Top of the league

In a year of volatile oil prices, geopolitical uncertainty and a new push to develop alternative energy sources, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have cemented their position as the top energy derivatives shops. By Oliver Holtaway, with research by Xiao Long Chen

Even with oil prices slipping, investors continue to enter the commodities markets in droves, while corporate end-users are becoming increasingly sophisticated in the hedging of their energy exposures. This, in turn, has increased competition within energy derivatives trading, particularly in the more liquid, vanilla products.

This year's Energy and Commodity rankings reflect the fierce competition among dealers active in the energy markets. However, while a number of firms expanded their