More than ever, the marketplace for producers and users of commodities is global in scope. As a result, supply-and-demand factors that once caused barely a ripple in the domestic market now are capable of creating high degrees of unpredictability and price volatility.

This volatility, in turn, poses more difficulties than ever for the profitability of virtually all businesses that are vulnerable to commodity price fluctuations – including producers, processors, importers, exporters, manufacturers, distributors, and end users.

It isn’t only the commodities that companies directly produce, process, or distribute that create these challenges. Businesses also must be able to predict and control the cost of other factors that directly impact their bottom lines, such as interest rates, foreign currencies, and fuel.

But there is an innovative way for companies to manage these risks: FCStone’s Integrated Risk Management Program (IRMP^®) a comprehensive strategy that helps companies not only survive but thrive in today’s difficult commodity environment.

The FCStone IRMP was created by and is managed by our consultants, who have in-depth expertise in the supply-and demand situation for specific commodities, access to our extensive proprietary database and detailed historical knowledge, and substantial experience in creating and using innovative risk management tools.

Selecting the best tools for the job – including exchange-traded futures and options, cash and forward-market contracts, and customized over-the-counter products – our consultants construct a risk-management program that is tailored to your company’s specific needs, and then work closely with you to execute it.

The objective? To limit risk and uncertainty, and improve margins and bottom-line results, so you can concentrate on what you do best: Running your business.