The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT®) today announced a $1 million investment in ROOT, a commodities exchange for Internet-generated consumer leads. In addition, the CBOT announced that CEO Bernard W. Dan will serve on ROOT’s board of directors.
ROOT’s electronic marketplace enables corporations to locate and purchase qualified customer leads. Buyers and sellers benefit from real-time price discovery, liquidity and fast, easy access to trading opportunities around the clock.
CBOT President and Chief Executive Officer Bernard W. Dan said, “More than 30 years ago, the CBOT was the first exchange to trade interest rate futures contracts. Our partnership with ROOT represents an opportunity to be at the forefront of Internet lead futures trading, and we look forward to working with ROOT as this industry continues to evolve.”
Founded by renowned financial architect Lewis Ranieri and entrepreneur Seth Goldstein, New York-based ROOT currently operates a commodities exchange for Internet-generated mortgage leads. Its ROOT Exchange platform has been designed to scale easily across all vertical industries such as mortgage, automobile and insurance leads.
ROOT’s Chairman Lewis Ranieri said, “We are excited to partner with one of the world’s leading futures exchanges. The CBOT’s investment further validates ROOT’s success in bringing unparalleled efficiency and transparency to the Internet lead generation market. Together, the CBOT and ROOT plan to explore new financial instruments based on the underlying fundamentals of Internet advertising and lead generation.”
About the CBOT
As one of the leading global derivative exchanges, the Chicago Board of Trade provides a diverse mix of financial, equity and commodity futures and options-on-futures products. Building on its 158-year history, the CBOT continues to advance into the future using the strength of deep liquidity, market integrity and member-trader expertise. Using superior trading technology in both electronic and open-auction trading platforms, the CBOT provides premier customer service to risk managers and investors worldwide. For more information, visit our website at www.cbot.com.
About ROOT
ROOT Exchange is an open commodities market for Internet leads. A lead, one of the major drivers of Internet advertising, is data from a consumer with intent to purchase. Participants in ROOT Exchange benefit from price discovery, liquidity and transparency in the buying and selling of mortgage leads. ROOT is located in New York with offices in San Francisco, CA and Charlotte, NC. Visit www.rootexchange.com for more information.
