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Life is Better with Options®

Your investments could be too.

Discover more options for your portfolio.

The powerful benefits of Cboe Index Options

Index options are flexible products that expand your trading toolbelt and can help unlock more opportunities to empower your investing strategies. So let’s take a look at how the benefits of index options could make them a better option for you.

Cash Settlement

No Surprises with European Style

Flexible Size and Expiry

Large. Medium. Small.

More contract sizes give you more control.

Cboe Index Options let you access flexible contract sizes. This includes contracts with smaller values that may be a better fit for traders' goals and account sizes.

Life is better with options

Premium dollar price

Example 2-day at the money (ATM) option.

SPX$3000
XSP$300
NANOS$3
RUT$1700
MRUT$170
Affin Hwang
CGS International
Charles
Eugene Investment
Interactive Brokers
Moomoo
Phillip Capital
Robinhood
Tasty Trade
Trade Station
Tradeup
Tradeview
TradeZero
Tradier
TradingBlock
Webull

Cash money? Yep. That’s an option.

Index options are settled in cash at expiration. That means your trade’s profits and losses are settled as a debit or credit directly into your trading account. So now you don’t have to worry about receiving or delivering shares upon exercise or assignment.

Index Options

Cash Settled

Buyer receives a cash credit to their account after closing a position which can immediately go towards additional trades.

ETF Options

NOT Cash Settled

Buyer receives a share of the ETF after closing the position. An extra transaction must take place to convert it to cash.

Remove the risk of early exercise.

Cboe Index Options safeguard against the unpleasant surprise of early exercise. Index options (European-style) exercise only at expiration. On the other hand, stock and ETF options (American-style) can be exercised any time before expiration. With index options, you won't have to worry about early assignment or exercise.

Access more options around the clock.

When it comes to market hours, our options are limited, right? Not so fast. Index options give you access to global trading hours so you can trade nearly 24/5. That means no matter where you are in the world, you can trade during normal daylight hours.

Index Options vs other financial products

Index OptionsCFDsWarrants/TurbosStructured products
Transparent PricingPrices formed via exchange order books with visible bids and offers.Pricing typically set by the provider; transparency may be limited.Prices are issuer‑quoted, with limited price discovery.Pricing determined by the issuer and product structure.
Robust LiquidityMultiple market participants compete to provide liquidity.Liquidity typically provided by the CFD provider.Liquidity generally relies on a single issuer or market maker.Secondary market liquidity may be limited and issuer-led.
Low CostCompetitive price discovery may result in tighter spreads in liquid markets.Costs embedded in spreads and/or commissions.Issuer margins and product features reflected in pricing.Embedded structuring and distribution costs apply.
Reduced ConflictsThe exchange acts as a neutral matching venue.The provider may act as counterparty to the trade.The issuer acts as both product issuer and liquidity provider.The issuer structures, prices, and distributes the product.

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Ready for more options?

If you want to take a deeper dive into the ins and outs of Cboe Index Options, we have a great resource for you. Our comprehensive guide gives you more details about the world of options available to you with these products.

Life is better with options

There are important risks associated with transacting in any of the Cboe Company products discussed here. Before engaging in any transactions in those products, it is important for market participants to carefully review the disclosures and disclaimers contained at: https://www.cboe.com/global-disclaimers/.