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CBOE Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBOE) announced today that Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated (CBOE) and C2 Options Exchange (C2) plan to launch trading in "mini-options" that are one-tenth the size of standard options on five popular stocks and exchange traded funds (ETFs). Mini-options on Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN), Google (GOOG), the SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD), and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) will begin trading onMonday, March 18.
"Many retail customers hold less than 100 shares of these higher-priced stocks in their portfolios," CBOE Chairman and CEO William J. Brodsky said. "We're excited to begin offering mini-options, which will give investors the ability to hedge their positions and trade options on these stocks more economically than with standard-sized options."
Mini-options contracts feature specifications identical to those of standard-sized options contracts on the above securities, except:
- Mini-options contracts represent 10 shares of the underlying security versus 100 shares for standard-sized options contracts; and
- Mini-options contracts trade under a different trading symbol than standard-sized options contracts. Mini-options carry the number "7" at the end of the security symbol. For example, the Apple mini-options symbol is AAPL7.
In addition to standard monthly expiration dates, non-standard expiration dates (i.e., Weeklys options series, Quarterlys option series and LEAPS) will be eligible for mini-options trading. Plans also call for minimum price movements to be the same in both standard-sized options and mini-options, pending regulatory approval.
The following Designated Primary Market Makers (DPMs) have been appointed for mini-options for CBOE (C2):
- AAPL -- Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC (C2: Wolverine Trading, LLC)
- AMZN — Merrill Lynch Professional Clearing Corp. (C2: Timber Hill, LLC)
- GOOG — Susquehanna Securities (C2: Timber Hill, LLC)
- GLD -- Citadel Securities, LLC
- SPY-- Wolverine Trading, LLC
C2 did not appoint DPMs for GLD and SPY mini-options. At C2, DPMs are appointed only in equity classes that are part of the options Penny Pilot Program.
For more information on mini-options, see www.cboe.com/mini, Regulatory Circular RG13-037 www.cboe.com/aboutCBOE/legal/crclReg.aspx and Regulatory Circular C2-RG13-014 at www.c2exchange.com/Legal/RegulatoryCirculars.aspx.
