CBOE Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBOE) today announced that it plans to list futures and options with weekly expirations on the CBOE Volatility Index® (VIX® Index), the leading market barometer of U.S. equity market volatility.
VIX Weeklys futures are expected to begin trading at CBOE Futures Exchange (CFE®) in July, subject to regulatory review. VIX Weeklys options are expected to begin trading at Chicago Board Options Exchange® (CBOE®) shortly thereafter, also subject to regulatory approval.
The VIX Index is based on real-time prices of options on the S&P 500® Index (SPX) and is designed to reflect investors' consensus expectations for 30-day stock market volatility. The introduction of VIX options and futures with weekly expirations to the standard monthly futures and options expirations will give investors added opportunities to establish positions based on the popular VIX Index.
"Weeklys continue to be one of the fastest-growing products industrywide, and we’re pleased to answer the demand from market participants for additional products with the launch of our new VIX Weeklys," said CBOE Holdings CEO Edward T. Tilly. "VIX Weeklys will complement our standard VIX options and futures, and by 'filling the gaps' between monthly expirations, we are providing investors with new opportunities to establish short-term VIX positions, and fine-tune the timing of their hedging and trading activities."
Contracts with weekly expirations allow investors to implement more targeted buying, selling, spreading or hedging strategies. In addition, futures and options with weekly expirations can help investors take advantage of breaking news or known economic events, such as earnings, monthly U.S. economic reports and Fed announcements.
In 2005, CBOE pioneered the short-term options space by introducing the first weekly expiring options contract. Except for more frequent expiration dates, Weeklys generally have the same contract specifications as monthly expiring contracts.
CBOE and CFE may list up to six consecutive weekly expirations for VIX options and futures. For more information on VIX Weeklys futures and options, go to www.cboe.com/VIXWeeklys/.
CBOE is the home of volatility trading. An innovator in the volatility space and leading creator of measures that track market volatility, CBOE currently publishes data on more than three-dozen volatility-related benchmarks and strategies, including indexes that track broad-based indexes, sector and commodity-related ETFs, individual equities and others. Additional information on VIX futures and options and CBOE’s entire suite of volatility products can be found at www.cboe.com/Volatility.