CBOE History

1973

CBOE is founded as first U.S. options exchange and trading begins on standardized, listed options.
April 26, the first day of trading, sees 911 contracts traded on 16 underlying stocks.

1975

Computerized price reporting was introduced.
The Options Clearing Corporation was formed.
The Black-Scholes model was adopted for pricing options.

1977

Trading in put options begins.
SEC places a moratorium on options expansion pending an in-depth review of the rapidly growing derivative securities market.

1980

The CBOE and Midwest Stock Exchange consolidate their options businesses.

1981

CBOE breaks ground in April on new 350,000 square foot building with 45,000 square foot trading floor.

1983

CBOE continues to revolutionize the options industry by introducing options on broad-based stock indexes.
On March 11, 1983, CBOE launched the CBOE-100 Index, which was later renamed the S&P 100 Index (OEX) and on July 1, 1983, options trading on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) was launched.

1984

As volume accelerated rapidly, CBOE quickly outgrew its trading facilities in the Chicago Board of Trade and in February 1984, moved into its current 10-story building across the street from the CBOT and next to the Chicago Stock Exchange.
Annual volume at CBOE exceeds 100 million contracts for the first time.
CBOE launches its Retail Automatic Execution System (RAES) to facilitate electronic order execution.

1985

CBOE forms The Options Institute, whose mission is to educate investors around the world about options.
Options on NASDAQ stocks are listed.
The New York Stock Exchange begins listing equity options.

1987

Stock market crashes in October and interest in derivatives wanes.

1989

CBOE begins trading options on interest rate products.
CBOE introduces EBook, the first electronic customer limit order book.

1990

CBOE creates Long-term Equity AnticiPation Securities, or LEAPS^SM, which are long-term dated options and give investors more flexibility in using options in their portfolios.

1992

The Options Industry Council is formed as an industry body devoted to the expansion of investor education.
Sector indexes begin trading at CBOE.

1993

CBOE introduces FLEX® options, which allow investors to create certain specifications on options contracts.
Market makers on the CBOE trading floor use electronic, hand-held terminals.
CBOE unveils the CBOE Volatility Index^® (VIX^®), a key measure of market expectations of near-term volatility conveyed by S&P index option prices.

1997

CBOE introduces options on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJX).
Myron Scholes and Robert Merton are awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics for their development of the Black-Scholes model for pricing options.
CBOE acquires NYSE options trading business, New York options traders move to Chicago and the CBOE's "Green Room" - an auxiliary trading floor off of the main trading floor that became the home for many transplanted NYSE traders.

1998

CBOE and options industry celebrate 25th anniversary.
CBOE annual volume surpasses 200 million contracts for the first time.

1999

CBOE converts to Designated Primary Market Maker system, ensuring that specialists maintain fair and orderly markets and always provide continuous, two-sided markets.
CBOE introduces ROS, the Rapid Opening System, significantly shortening the time taken for the opening rotation.

2000

SEC adopts CBOE plan to link U.S. options markets.
CBOE average daily volume exceeds 1 million contracts for the first time.
Annual volume at CBOE surpasses 300 million contracts for the first time.

2001

CBOE launches CBOEdirect® the exchange's screen-based trading system that is initially used for extended hours trading.
Securities industry completes transfer from fractional pricing to pricing in decimals - narrowing spreads and reducing costs for investors.
Interim intermarket linkage among the options exchanges begins.
CBOE develops the VXN Volatility Index (VXN), based on the Nasdaq-100 Index and a complement to the VIX volatility index.

2002

CBOE continues expansion of electronic trading systems.
CBOE begins development of a Hybrid Trading System that will marry the strengths of open outcry trading with the efficiencies of screen-based trading.
The CBOE S&P 500 BuyWrite Index (BXM^SM) is introduced as the first major benchmark for options performance in a study by a Duke University professor.

2003

CBOE debuts CBOE Hybrid, the Hybrid Trading System.
CBOE and the other options exchanges successfully complete their Intermarket Linkage Program.
CBOE celebrates the 20th anniversary of index options trading and the 30th anniversary of the exchange and industry.

