R.J. O’Brien Announces Expanded Commitment to AutoHedge Agri-Tech Offering, Rebranded as Hrvyst, for Commercial Agriculture Industry

 CHICAGO, Oct. 10, 2019 – Chicago-based R.J. O’Brien & Associates (RJO), the oldest and largest independent futures brokerage and clearing firm in the United States, announced today that the firm has expanded its commitment to its agri-tech offering for the commercial grain industry, originally known as AutoHedge and now rebranded as Hrvyst. Spearheading the strategic initiative full time will be long-time RJO executive Kirk Bonniwell, who had been in charge of the Commercial Grains and OTC Markets divisions. 

RJO Chairman and CEO Gerald Corcoran said: “We believe Hrvyst is positioned to revolutionize the agriculture industry by enabling grain operators to achieve significant economies of scale and superior streamlining of their business. This innovative technology platform helps our clients modernize ag commerce and build a productive bridge to farmers. I’ve asked Kirk to focus exclusively on the initiative going forward, with the expectation that the offering will grow and serve an important role in the industry.” 

Bonniwell said: “Following our early success with select clients, we will continue to build on our hedge management platform while expanding the Hrvyst ecosystem to deliver – in new and exciting ways – a range of products and services to the market.” 

Hrvyst enables users to manage their grain risk in real time, enterprise-wide, automatically converting cash grain movement into futures hedging orders. Conceived and developed internally by the RJO Commercial Agricultural team, Hrvyst automates what has historically been a human process, improving communication, accountability and hedging precision for large grain elevator companies and cooperatives, commercial producers and commercial agricultural operations. 

About R.J. O’Brien & Associates 

Founded in 1914, R.J. O’Brien & Associates is the largest independent futures brokerage and clearing firm in the United States, serving more than 80,000 institutional, commercial and individual clients globally, in addition to a network of approximately 300 introducing brokers (IBs). RJO services the industry’s most expansive global network of IBs, a vast array of middle market firms and many of the world’s largest financial, industrial and agricultural institutions. The firm offers state-of-the-art electronic trading and 24-hour trade execution on every major futures exchange worldwide. RJO has received the FOW International Award for “Non-Bank FCM of the Year” for the past three years. Wealth and Finance International Magazine named the company’s private client division, RJO Futures, “2018’s Most Trusted Financial Brokerage Firm.” At its 2019 U.S. Services Awards, CTA Intelligence named RJO the “Best Independent FCM” – the seventh 

honor bestowed by the magazine on RJO and its UK affiliate. R.J. O’Brien was also the top-ranked broker in Oil Options and Structured Products in Europe in the 2019 Energy Risk Commodities Rankings. 

MEDIA CONTACT: 
Ellen G. Resnick 
Crystal Clear Communications 
773/929-9292; 312/399-9295 (cell) 
eresnick@crystalclearPR.com 

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