Capital
Approach
Capital
Own balance sheet. Tier-1 counterparties. No external dependence.
The firm trades on its own balance sheet, supported by a working trade finance relationship with HSBC Hong Kong. Position sizing is set against own capital, hedged exposure and counterparty credit. Volume is never the objective.
This structure allows Matrix to perform on full vessel cargoes against tier-1 counterparties without leaning on external capital, and to hold inventory through the voyage when the trade economics call for it.
Closer in structure to a hedge fund than a conventional trading house, the firm takes volatility when the economics call for it, within a dynamic Value-at-Risk (VaR) framework strongly based on proprietary metrics indexed to our own physical market intercepts. Peers with capital tied to refineries, terminals, or fleets carry asset-side risk that often constrains the same flexibility.
Risk Management
Counterparty. Market. Operational. Each governed independently.
Counterparty exposure is governed by pre-trade due diligence covering beneficial ownership, trade history, banking standing, and full sanctions screening across OFAC, EU, UK and UN regimes. Every counterparty is cleared before fixture and revisited at execution. Market exposure is hedged on ICE and CME, marked to market daily, with hard position limits and institutional discipline applied to every open book. Operational risk is contained through independent inspection at load and discharge, vetted vessel selection, full AIS and ownership review, and appropriate insurance cover at every leg of the voyage.
The principle is plain. Identify what risk is unavoidable. Quantify it. Carry only what the deal pays the firm to carry.
How We Trade
Three lines of activity. Each one reinforces the others.
The book splits across three lines of activity, and they reinforce each other.
Long-Term Offtake
Long-term offtake and supply contracts give producers consistent demand, refiners a reliable supply of feedstock, and the firm a stable margin backbone and a continuous read on physical flows. These relationships are the gravity of the business.
Active Arbitrage
Active arbitrage trading is where Matrix earns its edge. The desk monitors crude differentials, freight indices, storage curves and regional crack spreads in real time, and moves barrels between the Gulf, Singapore, ARA and the Mediterranean when the structure opens. When it does not, the desk waits.
Spot Vessel Parcels
Spot vessel-parcel work runs alongside both. The firm lifts opportunistic cargoes from refiner and trader sellers, holds them through the voyage where the carry is paid for, and places them into receiving markets at the right window. This is where freight reading, local intelligence and timing matter most, and where a clean balance sheet pays for itself.
We do not trade for activity. The firm trades where the economics are clear, the counterparty stands up to scrutiny, and the operational risk is one we can carry.