Infographic
5 min read

Complexity and volatility driving the need for agile energy risk management technology

Download PDF Version

Introduction

In Q4 2025, CWAN interviewed 100 executives and senior energy and commodity traders, quants, and analysts at specialist trading firms, hedge funds, fund managers, and investment banks across North America and Europe, representing firms responsible for $1.4 trillion in total capital allocated or tradable assets under management. Here are some of our key findings:

huge

Top 3 Concerns

The top 3 respondent concerns were cited as Transparency, Asset Complexity, Asset Coverage and Consolidation.

huge

44%

Rising complexity means 44% of firms are relying on proprietary pricing models which legacy technology can’t support without hacks and workarounds.

huge

53%

of firms reported they’re still using spreadsheets as their primary tool for risk management.

Asset complexity: Instruments evolving, but risk management technologies are not.

Risk visibility: An increasingly blurry picture

huge

1 in 5

respondents report that their view of risk has worsened over the past two years

huge

6%

of firms surveyed rate their visibility as “excellent” / 94% see room for improvement

The industry knows: Time’s up for inflexible legacy technology

huge

49%

want more customization

huge

47%

want higher performance for complex scenarios

huge

62%

of those surveyed plan to upgrade or replace software vendors within the next two years

Top 3 improvement factors firms cite when moving away from outdated front-to-back systems:

  • Open, flexible technology
  • Asset coverage
  • Readiness to support AI integration

Firms who rate their systems as “good” or “excellent” are twice as likely to outperform their peers. The better your risk management technology, the better your firm’s performance.

Conclusion

Flexible deployment models, tailored for every energy trading operation

  • Application

    • Start trading faster with a ready-to-use cloud-based ETRM solution

    • Trade Ingestion | Price ingestion | Live Risk & VaR 
Position Reporting | Analytics & Charting

  • Integration

    • Unlock data from your existing ETRMs

    • Trade & Price Ingestion | Live Risk & VaR | End of day P&L 
Position Reporting | Model Repository

  • Platform

    • Empower quant teams to build and deploy risk models from the ground up

    • Forward Valuation | Multiple Forecast Models
Structured Products | Model Integration

Connect with a Beacon specialist to see what’s possible.

Connect with an Expert

Related
Resources

CWAN Energy & Commodity Trading Report 2025

Explore CWAN’s 2025 Energy & Commodity Trading Report — insights on capital growth, technology adoption, and risk management in global markets.

Reports
Read more