COMMERCIAL HEDGING SERVICES
Dedicated to helping clients actively manage risk & operate from positions of strength.
Success in today’s global grain market takes a unique balance of production, marketing and risk management. Walsh Commercial Hedging Services is dedicated to partnering with our clients to actively manage this risk.
We have been fortunate to service some of the largest companies in the world, in their respective fields. If you are a producer, end user, cooperative, miller, feeder, or financial institution, we have the team to assist you in your market-related endeavors.
Our Mission
At Walsh Commercial Hedging Services, we consider it our mission to assist our commercial customers with the important decisions that affect their business. Utilizing our program, we help our clients overcome the emotional side of risk management decisions and stay focused and disciplined to improve their bottom line.
It is our belief that partnering with farmers to improve their marketing skills and make successful market decisions is crucial to help the producer and their operation thrive regardless of market conditions.
Our Ag Marketing Plan
Our program consists of you working one-on-one with a member of our agriculture management team to address the risks associated with your individual operation and develop a plan.
We don’t speculate on prices. We work with what we know to manage risk and keep you informed, helping you become a better marketer.
We attempt to provide futures and option strategies that enable you to operate from a position of strength and sell cash grain to take advantage of rallies in the cash market.
Foundations of our Risk Management Program
- Know the customer.
- Communication is paramount in any relationship.
- Manage the inherent risk while attempting to maximize marketing opportunities.
- Trade off acceptable risk/reward ratios and parameters.
- No speculating.
Contact Us
Industries Serviced
Grain and Oilseed
Livestock
Dairy
Renewable Fuels
Softs
Textiles
Energy
Metals
Forest
Shipping
Currency
Equities
Fixed Income
Market Insights
Information is key for good risk management. Our veteran team of brokers provides commentary and insights on both market fundamentals and technicals. Written commentary currently includes:
- Agricultural Daily
- Global Economic Daily
- Weekly World Agricultural Supply & Demand
- Weekly Livestock Commentary
- Weekly Grain Spread Commentary
- Weekly Chart of the Day
- Pure Hedge - Livestock & Grain
- Walsh Gamma Trader
- Walsh Pure Hedger
- Special Reports
We are proud to offer these easily-digestible reports. Through our email subscription, you can receive the latest reports of interest to you. Sign up to get our email updates by clicking the button below.
WEBINARS
Walsh Trading offers a variety of free weekly webinars to keep our clients informed and up to date. On Tuesdays at 3PM CST we host our Livestock Outlook webinar with Ben DiCostanzo and on Thursdays at 3PM CST we host our Grain Market Outlook webinar with Sean Lusk.
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Livestock Outlook on Tuesday, March 17th at 3:15PM CST
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Grain Market Outlook on Thursday, March 19th at 3PM CST
Upcoming Webinars
GET INVITES
Recent Webinars
Grain Market Outlook
Thursday, March 12th - WATCH NOW >
Livestock Outlook
Tuesday, March 10th WATCH NOW >
PLATFORMS
Superior technology and reliable service is what we provide when we approach your online trading needs. Our range of choices allows you to customize your trading screens, trade global futures products and reach your trading goals. Our suite of platforms also provides swift and secure access to the markets and real-time and historical charting packages. We offer a free trial of any of our platforms to find the one fits your needs.
We are pleased to announce the release of our proprietary online trading platform, Walsh Continental Trader. LEARN MORE AND REQUEST YOUR FREE TWO WEEK TRIAL >>
Current Platform Offerings
Request a Free Trial
Our Team
Executive Team
Sean Lusk, Vice President Walsh Commercial Hedging Services Division Sean Lusk is a registered commodity broker and Vice President of the Commercial Hedging Division of Walsh Trading in Chicago. Sean began in the business as a runner on the trading floor during summer breaks from college in 1993. Upon his graduation from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale in 1996, Sean began his career on the trading floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). Overseeing billions of dollars of transactions working as a clerk in the Eurodollar pit, Sean took the next step and became a floor broker and member of the CME in 2003. He handled customer orders for banks and investment houses from all over the world from inside the Libor pit at the CME. Now, at Walsh Trading, Sean utilizes his experience in the marketplace and his professional client service skills to aid and assist customers in their trading endeavors. Sean writes daily and weekly commentaries focusing the Agricultural Markets along with related market activity. He has been quoted in various media outlets discussing futures markets. These include, Futures Magazine, Reuters, Forbes, Kitco, Nikkei Press and CCTV.com.
Contact Sean
Phone: 312-957-8103 or 888-391-7894
Email: slusk@walshtrading.com
Register for Sean's Grain Market Outlook Webinar on Thursday, March 19th at 3PM CST >
View a Recording of Sean's latest Grain Market Outlook Webinar >
Specialists
Ben DiCostanzo, Senior Technical Analyst
Ben is a graduate of Pace University with a degree in Accounting. In 1984, he became a member of The Index and Options Markets of the CME. He is Series 3 Licensed. Ben has been involved in many areas of the Securities industry, from working as a runner on the NYSE to taking care of professional traders and institutional clients for Salomon Brothers on the CME. He traded equities as a local before moving on and working with individual clients.
Ben understands that every client's need are different and he prides himself in tailoring his service to each client's unique circumstances and needs. Individual client experience, risk tolerance, and capital all play a role in how he approaches the markets. He is very involved in all markets using technical analysis to find opportunities. Ben's approach is driven by principles of capital preservation. His trading philosophy is that if you can recognize and manage risk, you have a better chance to be successful in trading. Ben advises all his clients to always use stops as money management - in his opinion, it is the most important ingredient in trading commodities.
Contact Ben
Phone: 312-957-4163 or 800-556-9411
Email: bdicostanzo@walshtrading.com
Register for Ben's Livestock Outlook Webinar on Tuesday, March 17th at 3:15PM CST >
View a Recording of Ben's latest Livestock Outlook Webinar >
Michael O'Donnell, Senior Market Strategist
Mike's career started as a trade checker for a local market maker in the Dow pit on the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) prior to the acquisition by Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). While focusing on a finance major and business administration he began an internship with an independent introducing broker (IIB), where he initially registered as a series 3 commodity futures associated person and began working with clients trading a number of markets.
In the decades that have followed, Mr. O'Donnell has worked with a number of market participants and sectors. Sectors include: Rates, Currencies, Agriculture, Energy, Metals, Stock Market Indices & Softs. Market Participants worked with include: Hedgers, Speculators, Commodity Trading Advisors, Indpenedent Traders, Pit Committee Members, Proprietary Traders, Registered Investment Advisors, Producers and End Users, Reportable Traders, Educators, System Traders, etc.
Rich has greatly appreciated his transition into the agricultural markets, while continuing to focus on spreads. His communication skills, along with his attention to detail were among the strengths that contributed to his success in the intertest rate markets and he has transitioned these traits to the agricultural sector.
When working with clients Mike primarily considers the individual client's needs as well as a number of technical and fundamental factors in addition to recent developments and how these factors all work together. Whether it is a key technical level or formation, significant fundamental shift, developing economic news such a geopolitical announcement or economic report release or development he has been asked to comment on, Mike is at the forefront of the days changes in the marketplace.
In addition to being primarily available to highly valued clients, Mike as also been tasked with covering crude oil and other markets for FCM newsletters and been quoted in outlets such as CNBC and Reuters.
If there is anything else you would like to know or for a free consultation to discuss how it may be possible to work with Michael O'Donnell, please find his contact information below.
Contact Mike
Phone: 312-957-8241 or 888-391-8241
Email: modonnell@walshtrading.com