Updated
Updated · The National Law Review · Jul 22
CME to Launch 55 Single-Stock Futures Under Dual SEC-CFTC Oversight
Updated
Updated · The National Law Review · Jul 22

CME to Launch 55 Single-Stock Futures Under Dual SEC-CFTC Oversight

1 articles · Updated · The National Law Review · Jul 22

Summary

  • CME plans to list cash-settled futures on 55 individual stocks before month-end, marking the first security futures on a CME exchange since 2011.
  • The contracts would cover roughly 55% to 65% of the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 by weighting, reviving a U.S. market that has been dormant since OneChicago shut in September 2020.
  • Because security futures are legally both securities and futures, the products fall under joint SEC and CFTC regulation, with exchanges and intermediaries facing overlapping licensing, margin and supervisory rules.
  • Broker-dealer and futures commission merchant firms will need to sort out dual registration, account treatment and compliance systems, including the 15% minimum margin for unhedged positions and parallel FINRA-NFA obligations.
  • The launch tests whether a product long stifled by regulatory complexity and weak investor uptake can regain traction in U.S. markets.

Insights

What makes CME believe their new cash-settled stock futures can survive a market that completely collapsed just six years ago?
Will recent SEC and CFTC harmonization efforts finally untangle the regulatory nightmare that has stifled security futures for decades?
Could 24-hour access to leveraged single-stock futures spark a retail trading frenzy, or will complex margin rules keep them away?