The CBOEFLEX.net system will be based on Cinnober's TRADExpress Trading Engine and will also utilize the over-the-counter (OTC) platform Ctrade. Cinnober's Trading Engine is a fully scalable, fault tolerant trading platform for matching of complex contracts. Cinnober's technology includes electronic negotiation tools that enable brokers, salespeople and their clients to negotiate trades in real-time, securely, over the Internet. The CBOEFLEX.net system will cater to the growing OTC options market, appealing to those FLEX users who wish to execute their trades with simple point-and-click functionality.By offering this new trading interface, CBOE expects to attract a significant segment of the OTC market activity to the system by providing the ability to trade FLEX options electronically.
"CBOE created the concept of FLEX options in 1993, and through this agreement with Cinnober Financial Technology, we will take FLEX option trading to a whole new level by introducing the first Internet-based, fully-automated, electronic FLEX options trading system in the U.S.," said CBOE Chairman and CEO William J. Brodsky. "This revolutionary system will offer FLEX users a host of benefits, including significantly reducing costs, establishing clearing transparency and counterparty anonymity, and offering point-and-click execution of FLEX trades."
"We are very proud to have been assigned by CBOE to provide this new trading technology for their FLEX options trading," said Cinnober CEO Gunnar Lindell. "CBOE is the largest options marketplace in the world and a great innovator and we look forward to a mutually beneficial relationship with them. It has once again been confirmed that our choice of technology is the choice of the future, helping us provide state of the art, cost efficient systems. We see all our clients as partners, working in close cooperation with them to deliver according to expectations. We believe this is the only way to build long-lasting relationships."
FLexible EXchange (FLEX) options are customized equity or index option contracts that provide investors with the ability to customize key contract terms including strike prices, exercise styles and expiration dates of up to ten years from the trade date; with the transparency, administrative ease and clearing guarantees of standard listed options.Currently, more than 1,300 equity options and five index options -- S&P 100 (OEX), S&P 500 (SPX), Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJX), Russell 2000 (RUT) and Nasdaq-100 (NDX) -- are available for FLEX trading at CBOE. CBOE created index FLEX options in 1993 and equity FLEX options in 1996.
Cinnober Financial Technology develops exchange and marketplace solutions for the financial, commodity and energy markets. Cinnober's products are all based on the in-house developed platform TRADExpress, and powers some of the largest exchanges in the world with high performance and reliability. The development is performed in 100% Java, which enables flexible, fast and platform independent solutions built for high capacity. For more information on Cinnober Financial Technology, visit their website at www.cinnober.com.
C-Trade is owned and marketed by Cinetics AB, an affiliate company of Cinnober. For more information, see www.ctrade.com.
CBOE, the world's largest options marketplace and the creator of listed options, is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). For additional information about the CBOE and its products, visit the CBOE website at: http://www.cboe.com/