2004

The Ibbotson Associates consulting firm published a case study on use of S&P 500 (SPX) options in a buy-write strategy.
The CBOE S&P 500 BuyWrite Index (BXM) was named Most Innovative Benchmark Index, and CBOE Volatility Index^® (VIX^®) Futures won Most Innovative Index Derivative Award at the 2004 Super Bowl of Indexing Conference.
The CBOE Futures Exchange, LLC (CFE) launched trading with futures on the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) on March 26, 2004.

2005

CBOE options contract volume was an all-time record of 468,249,301 contracts (up 30% over the previous year), and the notional value of this volume was more than $12 trillion.

2006

CBOE options contract volume was an all-time record of 674,735,348 contracts (up 44% over the previous year).
The Callan Associates consulting firm published a study on the use of S&P 500 (SPX) options in a buy-write strategy.
CBOE is named Exchange of the Year, North America for excellence and innovation by Structured Products magazine
CBOE won the 2006 Exchange Performance Award—World's Best Derivatives Providers—provided by Global Finance magazine.
Options on the CBOE Volatility Index won Most Innovative Index Derivative Award at the 2006 Super Bowl of Indexing Conference.

2007

CBOE options contract volume was an all-time record of 944,471,924 contracts (up 40% over the previous year).
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) rose 94.6%, its biggest % move in any calendar year.
In their first full year of trading, options on the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) became the CBOE's second-busiest cash-settled index option contract with an average daily volume of 93,181 contracts.
Avg. daily volume for S&P 500 (SPX) options rose 52% to a record 629,819 contracts.
The CBOE Stock Exchange (CBSX) launched trading on March 5, 2007.
The Fund Evaluation Group (FEG) published a study entitled "Evaluation of BuyWrite and Volatility Indexes-Using the CBOE DJIA BuyWrite Index (BXD) and the CBOE DJIA Volatility Index (VXD) for Asset Allocation and Diversification Purposes."
New Portfolio Margin rules for equity options and other positions become effective in April 2007.
The CBOE S&P 500 PutWrite Index (PUT) was named Most Innovative Benchmark Index at the 2007 Super Bowl of Indexing Conference.

2008

May 7, 2008 - to commemorate the 35th anniversary of CBOE and the options industry, CBOE hosts special symposium titled "The Engineers of the Options Revolution" with Bill Brodsky, Blair Hull, Robert Merton, Myron Scholes, and Jeffrey Yass.
July 1, 2008 - CBOE introduces binary options.
September 18, 2008 - CBOE experiences the busiest single-day in its history as 9,975,464 contracts trade.
October 6, 2008 - Trading in S&P 500 Index (SPX) options sets a single-day record of 2,170,870 contracts traded.
October 24, 2008 - The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) reaches an intra-day all-time high of 89.53.
October 27, 2008 - CBOE's year-to-date volume surpasses the one billion contract benchmark.
October 31, 2008 - October is the busiest month ever at CBOE with 134,242,956 contracts traded. Numerous products set new all-time monthly volume records including options on the S&P 500 Index (SPX), Russell 2000 Index (RUT), Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts (SPY) and PowerShares QQQ Trust (QQQQ).
December 9, 2008 - options on the S&P 100 Index (OEX) begin trading on CBOE's Hybrid trading platform.
December 31, 2008 - the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) experienced the widest range of daily closes ever in a calendar year during 2008 - 16.30 on May 15 (low of the year) to 80.86 on November 20 (high of the year); the average daily VIX closing level was 32.65 during the year. In addition, the Index closed above 50 on fifty trading days during the year, a level not reached before 2008.
December 31, 2008 - 1.2 billion contracts during 2008, the busiest year in the Exchange's 35 year history. Average daily volume tallied 4.7 million contracts per day and 2008 was the fifth consecutive year of record trading volume at CBOE.

2009

March 2, 2009 - the CBOE Futures Exchange (CFE) launches trading in CBOE mini-VIX futures, a new contract that is one-tenth the size of CFE's standard CBOE VIX futures contract.
July 17, 2009 - William J. Brodsky, Chairman and CEO of the CBOE, testifies in Washington, D.C. before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services regarding the Obama Administration's Financial Regulatory Reform Proposal.

Visit "Choose CBOE" for additional CBOE historical achievements.

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