CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Small Exchange, a futures exchange offering smaller, simpler products aimed toward retail customers, has launched Small US Crude Oil Futures (SMO) – a trading product presenting a small, efficient line to one of the most consumed energy sources in the world.
SMO allows smaller investors and traders access to the US Crude Oil market with the same institutional quality instruments as larger traders. SMO contracts are less expensive than most existing futures and more capitally efficient than comparable exchange-traded oil funds all while providing pure exposure to one of the most actively traded commodities in the world.
“Small investors and traders now have a crude oil product that meets their risk tolerance, allows for easier access with lower margin requirements, and encourages portfolio diversification,” said Don Roberts, the Small Exchange President and CEO. “We strive to create products that will give the smaller investor equal footing with larger institutions.”
The Small US Crude Oil Futures Contract is a cash-settled future whose underlying is a United States-referenced blend of domestic light sweet crude oils having an API gravity between 38° and 43° and a Sulfur content of less than 0.42%, and it will be available to trade through a number of brokerage firms including Edge Clear, Interactive Brokers, and tastyworks, among others.
“At Edge Clear, we have been pushing for a small-sized crude oil product for a long time. With the existing contracts, the independent online trader is having to use a lot of leverage, and the risk of physical delivery is too high,” said Morad Askar, the founder of Edge Clear LLC. A Chicago-based futures brokerage firm. “We are thrilled to see the Small Exchange step up and fill this demand. We believe this will be a popular product, and I personally can’t wait to trade it myself.”
The Small Exchange started trading in May of 2020, and, as of May 17, has 21 partners including some of the world’s largest trading firms and market markets. It has launched eight products covering everything from stocks and bonds to commodities and currencies and traded more than $2.4 billion in notional value. To learn more about the Small Exchange’s offering, visit www.thesmallexchange.com.
About Small Exchange: Based in Chicago, the Small Exchange - backed by award-winning industry innovators and powered by a proprietary trade matching engine - is a registered Designated Contract Market (DCM) with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The Small Exchange’s mission is to become the world’s largest customer-centric futures exchange, bringing products that bridge the product gap for investors of all sizes by providing futures products that are smaller, more capital efficient, simple to use, and easy to understand for all participants. The company will facilitate the trading of exchange-created proprietary products for all types of market participants including, but not limited to market-makers/liquidity providers, Introducing Brokers (IBs), Futures Commission Merchants (FCMs), proprietary trading firms and hedge funds, all with a primary focus on the public retail customer. Please visit www.thesmallexchange.com for more information.
