CRG Associates
Edward Meir
Edward Meir was named the most accurate price forecaster for LME base metals in five of the last ten years through 2020, as ranked by the Fastmarkets APEX analyst survey. He obtained a top-five ranking in precious metals in five of the past seven years as well, including a #1 finish in 2019 and a #2 finish in the prestigious LBMA Precious Metals Survey.
Mr. Meir’s CRG firm currently provides commodity research expertise to Marex, having provided similar services to EDF Man Capital from 2019-2022, StoneX (2011-2019) and to MF Global (2003-2011). Prior to becoming involved in research full-time, Mr. Meir traded nonferrous metals out of Europe, China, and Russia, utilizing the physical experience he gained while working as a trader with UK-based Trans-World Metals.
Mr. Meir speaks often at various commodity conferences and is frequently quoted in the press. He has also assisted legal cases as an expert witness.
Mr. Meir obtained his BA in Economics from Montreal’s McGill University and his MBA from New York University. He is a long-standing registered principal with the National Futures Association. CRG itself is registered with the NFA as an independent introducing broker.
Andrew Lebow
Andrew Lebow has been involved in the energy derivative area since 1980. He began his career with Shearson Lehman Brothers where he worked in the initial formulation and marketing of the NYMEX WTI crude contract in 1983 as well as the NYMEX gasoline contract in 1985. Mr. Lebow was instrumental in educating various segments of the industry on how to utilize oil futures to hedge against price risk. Throughout his subsequent career at Man Financial and Jefferies LLC, he continued his work on designing hedge programs for producers, refiners, midstream marketers, merchant traders, and end users.
Mr. Lebow has appeared before the State Government of Alaska as well as the State Department of Defense to discuss hedging techniques. He has also given numerous lectures internationally on how to use futures and options to hedge. Mr. Lebow is also well known as a market analyst and is quoted frequently in the financial press. He has appeared on television on CNBC, NBC, CNN, CBS, and PBS. Mr. Lebow holds a BA from Lafayette College and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
James Colburn
Jim Colburn is a futures and options professional with 30 years of wide ranging experience in commodity markets. For much of his career, at Man Financial (1989-2011) and Jefferies LLC (2012-2013), Mr. Colburn worked with major integrated oil companies, hedge funds, pension funds and other entities to develop market hedging and trading strategies. He has conducted trading, hedging and risk management workshops in energy markets worldwide.
Mr. Colburn is a published author on options trading, hedging, market making and risk management. In 1986, while at the New York Mercantile Exchange, Mr. Colburn helped develop new markets in energy option contracts by educating the oil industry, banks, floor traders and brokers, worldwide.
Mr. Colburn began his career as a grains analyst for the World Agricultural Outlook Board at the USDA. Currently, he is the sole proprietor of James T. Colburn, LLC, an economic consulting firm specializing in agricultural and energy markets. Mr. Colburn has a Masters of Science in Agricultural Economics (now named the Dyson School) from Cornell University and a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Southern Connecticut State College.
Bill Perlman
Bill Perlman is a software development consultant, specializing in financial applications for the hedge fund industry. For the past 20 years, he has implemented trading strategy, risk management, back-office automation, and quantitative analysis solutions at funds that need a unique combination of domain and technical expertise.
From 2016 to 2019, Mr. Perlman served as CTO of the Finch Investment Group, a hedge fund managing large portfolios of Tax Certificate investments. There, he built a team that automated Finch’s complex workflow, database and reporting requirements. From 2012 to 2016 Mr. Perlman provided both CTO and CRO consulting services to Thorium Asset Management, a hedge fund specializing in energy futures and options market making and prior to that, was a partner at Arctos Trading, a hedge fund specializing in HFT arbitrage and liquidity provision in the energy markets. A Java based real-time arbitrage platform he developed successfully captured pricing opportunities between CME Globex and the Intercontinental Exchange’s direct access platform.
Prior to 2008, Mr. Perlman implemented a variety of futures and options based trading strategies, including operating his own commodity options market making firm on the floor of the New York Commodity Exchange Center. He and his employees provided liquidity in the energy, metals and soft commodity options pits of the Nymex, Comex and Nybot exchanges.
Mr. Perlman holds a BA from Northwestern University.