End-to-end solutions for customers around the globe

Understanding the Platform

The Natural Capital Platform™ acts as the buyer for every seller and the seller for every buyer. Our efficient, secure, transparent processes back every trade. The Natural Capital Platform™ provides end-to-end solutions for customers around the globe.

In essence, The Natural Capital Platform™acts as the private clearinghouse for all members and customers that hold a Natural Capital Platform Atlas Account™. The Natural Capital Platform™is a designated intermediary between all buyers and all sellers in the commodities and assets markets it operates. The Natural Capital Platform™ validates and finalizes each respective transaction, ensuring that both the buyer and the seller honor their contractual obligations, and undertakes the responsibilities as principal for the same.

The responsibilities of The Natural Capital Platform™ include "clearing" or finalizing trades, settling trading accounts, collecting margin payments, regulating delivery of the assets to their new owners, and reporting trading data to authorities where and when applicable.

Financial institutions and qualified institutional buyers (“QIBs”) are eligible to become “Clearing Members of The Natural Capital Platform™”.  In broad terms, QIBs are institutional investors that own or manage on a discretionary basis at least $100 million worth of securities, commodities, assets, and cash equivalents. The Natural Capital Platform™ also acts as the private clearinghouse for spot transactions, forwards contracts, futures contracts, and options contracts, as buyers to every Clearing Member Seller, and as sellers to every Clearing Member Buyer.

The Natural Capital Platform™ enters the picture after a buyer and a seller execute an order form or trade ticket through their Natural Capital Atlas Account™. Its role is to accomplish the steps that finalize, and therefore validate, the transaction ordered. The Natural Capital Platform™ provides the security and efficiency that is integral to stability in the private commodities, assets, and investments market.

In order to act efficiently, The Natural Capital Platform™ takes the opposite position of each trade, which greatly reduces the cost and risk of settling multiple transactions among multiple parties. While its mandate is to reduce risk, the fact that The Natural Capital Platform™ has to act as both buyer and seller at the inception of a trade means that it is subject to default risk from both parties. To mitigate this, The Natural Capital Platform™ impose margin requirements.

All members and customers of  The Natural Capital Platform™ are required to clear their trades through their Natural Capital Atlas Account™ at the end of each trading session and to deposit with the The Natural Capital Platform™ a sum of money, based on its margin requirements, that is sufficient to cover a respective member's debit balance.

The initial margin can be viewed as a good faith assurance that the client can afford to hold the trade until it is closed. These funds are held by The Natural Capital Platform™ firm but within the client’s Natural Capital Atlas Account™, and can't be used for other trades. The intention is to offset any losses the client may experience in the transaction.

The maintenance margin, usually a fraction of the initial margin requirement, is the amount that must be available in a client's account to keep the trade open. If the client's account equity drops below this threshold, the account holder will receive a margin call demanding that the account be replenished to the level that satisfies the initial margin requirements.

If the trader fails to meet the margin call, the trade will be closed since the account cannot reasonably withstand further losses.

In this example, The Natural Capital Platform™ has ensured that there is sufficient money in the account to cover any losses that the account holder may suffer in the trade. Once the trade is closed, the remaining margin funds are released to the client. The process has helped reduce default risk. In its absence, one party could back out of the agreement or fail to produce money owed at the end of the transaction. In general, this is termed transactional risk and is obviated by the involvement of The Natural Capital Platform™.

Financial & Regulatory Surveillance

We monitor the capital requirements of clearing members based on the risk associated with each of their positions as well as our assessment of their internal controls, risk-management policies, and back-office operations.

• • • • Surveillance programs
      • Joint Audit Committee overview
      • Forms library

Financial & Collateral Management

To meet the needs of our clearing firms and end-clients, we accept a diverse portfolio of assets as collateral for deposit into trading accounts. 

• • • • Accepted collateral
      • Related resources

Operations & Deliveries

A comprehensive guide to help you understand the clearing process, from accepted trade types, payment systems, transaction timelines and more.

• • • • Payment systems
      • Clearing manuals
      • Logistics, storage, & delivery rules

The Natural Capital Platform™ provides clearing services for customers around the globe that transact through their Atlas Account™, which enables market participants to significantly mitigate and manage their risk exposures.

By acting as the counterparty for every trade, The Natural Capital Platform™ helps you mitigate counterparty risk by maintaining a matched book and risk-neutral position. You do not have to worry about the other end of your trade falling through, because The Natural Capital Platform™ is always on the other end.

The resulting centrally cleared environment brings many benefits to the marketplace, including transparency of market pricing, market metrics, risk management practices and financial safeguards. Since a central clearing counterparty guarantees the performance of all trades, there is neutrality to every transaction, with uniform risk management standards.

Clearing Members

Clearing members provide access to The Natural Capital Platform™ for customers that they manage through an Atlas Account™. Clearing Members must be authorized financial institutions or registered as a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM). Collateral deposited by customers must be segregated from an financial institution’s or FCM’s own funds.

Brokers vs Juro Relationship Officers

A broker is a person or entity through with customers can be introduced to a financial institution or principal in which the customer can place orders and make trades. The Natural Capital Platform™ does not work with brokers, and no broker fees are paid through the platform. The Natural Capital Platform™ only works with Juro Relationship Officers (“JROs”) that are registered with Juro JPD Management Consultancies LLC. Registered JROs not only introduce customers and clients, they are responsible for the administrative and regulatory paperwork required by The Natural Capital Platform™. JROs are compensated directly by The Natural Capital Platform™ and no “Buy Side / Sell Side” commissions arrangements exist in the platform. The Natural Capital Platform™ handles the back office operations after the trade is placed, ensuring the trade is cleared, and undertakes the financial responsibility for settlement.

Performance Bonds 

The Natural Capital Platform™ collects performance bonds (initial margin) on a daily basis, collateralizing the risk of potential future losses on positions and performs daily mark-to-market of all open positions to eliminate the accumulation of debt obligations in the market.

Performance bonds are good-faith deposits to guaranty performance of open positions against potential future losses. Performance bond requirements provide coverage for a minimum of 99% of market volatility for a given historical period. Requirements are recalculated twice daily for most products, and at least once daily for all products.

Clearing Members collect performance bond from their customers and The Natural Capital Platform™ collects performance bond from clearing members. If a customer has an Atlas Account™ with  JRO, The Natural Capital Platform™ collects the performance bond in the customer’s Atlas Account™. Performance bond requirements vary by product, commodity, asset class,  and reflect changes in market volatility.

Mark-To-Market

Mark-to-market prevents the accumulation of exposures on positions. Clearing Member positions are marked-to-market at each clearing cycle, resulting in the movement of cash for gains and losses on clearing member and customer portfolios.

Mark-to-market must be met with cash; however, performance bond requirements can be met with cash or non-cash collateral. To meet the needs of our clearing members and end-clients, The Natural Capital Platform™ accepts a diverse portfolio of assets as collateral for performance bond deposit.

Ask us for more information about accepted collateral.