The Morgan Stanley Indexes are intended to act as tools for creating liquid institutional trading, hedging and investment vehicles and to provide investors with a sector benchmark. Companies have been selected for inclusion based upon market capitalization, liquidity, borrowability and a demonstration of current business leadership, business momentum and market share. The Indices are comprised of the most highly capitalized, liquid U.S. stocks within a sector, as determined by the CBOE in consultation with Morgan Stanley.
Each Index is equal-dollar weighted so the component securities are represented in approximate equal dollar values. The Indexes will be re-balanced quarterly, after the close of trading, on the third Friday of March, June, September, and December and will be calculated and maintained by CBOE in consultation with Morgan Stanley. Index divisors were initially calculated to yield a benchmark value of 100.00 on June 15, 2001.
MVB will initially consist of 36 American companies including: Amgen, Inc. (AMGN), Biogen, Inc. (BGEN), Chiron Corp. (CHIR), and Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (HGSI). Equitec Structured Products LLC. has been named the Designated Primary Market Maker (DPM) for the index.
MGO will initially consist of 30 large oil services stocks including: Baker Hughes Incorporated (BHI), Halliburton Co. (HAL), Schlumberger Limited (SLB) and Tidewater, Inc. (TDW). Susquehanna Investment Group has been named the DPM for the index.
MVR will initially consist of 38 leading retailers including: Best Buy Co. Inc. (BBY), Gap, Inc. (GPS), Home Depot, Inc. (HD), KMart Corporation (KM) and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT). Knight Financial Products, LLC. has been named the DPM for the index.
More information on the indexes including contract specifications and position limits, can be found on the "Products" page at www.cboe.com, www.MorganStanley.com or go directly to www.cboe.com/OptProd/index_comp.asp
The Morgan Stanley Index options are cash-settled, European-style exercise, with expirations on the March cycle. Initial expiration months are November, December, March and June, 2002. LEAPS ®(Long Term Equity AnticiPation Securities SM) up to five years to expiration may also be available. Strike prices for the options will be set to bracket the index levels. Trading hours for the indexes are 8:30 a.m. to 3:02 p.m. Central Time (e.g. Chicago Time).
The Morgan Stanley Indexes are calculated and maintained by the Chicago Board Options Exchange, in consultation with Morgan Stanley. The underlying stocks were selected for the Index without regard to any buy, sell, hold or other recommendation by Morgan Stanley Equity Research Department and may be inconsistent with recommendations of the Morgan Stanley Equity Research Department. Companies are included in the Index if they meet the eligibility standards and reflect the industry classification, without regard to the individual quality of any specific company. Morgan Stanley owns all intellectual property rights in the Indexes and has entered into a license agreement with the CBOE in connection with the options.
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, access the CBOE site on the World Wide Web at http://www.cboe.com.
