Propelled by a combination of higher volatility and investor interest in the small cap sector, Russell 2,000 index derivatives contracts posted record volumes over the past two months on equity options and futures exchanges.
Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) posted a record in the Russell 2,000 ETF options (IWM) contract in October of 2.67m contracts, ranking it second in the index category to the exchange's S&P 500 index option.
November volume in the contract was down slightly from October, though there were fewer trading days. For the year, CBOE's Russell 2,000 ETF options were up 244% on volume of 13.37m contracts.
One reason for the stellar volumes in IWM has been the strong demand from institutional investors for small cap index contracts, according to Terry Andrews,...