AEGIS SEF, LLC (“AEGIS Markets”), a CFTC-regulated marketplace for commodity hedging, today announced record first-quarter performance, underscoring accelerating adoption of its digital execution platform and the continued migration away from legacy bilateral trading workflows.
During the first quarter of 2026, AEGIS Markets facilitated over $26 billion in notional hedging volume, representing its highest quarterly volume to date and a 71% increase over prior records. Growth was driven by both new Participant onboarding and increased activity from existing users, reflecting deepening engagement across the network.
Trading activity included approximately 300 million barrels of oil and refined products and 1.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, reinforcing AEGIS Markets’ position as a critical infrastructure layer in commodity risk transfer.
“AEGIS Markets is benefiting from a structural shift toward digitization in commodity hedging,” said Andrew Furman, President of AEGIS Markets. “We are seeing strong network effects as increased Dealer participation drives better execution outcomes, which in turn attract additional commercial users to the platform.”
Notably, self-directed Participant volume grew 93%, highlighting expanding adoption beyond advisor-mediated workflows and signaling increasing platform stickiness and scalability. Dealer participation also reached a record level, further enhancing liquidity and execution quality.
Natural gas volumes exceeded typical seasonal patterns in March, supported by continued onboarding and increased utilization by Commercial End Users. This trend reflects a broader transition from fragmented, manual execution methods, such as chat, email, and phone, to integrated digital workflows.
“AEGIS Markets delivers a fully auditable, end-to-end transaction lifecycle from execution through settlement that is aligned with the governance and control requirements of institutional Participants,” said Melody Valenzuela, Chief Compliance Officer. “This level of infrastructure is increasingly essential as companies face greater scrutiny around risk management and financial reporting.”
The platform continues to expand its capabilities to support enterprise-scale adoption, including enhanced bulk hedge authorization and governance workflows. These investments are designed to increase throughput, reduce operational friction, and enable adoption across trading, finance, and audit functions within large organizations.
“As functionality evolves, we’re enabling broader adoption across commodity marketing, finance, and audit teams,” Furman added. “The result is a faster, more efficient hedging process with clear accountability at every stage.”
In the quarter, AEGIS Markets also launched Insights Pro, an advanced analytics offering for Dealers to enable enhanced decision-making.
1Q 2026 Highlights:
- $26B+ notional volume (+71%)
- 463K contracts traded in the quarter (+71%)
- 248K contracts traded in a single month (+83%)
- Self-directed volume +93% (fastest-growing segment)
- Participating hedgers +21%
- Participating Dealers: 39
