Cboe Global Markets Plans to Launch S&P 500® Equal Weight Index Options on April 14, 2025

• New options to be listed on the S&P 500 Equal Weight Index (EWI)
• S&P 500 EWI Index allocates each constituent a fixed weight at each quarterly rebalance
• Launch to meet evolving market exposure demand for additional choice in indices and derivatives 

CHICAGO and BOCA RATON, Fla., March 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE), the world's leading derivatives and securities exchange network today announced plans to launch options on the S&P 500 Equal Weight Index (EWI) on April 14, 2025, pending regulatory review. The new initiative was announced today at the 50^th International Futures Industry Conference in Boca Raton, Florida.

S&P 500 EWI options will be cash-settled and based on 1/10^th the value of the S&P 500 EWI, the equal-weight version of the S&P 500 Index. The S&P 500 EWI includes the same constituents as the capitalization-weighted S&P 500 Index, but each constituent of the S&P 500 EWI is allocated a fixed weight of 0.2% of the index total at each quarterly rebalance.

The equal-weight design of the S&P 500 EWI aims to provide different exposure to the same constituents of the capitalization-weighted S&P 500 Index. For example, as of December 20, 2024, the bottom 400 constituents represented approximately 80% of the S&P 500 EWI, compared to just 26% in the S&P 500 Index.

"The U.S. equity market's increasing levels of concentration has led to market participants searching for additional tools to manage risk and diversify their exposure," said Rob Hocking, Global Head of Product Innovation at Cboe. "Investors have long turned to S&P 500 Index options to help address volatility and geopolitical concerns, and by adding S&P 500 Equal Weight Index options to the toolkit, investors can gain broad exposure to the same constituents but with the ability to take a more targeted approach and hedge against idiosyncratic risks. S&P Dow Jones Indices has long been an important licensor of Cboe, and we are excited to continue innovating in an evolving market with the timely launch of these options."   

S&P 500 EWI options may provide exposure to an index designed to be less impacted by a potential shift in concentration and momentum, and aim to offer investors the ability to hedge against potential swings in the largest S&P 500 stocks.

"For generations, The 500™ has been widely regarded as the best-single gauge of the U.S. equity market. To complement S&P DJI's iconic market benchmark, the S&P 500 Equal Weight Index launched more than two decades ago to measure the performance of equal allocations among S&P 500 constituents," said Tim Brennan, Global Head of Capital Markets at S&P Dow Jones Indices. "With concentration in the broader U.S. equity market increasing to its highest level in many years, S&P DJI is excited to collaborate with Cboe as it expands its offering to market participants who are interested in the potential diversification benefits of an equal-weighted approach."

The planned S&P 500 EWI options launch is the latest innovation in the suite of products developed by Cboe based on S&P DJI indices. The suite includes tradable products such as the Cboe S&P 500 Index options (SPX), Mini SPX Options (XSP) and the recently launched Cboe S&P 500 Variance (VA) Futures, in addition to various volatility indices including the Cboe S&P 500 Dispersion Index (DSPX), Cboe S&P 500 Constituent Volatility Index (VIXEQ), and Cboe Implied Correlation® Indices. Cboe is currently developing a futures product on the DSPX Index to be listed on Cboe Futures Exchange (CFE), subject to regulatory review.

S&P 500 EWI options will be available during regular trading hours (RTH) between 9:30 a.m. ET and 4:15 p.m. ET. To learn more about the upcoming launch of the S&P 500 EWI options, visit the pre-launch resource hub 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 and VIXEQ^SM is a service mark 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 DSPX 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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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.