Quarterly options, first launched by CBOE in July 2006, provide investors with options that expire on the last trading day of each quarter to coincide with end-of-quarter accounting practices. By comparison, traditional options generally expire on the Saturday following the third Friday of the month. Quarterly options have become especially popular with money managers who rebalance or settle portfolios on the last day of each quarter, and who use options as part of their portfolio management strategy.
CBOE currently lists Quarterly options on five Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs): iShares Russell 2000 Index Fund (IWM), Nasdaq-100 Index Tracking Stock (QQQQ), Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts/SPDRs (SPY), DIAMONDS Trust, Series 1 (DIA), and Energy Select SPDR (XLE). Volume and customer interest in Quarterly options has increased steadily, with total Quarterly volume traded at CBOE in January reaching 552,707 contracts.
|
CBOE Quarterly's Volume |
Total Volume January '07 |
Total Volume December '06 |
Average Daily Volume January '07 |
Average Daily Volume December '06 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
IWM |
400,521 |
686,718 |
20,026 |
34,336 |
|
QQQ |
54,377 |
126,255 |
2,719 |
6,313 |
|
SPY |
68,334 |
398,475 |
3,417 |
19,924 |
|
DIA |
25,164 |
30,143 |
1,258 |
1,507 |
|
XLE |
4,311 |
11,604 |
216 |
580 |
Quarterly options are P.M.-settled contracts that generally will stop trading and expire on the last business day of March, June, September and December. Contract specifications, including expiration months, strike prices and settlement procedures can be found at http://www.cboe.com/Quarterly.
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/.
