CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, today announced plans to expand its Equity Index Dividend suite on May 11, with the addition of Mid-curve options on S&P 500 Annual Dividend Index futures, alongside Nasdaq-100 and Russell 2000 Quarterly Dividend Index futures, pending regulatory review.
"Amid shifting interest rates and economic uncertainty, managing dividend exposure has become a strategic necessity for investors," said Joe Hickey, Global Head of Equity Products at CME Group. "Trading in our dividend products has increased more than 50% year-over-year. To meet this increased demand, we are launching these new Mid-curve options on S&P 500 Annual Index futures and Quarterly Dividend futures on the Nasdaq-100 and Russell 2000 to provide clients with additional, and even more precise tools to mitigate index-specific risk and hedge around critical dividend events."
These new products are the latest addition to CME Group's deeply liquid Equity Index Dividend suite, which includes: Options on S&P 500 Annual Dividend futures; S&P 500 Annual and Quarterly Dividend Index futures; Nasdaq-100 Annual Dividend Index futures; and Russell 2000 Annual Dividend Index futures. Year-to-date trading highlights include:
- Dividend futures and options open interest of 860,000 contracts, up 27% year-over-year.
- S&P 500 Quarterly Dividend Index futures average daily volume (ADV) up 21% year-over-year.
- Options on S&P Annual Dividend Index futures ADV of 3,900 contracts, up 80% year-over-year.
These products will be listed on and subject to the rules of CME. For more information, please visit cmegroup.com/dividends.
