Money Lures Famed Trader Back to Futures : Investments: Richard Dennis is coming out of retirement because of the enormous rise in the value of commodity accounts.

Richard Dennis, a legendary Chicago futures trader, is back in action after a three-year retirement and is out to earn himself a piece of a $20-billion pie.

Dennis’ exploits in Chicago’s futures trading pits earned him the title “Prince of the Pits.” His mere presence on the trading floor would move a market.

The 42-year-old Dennis said the dramatic rise in the value of commodity accounts lured him out of retirement. According to Dennis’ estimates, commodity accounts, which are investment pools of money, are worth $20 billion, compared to $3 billion to $4 billion when he began trading in the 1970s.

He claimed that the investment pools have grown in popularity because they are safer and offer bigger profit potential than some other market-type investments.

The field of investment managers is growing, said Gary Strong, a senior associate at the Financial Relations Board, a Chicago-based investor relations firm. “More money on a percentage basis is flowing into money management accounts than is going straight into commodities or brokerage accounts.”

Richard Dennis and his younger brother Tom launched a company, Dennis Trading Group, which started trading Aug. 1. Its main focus has been grains, metals, energy, financial futures and foreign currencies.

The elder Dennis will guide trading from his downtown Chicago office, about a quarter mile from the Chicago Board of Trade and Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Dennis Trading’s clientele are wealthy accounts of $10 million or more, and dealings will be in the commodity markets of Chicago and New York.

“We have an account of $10 million and we are trading $20 million, which includes our own money,” he said.