John Welsh
Mr. Welsh is a 35-year veteran of the futures industry and is committed to serving those who trade in the futures and options markets.
John’s perspective has been finely tuned through a rare combination of academic and professional experiences in both communications and finance. He holds a B.A. degree from the University of Kansas and worked initially as a television journalist.
His objectivity and skills were noticed by an Amarillo, Texas cattle trading company, which hired him to help forecast trends and opportunities. John then joined Merrill Lynch and began his long and successful career as a commodity broker.
John’s clients include:
-Individuals who desire excellent execution yet prefer to make their own trading decisions
-Individuals seeking professional advice or assistance in developing trading plans
-Individuals who request assistance in identifying managed futures programs that are compatible with their financial capabilities, risk tolerance, and expectations
-Professional traders and fund managers
"My years in the industry have allowed me a complex insight into successful and unsuccessful trading strategies and styles. I have worked with large institutional and commercial accounts to facilitate hedging strategies and understand the unique criteria involved in each relationship. Longevity has helped me recognize what clients need and value in a broker relationship.”
Mr. Welsh has been a contributor to The Nightly Business Report on PBS, has appeared on CNN and CNBC, and has held a regular guest spot on WCIU-TV Channel 26 in Chicago. He has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Crain’s Chicago Business, Financial World, The Chicago Tribune, Trusts & Estates Magazine, Worth, and Bloomberg Business News. He has also contributed to educational videos produced by The Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
(800) 769-7021 | (623) 249-6090
Kevin Combs
Kevin is Branch Manager of the Oakland, CA Branch Office and a Associated Person of The PRICE Futures Group. Kevin is also Vice President & Global Sweetener Specialist at McKeany-Flavell. After joining McKeany-Flavell in 1999, Kevin became a specialist on sugar trade with Mexico. Kevin plays a vital role within their information sales team, advising clients in the food and beverage industries on commodities including sugar, corn sweeteners, cocoa and chocolate, and edible oils. Kevin develops much of the sugar intelligence prepared for their clients, focusing on supply and demand, market trends, international trade, government policy, and risk management. Kevin helps suppliers and users with the sale and purchase of many commodities.
Kevin earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of California, Davis and holds a Series 3 securities license.
Michael Caughlan
Mike is an Associated Person of The PRICE Futures Group. Mike is also President & CEO at McKeany-Flavell. Mike’s commercial and economic perspectives on cocoa and sweeteners have earned him a well-regarded reputation among clients since he joined McKeany-Flavell in 2003. With more than 20 years of experience in sales management and strategic planning at both the national and international levels, Mike enjoys working with clients using new approaches to help them solve current needs and future challenges.
He contributes regularly to established trade publications and provides market analysis and strategic forecasting to some of the food and beverage industry’s most notable companies.
Mike graduated from Washington State University with a bachelor’s degree in Marketing and International Business and holds a Series 3 securities license.
Nicole Thomas
Nicole is an Associated Person of The PRICE Futures Group. Nicole is also Vice President, Senior Commodity Analyst, and the head of the Information Service department at McKeany-Flavell. With over a decade of expertise in the commodity and food sector, Nicole stays abreast of multiple commodity markets (cash and futures) and the ingredient markets they impact. She is a frequent speaker and panelist at major trade events, has led multiple McKeany-Flavell studies on sugar, corn, corn-derived products, soybean, and edible oils markets, and is called upon regularly by the media for commentary on those markets.
Prior to McKeany-Flavell and The PRICE futures Group, Nicole held various positions with Bunge North America. She currently holds both Series 3 and 30 licenses for hedging commodities. Nicole earned a bachelor’s of science in Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing from Saint Louis University.
Frank A. Petricca
Mr. Petricca is a former member of the CME, registered with the National Futures Association as a Branch Manager.
In 1973 Frank Petricca visited a friend at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. He was fascinated and decided to seek employment in the futures industry. He obtained a position with Dean Witter Inc. as a clerk/runner. In 1975 Frank was promoted to head of floor operations for Dean Witter. In 1976 He made a move to Woodstock Commodities and became an Account Executive. In 1980 he opened a branch office of Woodstock under his corporate name, Combine Commodities, Inc. The branch specialized in serving both individuals and corporate customers in the farm community and grew to a staff of 50 brokers by 1985. Combine Commodities became one of the more prominent agriculture offices in the country servicing Producers in the United States and Canada. In 1995 Frank created his company focusing on a long term approach formulated for Commodity Traders that are interested in long term accumulation. Frank is a former member of the CME, registered with the National Futures Association as a Branch Manager.
(630) 443-1087
Robert Lowrey
Mr. Lowrey has been involved in the agricultural sector for 24 years as a grain and livestock producer.
