Marex Solutions, a division of global commodities brokerage Marex Spectron, has lured two former Societe Generale’s staff members to join its agricultural business.
David Cohen, who had served as SocGen’s head of Agricultural OTC Desk in London for over three years, was appointed as Head of Agricultural Commodity Solutions. In addition, Nicholas Burke also served as director of OTC agriculture sales in Societe Generale and has joined the brokerage’s OTC derivatives arm to lead its US agricultural commodity sales.
The duo parted ways with the French banking group after it decided to close its proprietary and over-the-counter commodities business, including its metals trading, as part of a global cost-cutting exercise involving 1,600 job reductions.
However, Marex Solutions expects that demand for such services to be relatively resilient as clients benefit from a competitive funding level from a multinational counterparty and achieve customized exposure to a broad spectrum of underlying assets.
Marex expands while others exit commodities business
Marex Spectron’s structured investment products support the group’s growth during one of the more tumultuous times for the industry, as there is a high degree of turnover amongst banks and other competitors, many of which are exiting the space. Overall, the expansion of the investment vehicles offers more opportunities to Marex Spectron, allowing it to better meet capital and Liquidity management demands.
The past year saw Marex Spectron also solidify its position across global commodities markets, including seeing its volumes maintain the top spot on the London Metal Exchange (LME), as well as on the LME Select electronic platform. In terms of the energy sector, the group was a top three broker across agriculture, including soft commodities such as sugar, coffee, cocoa, and European grains options.
Commenting on the new hires, Marex Solutions CEO Nilesh Jethwa said: “Marex Solutions is fast-growing and is always looking to add the highest calibre of sector specialists. As well-known veterans in the agricultural commodity markets, David and Nicholas bring a powerful combination of experience and business-building skills. Since our launch, agriculture has been central to our offering and we see significant opportunities to further develop this side of our business.”
