CHICAGO, March 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- CBOE Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBOE) announced today that Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated (CBOE) and C2 Options Exchange (C2) plan to launch trading in "mini-options" that are one-tenth the size of standard options on five popular stocks and exchange traded funds (ETFs). Mini-options on Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN), Google (GOOG), the SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD), and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) will begin trading on Monday, March 18.

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"Many retail customers hold less than 100 shares of these higher-priced stocks in their portfolios," CBOE Chairman and CEO William J. Brodsky said. "We're excited to begin offering mini-options, which will give investors the ability to hedge their positions and trade options on these stocks more economically than with standard-sized options."

Mini-options contracts feature specifications identical to those of standard-sized options contracts on the above securities, except:

• Mini-options contracts represent 10 shares of the underlying security versus 100 shares for standard-sized options contracts; and
• Mini-options contracts trade under a different trading symbol than standard-sized options contracts. Mini-options carry the number "7" at the end of the security symbol.  For example, the Apple mini-options symbol is AAPL7.

In addition to standard monthly expiration dates, non-standard expiration dates (i.e., Weeklys options series, Quarterlys option series and LEAPS) will be eligible for mini-options trading. Plans also call for minimum price movements to be the same in both standard-sized options and mini-options, pending regulatory approval.

The following Designated Primary Market Makers (DPMs) have been appointed for mini-options for CBOE (C2):

• AAPL --  Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC (C2: Wolverine Trading, LLC)
• AMZN – Merrill Lynch Professional Clearing Corp. (C2: Timber Hill, LLC)
• GOOG – Susquehanna Securities (C2: Timber Hill, LLC)
• GLD -- Citadel Securities, LLC
• SPY-- Wolverine Trading, LLC

C2 did not appoint DPMs for GLD and SPY mini-options. At C2, DPMs are appointed only in equity classes that are part of the options Penny Pilot Program.

For more information on mini-options, see www.cboe.com/mini, Regulatory Circular RG13-037 www.cboe.com/aboutCBOE/legal/crclReg.aspx and Regulatory Circular C2-RG13-014 at www.c2exchange.com/Legal/RegulatoryCirculars.aspx.

About CBOE Holdings
CBOE Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBOE) is the holding company for Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), the CBOE Futures Exchange (CFE) and other subsidiaries. CBOE, the largest U.S. options exchange and creator of listed options, continues to set the bar for options and volatility trading through product innovation, trading technology and investor education. CBOE Holdings offers equity, index and ETP options, including proprietary products, such as S&P 500 options (SPX), the most active U.S. index option, and options and futures on the CBOE Volatility Index (the VIX Index). Other products engineered by CBOE include equity options, security index options, LEAPS options, FLEX options, and benchmark products such as the CBOE S&P 500 BuyWrite Index (BXM). CBOE Holdings is home to the world-renowned Options Institute and www.cboe.com, the go-to place for options and volatility trading resources. CBOE is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), with all trades cleared by the OCC.

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CBOE^®, Chicago Board Options Exchange^®, Flexible Exchange^®, FLEX^®, LEAPS^®, CBOE Volatility Index^® and VIX^® are registered trademarks, and BuyWrite(SM), BXM(SM), SPX(SM), and The Options Institute are service marks of Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated (CBOE).  Standard & Poor's^®, S&P^® and S&P 500^® are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services, LLC and have been licensed for use by CBOE.  All other trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE CBOE Holdings, Inc.