(PRESS RELEASE) -- CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig today released a statement announcing that perpetual futures contracts on individual equity securities can begin trading for the first time on designated contract markets that are dually registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as notice-registered national securities exchanges to trade security futures products.
Key excerpts from Chairman Selig’s statement:“Today, perpetual futures contracts on individual equity securities (the ‘Equity Perps’) can begin trading for the first time on CFTC-registered exchanges.
“This expansion marks a significant step towards allowing U.S. market participants, consistent with applicable law, to avail themselves of the advantages of perpetual futures that have led to their emergence as widely sought tools for risk-management and price-discovery. I believe that bringing these types of innovative products into our regulated markets ensures that American investors and traders can access these products within the protections of the CFTC’s proven regulatory framework, rather than being forced to turn to offshore, and often unregulated, venues.
“The Equity Perps build on the foundation of the [Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000] and the [CFTC-SEC Memorandum of Understanding]. For too long, regulatory uncertainty left innovative products, such as security futures and equity perpetual futures, stranded in what SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins has aptly described as a regulatory ‘no man’s land’ due to a lack of harmonization between the agencies. The CFTC and SEC have turned the page on that era, and are committed to delivering regulatory clarity for innovative products and a clear path to market, rather than more casualties of jurisdictional disputes.”