Cboe Begins Trading in S&P 500® Equal Weight Index Options on April 14, 2025

CHICAGO, April 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE), the world's leading derivatives and securities exchange network, today announced it has launched for trading S&P 500 Equal Weight Index (EWI) options. The new options are the latest addition to Cboe's S&P 500 toolkit and provide investors additional choice and diversification opportunity through broad-based U.S. equity market exposure.

The S&P 500 EWI (Bloomberg index ticker: SPW) is the equal-weight version of the S&P 500 Index, with each constituent of the S&P 500 EWI allocated a fixed weight of 0.2% of the index total at each quarterly rebalance. While including the same constituents, the S&P 500 EWI and the capitalization-weighted S&P 500 Index often differ in sector and factor exposures including smaller-cap vs. mega-cap stocks, momentum bias, and realized volatility.

The S&P 500 EWI options are designed to provide different exposure and complement Cboe's S&P 500 Index (SPX) options, which are one of the most actively traded and liquid options in the world. Market participants will be able to utilize the S&P 500 EWI options to make directional trades based on their views of macro trends and shifts in equity market dynamics and for additional hedging and income-generating opportunities.

"As investors turn to options at record levels to help manage U.S. equity market exposure and volatility, we are pleased to expand our S&P product suite with the launch of S&P Equal Weight Index options," said Catherine Clay, Global Head of Derivatives at Cboe. "We expect these options to cater to both retail and institutional investors looking to diversify and implement a variety of trading strategies, ultimately providing them greater choice and ability to tailor their exposure to fit their needs.  Investors are increasingly seeking to gain more balanced exposure across the market, and with the indexing expertise of S&P Dow Jones Indices and demand for the capitalization-weighted SPX options, the S&P 500 Equal Weight Index is ideally suited to underlie these new options."   

Megan Morgan, Head of Market Structure at Belvedere Trading, said: "The addition of S&P 500 Equal Weight Index options by Cboe is timely and we are excited for the opportunity to serve as the Lead Market-Maker. We have long found value in the S&P 500 Index ecosystem and Cboe's trading floor, and as the market evolves, more tools in the toolkit are always welcomed."

Danny Kirsch, Head of Options Trading and Strategy at Piper Sandler, said: "The performance of the S&P 500 Index relative to the S&P 500 Equal Weight Index has been a key topic in conversations around equity index exposure in recent years. By adding options on the S&P 500 EWI Index, Cboe is now allowing customers more ways to hedge risks and manage portfolios."

The S&P 500 EWI options are based on 1/10^th the value of the S&P 500 EWI (options ticker: SPEQX). With a standard contract multiplier of $100, the notional value of an S&P 500 EWI options contract would be approximately $63,200 as of market close on April 7. The mid-sized notional value potentially allows for a wider range of market participants to access the options. Similar to Cboe's other proprietary index options, S&P 500 EWI options are cash-settled and will have European-style exercise. Cash settlement eliminates concerns over physical delivery as profits and losses are settled as a debit or credit at expiration, and the European-style expiration removes the risk of early assignment and provides more certainty when implementing hedging strategies.  

On April 14, Cboe listed standard monthly options expiring on the third Friday. SPEQX options are available to trade during regular trading hours (RTH) between 9:30 a.m. ET and 4:15 p.m. ET. FLEX options are offered on SPEQX. Cboe plans to list PM-settled weekly options at a later date, pending regulatory approval. To learn more about the launch of the S&P 500 EWI options including additional contract specifications, visit here.  

About Cboe Global Markets, Inc.

Cboe Global Markets (Cboe: CBOE), the world's leading derivatives and securities exchange network, delivers cutting-edge trading, clearing and investment solutions to people around the world. Cboe provides trading solutions and products in multiple asset classes, including equities, derivatives and FX, across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. Above all, we are committed to building a trusted, inclusive global marketplace that enables people to pursue a sustainable financial future. To learn more about the Exchange for the World Stage, visit www.cboe.com.

