New York Board Of Trade Board Approves Listing Of Russell 1000 Index Futures And Options Contract.

The New York Board of Trade (NYBOT) and Frank Russell Company have agreed to list new futures and options contracts based on the Russell 1000(R) Index of the 1,000 U.S. common stocks with the largest market capitalisation. The initial launch of the new contract on NYBOT's New York Futures Exchange (NYFE), is slated for March 1999, pending final approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The Russell 1000 Index, part of the Russell family of equity indexes, represents the benchmark for a significant segment of the professional money management industry. The indexes, market capitalisation-weighted and balanced annually, are produced and maintained by the Tacoma, WA-based Frank Russell Company, one of the world's leading investment services firms. All Russell U.S. equity indexes are subsets of the Russell 3000(R) Index, which reflects approximately 98% of the investable U.S. equity market and serves institutional investors as an asset class proxy. The Russell 1000 Index futures and options contract will be offered in a "Regular" contract equal to $500 times the Russell 1000 Index. In addition, an alternative "Large" Contract equal to $1,000 times the Russell 1000 Index will be offered to accommodate and reduce trading costs for large institutional investors.