After Five Years, Micro Equity Futures Still Gaining Steam
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Right Timing

CME Group introduced Micro E-mini equity index futures to make its derivative contracts more accessible to a larger pool of traders. 

Apart from refining their index exposure, these 10:1 contracts also offer great versatility as they can be easily swapped into an E-mini futures position. That provides greater flexibility to manage positions as market conditions change as well as additional liquidity. All of these benefits became increasingly useful for traders as a period of prolonged uncertainty continued.

“Ongoing uncertainty in the equity markets is making more granular risk management a priority for many traders,” said Woolman. “Micro E-mini futures allow market participants to more precisely manage their index exposure or hedge existing equity portfolio positions.”

More than 2 Billion Contracts Traded

As traders have benefited from these smaller-sized contracts, which complement CME Group's suite of E-mini equity futures launched in 1997, their growth has been impressive. 

Since roll out on May 6, 2019, Micro E-mini futures have surpassed more than 2.6 billion contracts traded – with the E-mini S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 contracts both amassing over 1 billion contracts respectively, according to Woolman.

Micro emini volume

Refining Strategies

As the momentum continues, this year's Micro E-mini average daily volumes (ADV) have exceeded 2.4 million contracts. Meanwhile, international participation has been strong with 24% of volume now occurring outside of U.S. trading hours.

By offering access to the U.S.'s primary equity indexes, traders can use the smaller-sized contracts to fine-tune their index exposure and meet their goals. That was the intention five years ago. As world events created unforeseen risks, the more accessible contracts have also become a reflection of the growing risk management focus necessary in today’s equity markets. 

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