operates as a qualified matching service pursuant to 26 USC §7704, protecting issuers from classification as publicly traded partnerships.
• American Soybean AssociationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLogo displayed on associate sites of interest; links to soygrowers.com
• Renewable Fuels AssociationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLogo displayed on associate sites; industry association for ethanol producers
• Growth EnergyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLogo displayed on associate sites; national trade association representing producers of ethanol
• POETminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEthanol producer whose logo appears on associate sites; POET Ethanol Products markets ethanol for Western Plains Energy
• Drive EthanolminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLogo displayed on associate sites; consumer awareness campaign for ethanol
• Ethanol RetailerminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLogo displayed on associate sites; industry publication
• South Dakota Soybean ProcessorsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLogo displayed on associate sites; state soybean association

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• SharesPost: SharesPost operates an SEC-registered ATS for private company shares, providing secondary market liquidity. It is the closest analog to AgStockTrade in regulatory structure (registered broker-dealer ATS), though operating in tech/growth equity rather than agricultural companies.
• EquityZen: EquityZen operates a private company secondary marketplace where shareholders can sell pre-IPO shares. While broader than agriculture, it directly competes as a regulated alternative trading / matching venue for illiquid private equity securities, with similar transaction-fee economics.
• Forge Global: Forge Global is the largest private share trading platform for unicorn and late-stage private company stock. It competes with AgStockTrade for the same conceptual use case — secondary liquidity for private securities — though focused on tech rather than agricultural issuers.

Regional players

• MicroVentures: MicroVentures operates a regulated online investment platform for private equity and startup offerings. Though focused on primary issuances rather than secondaries, it competes for the same agricultural and rural-investor audience that AgStockTrade targets.

Others

• DST Systems / SS&C (Mutual Fund / Private Fund Transfer Agents): SS&C provides transfer agency and fund administration infrastructure for pooled investment vehicles and private securities. It is an enabling/ecosystem participant adjacent to AgStockTrade's matching service rather than a direct competitor — relevant for backend infrastructure or potential partnership.

Broad incumbents

• CME Group (Chicago Mercantile Exchange): CME Group operates major agricultural commodity exchanges (corn, soybeans, livestock) — adjacent rather than directly competitive. AgStockTrade's participating issuers are exposed to CME's underlying commodity prices, and any expansion into equity-style ag instruments would overlap with the broader ag exchange ecosystem.
• Nasdaq Private Market: Nasdaq Private Market is a large, established operator of private company secondary marketplaces backed by Nasdaq. It competes broadly with AgStockTrade for private securities trading, with far deeper capital, technology, and issuer relationships — a direct threat if it moves into ag/biofuel listings.
• Carta (Secondary Markets): Carta's private market secondary offering (formerly Zanbato) provides cap table management plus secondary trading. While primarily a software/SaaS incumbent, its secondary trading module overlaps with AgStockTrade's function of facilitating private share transfers, with vastly greater scale and technology.

Emerging players

• Hiive: Hiive operates a private share marketplace focused on tech and growth-company secondary trading. It is an emerging ATS-style platform with overlapping customer use cases (liquidity for private shareholders) but a different target issuer universe than agricultural LLCs.
• tZERO: tZERO operates an ATS for private company and digital securities, with regulatory and matching-service parallels to AgStockTrade. While focused on blockchain/digital assets, its alternative trading system model directly parallels VIA's ATS structure.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/variable-investment-advisors-inc.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 AgStockTrade