When Deacon Larson was trying to break into the commodity trading industry, he said he found himself on his own with little USC alumni and advising support. Despite the Marshall School of Business’ abundance of investment and consulting clubs, Larson said there is no “formalized pathway” into the area of finance that he feels passionate about.

 “I had to go out there and do it for myself. The advisors didn’t really know how to help me,” said Larson, a junior majoring in business administration.

To address this gap, Larson teamed up with a few peers in November 2025 to prepare for the launch of Trojan Futures Trading, a student organization focusing on futures and commodity trading.

Eitan Rochverger, a member of the Trojan Futures Trading executive board, said he also identified the trading club gap at Marshall. He said he joined the organization because he wanted to create a community focused on the technical side of trading.

Commodity trading is an area of finance where firms buy raw commodities — such as minerals, oil and gas — before transforming them to make profit, according to Larson. These strategies include hedging, futures and financial derivatives, which traders use to protect against losses or profit by predicting how prices will change.

“We wanted to move beyond just basic stocks and really dive into the macro strategy and what is involved in the global markets on a daily basis,” said Rochverger, a sophomore majoring in international relations.

Larson said he envisioned the organization offering a two-level membership, including a general membership program and a core competition team that will feature the most experienced members. 

Larson said the team will compete in trading competitions such as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group University Trading Challenge, an annual competition featuring teams of undergraduate and graduate students.

“Currently, Marshall has no real formalized team or organization that competes in these,” Larson said. “Knowing Marshall, we love to compete. We love to show off the school.”

Rochverger said the organization plans to offer social events and bring in industry professionals as guest speakers. These speaker events will be a part of the general membership program and aim to teach members the basics of futures and commodity trading. 

Rochverger said that one of the guest speakers is expected to be an oil trader from Citibank who specializes in derivatives and oil futures. 

“He went to USC and he knows other traders that went to USC,” Rochverger said. “Having the people in professional careers reach back out to us and offer to come in and speak is a great opportunity for new members in the club.”

Yonatan Ivron, another E-board member of Trojan Futures Trading and a sophomore majoring in business administration, said the club will not be exclusive to students at Marshall. It will be open to all students interested in futures trading. 

“Some of the best commodity traders have been liberal arts majors,” Larson said. “A lot comes from meteorology. That’s a big part in agriculture, and especially in oil and gas, because understanding the weather when people are using their air conditioning [and] how crops are going to be growing are big things.”

Larson said the organization plans to launch “super strong” in the Fall 2026 semester. He said E-board members are currently formulating the general membership program curriculum, reaching out to guest speakers, and “building the basic infrastructure.” 

Rochverger said they are talking to faculty in Marshall to make sure the organizational logistics are ready by next semester because they do not have a faculty advisor yet. 

Rochverger said he envisions the organization becoming the “premier” derivatives, futures and commodities trading organization that has a considerable presence in Marshall and gains visibility on social media platforms like Instagram and LinkedIn. 

“I really hope to expand the club to an even larger educational cohort and really have an E-board that can cover multiple areas,” Rochverger said.