Our guest this episode is Professor Nikos Nomikos, an expert in shipping trade and finance. He has experience in researching freight derivatives and their use in managing freight exposure for shipping companies. In an insight packed 20 minutes on the Freight Up podcast from FIS he notes that charters are more active in the freight derivatives market than ship owners, who primarily focus on managing costs to survive the volatile shipping markets. However, shipping is an industry ripe for investment due to its role in facilitating the vast majority of global trade. So there's a suggestion that institutional investors could benefit from considering one key change to their portfolio. Chapters:00:00:00 Expert In Shipping Finance And Trade: Balancing Academia And Industry Experience00:03:10 Our expert's Journey Towards Freight Derivative Studies.00:06:30 Educating About The Benefits Of Trade Derivatives For Managing Risk And Creating A Balanced Portfolios00:12:35 Institutional Investment In Shipping IndustryKey Takeaways: 1. Shipping is responsible for 92% of global trade, making it a potential opportunity for portfolio diversification.2. Shipping exposure is not a mainstream topic and is not a significant part of institutional investment portfolios.3. The speaker suggests that the paper market may play a more important role in determining the spot freight market in the future, as seen in other commodity markets such as crude oil.