The Market Maker program for the two new contracts becomes effective with the first day of trading on September 19, 2003, for the futures, and September 26 for the options. The products will trade on NYBOT's Index market from 9:30 a.m. until 4:15 p.m. (NY Time).
"The Russell suite of indexes we now trade is unlike any other," said Charles H. Falk, President and CEO of NYBOT. "Our Russell 2000 and 3000 have the added benefit of two of the leading specialist firms on the New York Stock Exchange® (NYSE®) and the American Stock Exchange® (AMEX®) serving as Market Makers, and thereby ensuring a liquid and orderly marketplace."
Under the Market Maker Agreement, the Market Specialist must continuously maintain a competitive two-sided market consisting of a current bid and current offer no wider than the bid-ask spread specified by their agreement with NYBOT. The continuous presence of the Market Specialist provides reliable pricing and the necessary liquidity to support the business goals and trading strategies of institutional and individual investors. The Market Specialist will be entitled to a minimum percentage of trades that occur at their bid or offers.
The new contracts join a suite of other Russell indexes already trading on NYBOT's Index market. Since 1999, NYBOT has traded the Russell 1000® Index Regular futures and options contracts and the Russell 1000 Index Mini futures contract since 2001. On April 17, 2003, NYBOT and the Frank Russell Company, a global leader in multi-manager investing and owners of the Russell indexes, entered into an agreement which gave NYBOT the right to trade futures and options contracts based on a total of 21 Russell U.S. equity indexes. Several of the new Russell contracts have already begun trading, such as the Russell 1000 Index Growth and Value contracts. Contract specifications are available at www.nybot.com, in the Market Information section.
The Russell 2000 Index measures the performance of the 2,000 smallest companies in the Russell 3000 index, which represents approximately 8% of the total market capitalization of the Russell 3000 Index. The Russell 3000 Index measures the performance of the 3,000 largest U.S. companies based on total market capitalization, which represents approximately 98% of the investable U.S. equity market. Both the Russell 2000 and 3000 futures contracts will have a contract size of $500 x Index and will be cash settled. The minimum tick value for both futures and options is $25.00.
Frank Russell Company, a global leader in multi-manager investment services, provides investment products and services in more than 35 countries. Russell manages $76 billion in assets and advises clients worldwide representing $1.6 trillion. Founded in 1936, Russell is a subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual and is headquartered in Tacoma, Wash., with additional offices in New York, Toronto, London, Paris, Singapore, Sydney, Auckland and Tokyo. For more information, go to www.russell.com.
The New York Board of Trade (NYBOT) is the parent company of the Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa Exchange, Inc. (CSCE) and the New York Cotton Exchange (NYCE®). Through its two exchanges, NYBOT offers an expanding range of agricultural and financial products. Information about the New York Board of Trade can be found at www.nybot.com and www.nybotlive.com.