Robert is presently working with numerous grain and livestock producers managing risk and assisting in building marketing strategies to better market their commodities.
As manager of The PRICE Futures Group’s Nebraska branch office, his goal is to help educate producers in risk management strategies using cash, futures, and options, specializing in hog, cattle, corn, and soybean marketing.
(800) 327-5410 | (402) 274-3285
Duncan Frank
Mr. Frank joined The PRICE Futures Group in the summer of 2013. He grew up in northern Oklahoma and worked at his family farm and ranch. He attended Oklahoma State University where he received a degree in Business Animal Science.
Duncan then moved to Guymon, Oklahoma, located in the center of the cattle feeding industry and feedlot operations, starting out as a feeder cattle buyer. In 1983 he became a commodities futures broker in a local brokerage firm. He has contributed to an agricultural futures news radio report for 30 years.
Duncan has 30 years of experience in agricultural hedging and speculative trading.
(580) 338-5591
Richard Ebel
Mr. Ebel began his career in the commodity industry with Merrill Lynch in 1969. He then moved to Chicago in 1972, becoming a member of the Chicago Board of Trade shortly thereafter, in 1973.
Richard graduated from Portland State University with a B.S. degree in International Economics and spent three years in USMC as an officer, serving in Vietnam as a combat engineer, and was highly decorated.
He joined Paine Webber in 1975 and was one of the first brokers on the Chicago Board of Trade to handle customer accounts directly from the floor. He was also chairman of the floor governors committee for three years. In 1983 he moved to Portland, Oregon to continue his career as a futures broker with Paine Webber / UBS.
Joining The PRICE Futures Group as the Oregon Branch manager in early 2009, his specialty continues to be the soybean complex, and his customers are some of the largest commercials in the world, covering the spectrum from crushers to end users for both soybean oil and meal.
He is a fundamental trader, but uses technical trading as part of his overall trading style, striving to use spreads as a basis for his trading opportunities and relying a lot on his “trading instinct” which is hard to define, but could be best summed up to his 40 years of experience, where each year is a new learning experience. He has served as an arbitrator for the NFA and is currently Series 3, 30, 7, and 65 registered.
(800) 769-7021 | (503) 936-9559
David P. Pankiw
David has been actively involved in the investment business for more than 30 years, beginning his career in 1986 working for a subsidiary of Integrated Resources. In 1993, expanding into Financial Planning, he became an early adopter of fee based investment management initially using index portfolios. As his fee based business grew, the addition of separate account managers and tactical asset allocation complemented his strategy on portfolio allocations. In 1999 he joined a local RIA firm to become more independent of conflict on interests, and joined Spire Investment Partners in 2003, where he became part of the Advisory Board overseeing over $1.5 Billion in Assets. In 2010 David and his partner formed CUBIC Advisors, their own independent firm.
Since taking his first exam on Black Monday, October 19, 1987, he has focused his clients’ portfolios from a risk management side, while helping them produce stable income. Realizing that traditional investments were not providing the non-correlation required to reduce risk, David decided to add Managed Futures to his portfolio allocation becoming an Introducing Broker in 2012. With the majority of his clientele in their retirement years, risk management is a steadfast consideration.
David is manager of The PRICE Futures Group’s Pennsylvania branch office. David is also Partner of CUBIC Advisors, LLC, an Investment Advisory firm located in the Philadelphia area. He is graduate of Widener University, Chester PA with a BS degree in Business, and has obtained his MSFS degree, Masters of Science in Financial Services, and holds a Series 3 securities license.
He has hosted his own local radio talk show called “Square Talk on the Markets” and has been a contributor to the Journal of Personal Finance and Marketwatch.com.
(312) 273-4055
Brent Skaggs
Mr. Skaggs joined The PRICE Futures Group after 7 years with Amarillo Brokerage Company. Brent was previously a Market Analyst with the Texas Cattle Feeders Association.
Brent graduated from Texas A&M University in 1997 with an Agricultural Economics degree. He interned with the USDA and worked at Texas Agricultural Extension Service.
He now specializes in risk management for stocker operations, grain hedging inventories, and working with regional cattle feeders. He is also manager of the Amarillo, Texas branch office.
(888) 435-1060 | (806) 463-1060
Tyler J. Head
Mr. Head joined The PRICE Futures Group after 9 years with Amarillo Brokerage Company.
T.J. received a Master of Agriculture degree with an emphasis in Risk Management and Finance from Texas A&M University. T.J. now specializes in farm and ranch risk management, trading, and fundamental market analysis, working primarily with commercial cattle feeders.
(888) 435-1060 | (806) 463-1060