NYSE Liffe To Launch FTSE 100 Dividend Index Futures

NYSE Liffe, the European derivatives business of NYSE Euronext, announced today that it will launch a new standard, cash-settled futures contract based on the FTSE 100 Dividend Index, from Wednesday 13 May 2009.

Developed in conjunction with FTSE, the FTSE 100 Dividend Index represents the cumulative value of ordinary gross cash dividends declared by the individual constituents of the FTSE 100 Index over a one-year period, calculated by FTSE in terms of index points.

The futures contracts will be available on both the London Central Order Book, LIFFE CONNECT®, and Bclear, NYSE Liffe’s service for processing and clearing OTC derivatives contracts. Market makers will support the pricing of contracts on the order book. Contracts, expiring on the third Friday of December, will be available for trading out to five years.

Jonathan Seymour, Director of Equity Derivatives at NYSE Liffe, said, “This new addition to NYSE Liffe’s range of FTSE futures and options products will enable investors to take a view on the expected dividends of FTSE 100 companies and, to a greater extent, allow more precise hedging of dividend risk implicit in FTSE 100 derivative contracts.”