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Cboe^®, Cboe Global Markets^®, Cboe Volatility Index^®, FLEX^®, VIX^®, and XSP^® are registered trademarks of Cboe Exchange, Inc. or its affiliates. The S&P 500 Index and the S&P 500 Equal Weight Index are proprietary to S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC. S&P^®, S&P 500^®, The 500™, US 500™, SPX^®, and SPXEW are trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services, LLC and have been licensed for use with the S&P 500 Index and the S&P 500 Equal Weight Index by Cboe Exchange, Inc. Cboe Exchange's options on the S&P 500 Index and the S&P 500 Equal Weight Index are not sponsored, endorsed, marketed or promoted by S&P Dow Jones Indices and S&P Dow Jones Indices does not have any liability with respect thereto. All other trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners. Cboe products are not sponsored, endorsed, sold, or promoted by S&P DJI and S&P DJI shall have no liability in connection with the trading of any such products.

Cboe Global Markets, Inc. and its affiliates do not recommend or make any representation as to possible benefits from any securities, futures or investments, or third-party products or services. Investors should undertake their own due diligence regarding their securities, futures and investment practices. This press release speaks only as of this date. Cboe Global Markets, Inc. disclaims any duty to update the information herein. Nothing in this announcement should be considered a solicitation to buy or an offer to sell any securities or futures in any jurisdiction where the offer or solicitation would be unlawful under the laws of such jurisdiction. Nothing contained in this communication constitutes tax, legal or investment advice. Investors must consult their tax adviser or legal counsel for advice and information concerning their particular situation.

Cboe Global Markets, Inc. and its affiliates, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, make no warranty, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, any warranties as of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, completeness or timeliness, the results to be obtained by  recipients of the products and services described herein, or as to the ability of the S&P indices to track the performance of the general market or any segment thereof, and shall not in any way be liable for any inaccuracies or errors. Cboe Global Markets, Inc. and its affiliates have not calculated, composed or determined the constituents or weightings of the securities that comprise the S&P indices and shall not in any way be liable for any inaccuracies or errors.

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We operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time, and it is not possible to predict all risks and uncertainties, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements.

Some factors that could cause actual results to differ include: the loss of our right to exclusively list and trade certain index options and futures products; economic, political and market conditions; compliance with legal and regulatory obligations; price competition and consolidation in our industry; decreases in trading or clearing volumes, market data fees or a shift in the mix of products traded on our exchanges; legislative or regulatory changes or changes in tax regimes; our ability to protect our systems and communication networks from security vulnerabilities and breaches; our ability to attract and retain skilled management and other personnel; increasing competition by foreign and domestic entities; our dependence on and exposure to risk from third parties; factors that impact the quality and integrity of our and other applicable indices; our ability to manage our global operations, growth and strategic acquisitions or alliances effectively; our ability to operate our business without violating the intellectual property rights of others and the costs associated with protecting our intellectual property rights; our ability to minimize the risks, including our credit, counterparty, investment, and default risks, associated with operating our clearinghouses; our ability to accommodate trading and clearing volume and transaction traffic, including significant increases, without failure or degradation of performance of our systems; misconduct by those who use our markets or our products or for whom we clear transactions; challenges to our use of open source software code; our ability to meet our compliance obligations, including managing our business interests and our regulatory responsibilities; the loss of key customers or a significant reduction in trading or clearing volumes by key customers; our ability to maintain BIDS Trading as an independently managed and operated trading venue, separate from and not integrated with our registered national securities exchanges; damage to our reputation; the ability of our compliance and risk management methods to effectively monitor and manage our risks; restrictions imposed by our debt obligations and our ability to make payments on or refinance our debt obligations; our ability to maintain an investment grade credit rating; impairment of our goodwill, long-lived assets, investments or intangible assets;  the accuracy of our estimates and expectations; and  litigation risks and other liabilities. More detailed information about factors that may affect our actual results to differ may be found in our filings with the SEC, including in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 and other filings made from time to time with the SEC.

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SOURCE Cboe Global Markets, Inc.