The international derivatives marketplace Eurex Exchange will start listing new derivatives on global MSCI indices on 11 March. From this date, futures and options based on the MSCI World, MSCI Europe, MSCI All Countries Asia Pacific ex-Japan and futures on the MSCI Frontier Markets will be available. Other derivatives on regional and country-specific MSCI emerging markets indices will be launched in July this year. A total of around 30 new index derivatives will be launched in two phases. The two planned product launches will grow the existing offering of equity index derivatives, which currently covers 70 different indices, to around 100.
“We are pleased that Eurex has chosen to expand its product offering to include futures and options on the MSCI World Index and the MSCI Europe Index, two widely used benchmark indices in the investment community,“ said Ricardo Manrique, Executive Director and Head of Derivatives at MSCI. “We look forward to continuing to work with Eurex as they develop their suite of derivatives based on MSCI indices.”
“In the light of the upcoming regulatory changes, it’s very positive for us to have listed, liquid alternatives to OTC swap transactions,” said Eicke Reneerkens, Head of Derivatives Trading at Union Investment.
“During our market consultation, we discovered a high demand for broad MSCI indices among our participants and in particular strong interest in order book trading. They also value the possibility of cross margining with our existing benchmark index derivatives, for example EURO STOXX 50 derivatives,” said Peter Reitz, member of the Eurex Executive Board.
As the leading provider of index derivatives in Europe, Eurex can thus offer significant cost advantages for pledging collateral. At the same time, it is the only exchange in the world to offer options as well as futures on regional MSCI indices.
All MSCI index-linked contracts (except the euro-denominated MSCI Europe) are USD-denominated contracts with cash settlement. Maturities of up to twelve months are offered for futures and up to 24 months for options.
Depending on the index, up to eight market makers will provide liquidity in the order book at start of trading. As a further incentive, Eurex Exchange will not charge trading and clearing fees until the end of June.
