James Cordier, a veteran commodities trader with more than three decades of experience in futures and options markets, has launched OptionSpreaders.com, a US-registered commodity trading advisor focused on managing credit-spread strategies in commodities options.
The new venture positions itself as a specialist in a niche long favoured by institutions but less commonly executed by individual investors.
Cordier, who began his career as a commodities broker in Milwaukee in 1984, said the firm aims to provide a more systematic and transparent route into option-selling strategies, which he argues remain underutilised by retail and high-net-worth investors.
“Most investors buy the market and hope it moves in their favour,” he said. “Our approach is different: rather than predicting direction, we analyse fundamentals in each commodity and select levels far above or below the current price, where we believe the market is unlikely to go. Credit spreads allow us to slow the market down while retaining many of the advantages of pure premium selling.”
OptionSpreaders.com applies a quantitative, rules-based methodology that targets option premium through leveraged, out-of-the-money credit spreads across a diversified basket of a dozen commodities, from agricultural products to energy markets. By seeking returns that are uncorrelated with equity and fixed-income benchmarks, the strategy is intended to complement traditional portfolios during both volatile and range-bound conditions.
Cordier’s shift into option-selling strategies dates back to the mid-1990s, when he concluded that a majority of options purchased by investors expired worthless, leaving sellers with a structural advantage when trades are executed with disciplined risk controls. His views have made him a regular commentator on commodities markets, with appearances across CNBC, Bloomberg, Fox Business and contributions to major financial publications including the Wall Street Journal, Barron’s and Forbes. He is also co-author of The Complete Guide to Option Selling, now in its third edition.
Based in Tampa, Florida, OptionSpreaders.com will manage private portfolios for accredited and high-net-worth investors, including family offices and risk-capital accounts. The firm’s mandate centres on selling deep, out-of-the-money option spreads on a diversified commodities portfolio, a strategy it says can offer investors an alternative source of income that does not depend on stock-market direction or passive buy-and-hold approaches.
Cordier said the firm’s launch reflects growing demand among investors seeking differentiated sources of return at a time when traditional asset classes continue to face uncertainty.