"We are extremely proud to be selected from a fiercely competitive field to receive this prestigious award and to be recognized as the leader in product development and for broadening the options marketplace," said CBOE Chairman and CEO William J. Brodsky. "Throughout its history, CBOE has been unwavering in its commitment to creating innovative new products and expanding the number of useful tools available to investors. We are especially pleased that the innovative work done by our research and product development team is recognized by the industry it serves."
"The CBOE BuyWrite Index has opened investor's eyes to the incredible results of a time-tested strategy and the proliferation of buy-write funds is testament to its acceptance. Likewise, the growing volume and open interest in our Volatility Index products is evidence that volatility is on its way to becoming an asset class unto itself, and the investment community has just scratched the surface of putting these new volatility products to use," said CBOE Vice President of Business Development, Edward Provost.
The key initiatives that led to the award include the introduction of the CBOE S&P 500 BuyWrite Index (BXM), the first major benchmark for options strategies, and the related published studies on buy-write strategies by Professor Robert Whaley of Duke University and by the Ibbotson Associates consulting firm. These initiatives facilitated tremendous recent growth in investor understanding of, and interest in, buy-write strategies, as more than $20 billion has been invested in 40 new buy-write investment products and funds in the past two years.
CBOE's accomplishments were also honored in 2004 when CBOE was awarded the Most Innovative Benchmark Index distinction for the creation of the CBOE S&P 500 BuyWrite Index, and the Most Innovative Index Derivative Award for the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) futures product, at the 2004 Super Bowl of Indexing Conference.
About the CBOE S&P 500 BuyWrite Index (BXM)
Created and introduced by CBOE in April 2002, the BXM measures the performance of a theoretical portfolio that sells (or "writes") Standard & Poor's 500 Index call options (SPX) against a portfolio of the stocks included in the Standard & Poor's 500 Stock Index (S&P 500). The index has become the standard benchmark for investors and investment professionals seeking a long-term track record of the buy-write strategy.
CBOE also calculates and disseminates the CBOE S&P 500 2% OTM BuyWrite Index (BXY), using options that are out-of the money, as opposed to at-the-money; as well as BuyWrite Indexes based on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (BXD), NASDAQ-100 (BXN) and beginning May 5th, the CBOE Russell 2000 BuyWrite Index (BXR).
About VIX Futures and Options
VIX futures (ticker symbol VX) and options (ticker symbol VIX) are based on the CBOE Volatility Index, which was created by CBOE in 1993 and quickly became the benchmark index of market sentiment. VIX futures, the first tradable product based on the VIX, began trading on the CBOE Futures Exchange (CFE) on March 26, 2004.VIX options were launched at CBOE on February 24, 2006, and by April, average daily volume was more than 15,000 contracts per day, with open interest regularly exceeding 300,000 contracts.
In addition to its flagship volatility index, VIX, CBOE also calculates and publishes the CBOE DJIA Volatility Index (VXD), CBOE Nasdaq-100 Volatility Index (VXN), and as of May 5th, the CBOE Russell 2000 Volatility Index (RVX). The CBOE Futures Exchange offers futures on VIX, VXD and 3-Month and 12-Month Variance contracts.
About CBOE
CBOE, the world's largest options marketplace and the creator of listed options, is regulated by the SEC. For additional information about the CBOE and its products, access the CBOE web site at http://www.cboe.com/.
