International Securities Exchange (ISE)
ISE Eliminates Fees for Premium Options Products
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Jun 7, 2009 - 3:23:46 PM

ISE Eliminates Fees for Premium Options Products

Members will pay zero transaction fees for customer orders in all multiply-listed ETF and index options.

The International Securities Exchange (ISE) announced that it has eliminated customer transaction fees for Premium Products, which include multiply-listed exchange-traded fund (ETF) and index options.   The popular Powershares QQQ Trust Series 1 (Ticker: QQQQ) will continue to be offered at no charge for customer orders. The new fee schedule took effect on May 1, 2009.

Boris Ilyevsky, Managing Director of ISE’s options exchange, stated, “ISE is committed to offering the most competitive options trading venue for retail and institutional customers. By eliminating customer transaction fees for these products, we are simplifying our fee structure so that members can be confident they will pay no transaction fees for customer orders in equity options and multiply-listed ETF and index options routed to ISE. This new pricing structure, in conjunction with our customer priority market model, provides the best and lowest cost execution for customer orders sent to ISE.”

At this past weekend’s annual strategic planning meeting with ISE senior management, the ISE Board of Directors approved this fee change to address the evolving marketplace requirements of its order flow providers. ISE’s fees for firm and market maker trades are unaffected by this change. This fee change is subject to filing with the SEC.

ISE Reports Monthly Volume for May 2009

The International Securities Exchange (ISE) reported average daily volume of 4.4 million contracts in May 2009.   Average daily trading volume for all options contracts increased 23.7% to 4.4 million contracts in May as compared to 3.6 million contracts during the same period in 2008. Total options volume for the month increased 17.8% to 88.6 million contracts from 75.2 million contracts in the same year-ago period.

On a year-to-date basis, average daily trading volume of all options increased 0.8% to 4.1 million contracts traded as compared to 4.1 million contracts traded in the prior year. Total year-to-date options volume through May 2009 decreased 1.2% to 418.9 million contracts from 423.9 million contracts in the same period last year.

Monthly Highlights

ISE was the largest U.S. equity options exchange in May 2009.

ISE traded more volume than any other options exchange in 1,102 of 2,148 issues in its listings.

ISE Background

The International Securities Exchange (ISE) operates the world’s largest equity options exchange and offers options trading on over 2,000 underlying equity, ETF, index, and FX products. As the first all-electronic options exchange in the U.S., ISE transformed the options industry by creating efficient markets through innovative market structure and technology. Regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and a member-owner of The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC), ISE provides investors with a transparent marketplace for price and liquidity discovery on centrally cleared options products. ISE continues to expand its marketplace through the ongoing development of enhanced trading functionality, new products, and market data services. As a complement to its options business, ISE has expanded its reach into multiple asset classes through strategic investments in financial marketplaces that foster technology innovation and market efficiency. Through its two minority investments, ISE participates in the securities lending and equities markets.

ISE is a wholly owned subsidiary of Eurex, a leading global derivatives exchange. Eurex itself is jointly owned by Deutsche Börse AG (Ticker: DB1) and SIX Swiss Exchange AG. Together, Eurex and ISE are the global market leader in individual equity and equity index derivatives.