CBOE Holdings plans to list options on the MSCI Emerging Markets Index (EEM) and the MSCI EAFE Index (EAFE) beginning Tuesday, 21 April.
The announcement was made during a CBOE press briefing at the Futures Industry Association conference in Boca Raton, Florida.
In December 2014, CBOE Holdings, Inc. announced it entered into a licensing agreement with MSCI Inc, a leading provider of investment decision support tools worldwide, to offer options trading on several MSCI Indexes. Under the agreement, options on the MSCI Indexes will be solely listed for trading in the US on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE). Options on the EEM and EAFE Indexes are the first of six MSCI Indexes planned to launch in 2015. Later this year, CBOE also plans to offer options on the MSCI ACWI Index, MSCI USA Index, MSCI World Index and the MSCI ACWI ex-USA Index.
Options on the MSCI Emerging Markets Index and the MSCI EAFE Index, two of MSCI's best-known indexes, could become valuable tools for investors looking to efficiently hedge their non-US equity portfolio exposures or to diversify their portfolios. Trading in options on other MSCI Indexes also offers new opportunities to hedge a variety of different exposures.
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index (EEM) captures large- and mid-cap representation across 23 emerging-market countries. With over 800 constituents, the index covers approximately 85 per cent of the free-float-adjusted market capitalisation in each country.
The MSCI EAFE Index (EAFE) is recognised as the pre-eminent benchmark in the United States to measure international equity performance. It comprises MSCI country indexes that represent developed markets outside of North America: Europe, Australasia and the Far East. The MSCI EAFE Index is calculated in US dollars on a real-time basis, and its values are disseminated every 60 seconds during market trading hours.
In total, all of MSCI's Indexes are estimated to have more than USD9.5 trillion benchmarked to them on a worldwide basis. For more information on CBOE's MSCI Index options, see www.cboe.com/MSCI.
Since creating the first cash-settled index option in 1983, CBOE has been a pioneer and leader in index options trading. Today, CBOE lists nearly 20 broad-based index options and is the exclusive home for options on the S&P 500 Index (SPX), the S&P 100 Index (OEX), the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJX), and lists options on the NASDAQ-100 Index (NDX). CBOE exclusively offers trading in options on its CBOE Volatility Index (VIX Index) and a broad array of other volatility-related indexes.
Also, as announced on February 26, CBOE has entered into a licensing agreement with the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) to develop and list options based on more than two dozen FTSE and Russell Indexes, including the FTSE 100 (FTSE) and the Russell 2000 Index (RUT). Options on the FTSE and Russell Indexes will only be available to trade in the US at CBOE.
