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CME Group, the world's largest and most diverse exchange, announced that CME Globex(R) and clearing fees will be waived for all S&P MidCap 400(R) and E-mini(R) S&P MidCap 400 Index futures and options on futures for all market participants. The waivers will go into effect March 3, 2008, and continue through December of this year. The waivers in the S&P MidCap 400 products are similar to the fee waivers for the S&P SmallCap 600(R) products already in place.
The S&P SmallCap 600 and MidCap 400 contracts, along with other products in the equity index complex, are attractive alternatives to the Russell 2000 contract, which will no longer be listed on CME Globex following the September 2008 contract expiration.
"CME Group provides customers with a wide array of products to trade, from stock index futures on key U.S. benchmark indexes to emerging and international markets," said Rick Redding, CME Group Managing Director of Products and Services. "Because of the potential cost and disruption associated with the Frank Russell Company's decision to transfer the exclusive Russell 2000 license, CME Group is committed to facilitating an orderly and cost effective transition for our customers who may be impacted by this change."
"The combination of liquidity and fee waivers will provide our customers with a low-cost solution to provide exposure across the entire market capitalization spectrum," said Scot Warren, CME Group Managing Director of Equity Index Products. "We understand that our customers must manage their risk using a variety of indexes and this incentive program is intended to meet their needs."
The S&P SmallCap and MidCap products are part of a suite of equity index futures and options on futures available on CME Globex. In January 2008, average daily volume of E-mini equity index futures and options on futures contracts reached 3.6 million. For more information on these solutions and other equity index derivatives, please go to http://www.CMEGroup.com/choices.
CME Group (http://www.cmegroup.com) is the world's largest and most diverse exchange. Formed by the 2007 merger of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), CME Group serves the risk management needs of customers around the globe. As an international marketplace, CME Group brings buyers and sellers together on the CME Globex electronic trading platform and on its trading floors. CME Group offers the widest range of benchmark products available across all major asset classes, including futures and options based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, agricultural commodities, and alternative investment products such as weather and real estate. CME Group is traded on the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ under the symbol "CME."
