To qualify for this membership and gain eligibility for lower trading fees, non-clearing member firms, including proprietary trading firms, non-clearing registered futures commission merchants and passive investor entities, will now be required to hold only Series B memberships at the Exchange. Series B memberships represent trading rights at the CBOT. As of May 1, firms that own both Series B memberships and the associated Class A common stock will qualify as “Equity Member Firms” and will be eligible for lower rates than Trading Member Firms.
CBOT President and CEO Bernard W. Dan said, “The CBOT is focused on continually delivering value to its market users. By introducing the Trading Member Firm category, the Exchange is lowering costs for customers and encouraging a higher level of commitment to the Exchange and its products. We believe that this new category creates greater opportunities to trade CBOT products and has the potential to broaden the base of membership at the Exchange.”
Firms can gain Trading Member Firm status by purchasing a Series B-1 (Full), B-2 (Associate), B-4 (IDEM) or B-5 (COM) membership. Holders of the Series B memberships will qualify for reduced fees in the products that are commensurate with the current privileges associated with each classification of membership.
For example, Trading Member Firms holding the Series B-1 or Full membership will be eligible for lower trading fees on all CBOT products. Series B-2 holders will qualify for reduced fees on Financial, Equity Index and Metals futures and options and Agricultural options, B-4 on Equity Index futures and Metals futures products and B-5 on all options products.
In addition, the Trading Member Firm category redefines membership for passive investor entities, such as hedge funds, creating eligibility for reduced fees for up to three funds through the registration of two Series B-1 and one Series B-2 memberships. Along with the introduction of the new membership category, the Exchange will also be changing the requirements for its e-cbot Members, who will now only need to lease either a Series B-1 or B-2 membership to receive reduced fees.
The CBOT remains dedicated to making all fee levels transparent to market users, and the complete trading fee schedule, as well as a Q&A document regarding the new Trading Member Firm category are available on the CBOT website.
