CME Group, the world’s leading derivatives marketplace, announced it will launch E-mini S&P 500 Equal Weight futures on February 26, pending regulatory review.

While the S&P 500 Index weights companies based on market capitalization, the S&P 500 Equal Weight Index applies equal weight to all constituents in the index. The addition of these new E-mini contracts will give market participants another tool to deploy hedging and investment strategies across a broad range of potential market scenarios.

“The introduction of E-mini S&P 500 Equal Weight futures will provide market participants with a new way to access equity market breadth,” said Paul Woolman, Global Head of Equity Products at CME Group. “As the S&P 500 becomes more heavily concentrated towards larger companies, these new contracts can provide a liquid, cost-efficient tool to gain equal exposure to all names in the index, further allowing traders to diversify their equity trading strategies.”

“For generations, the S&P 500 has been widely regarded as the best single gauge of the U.S. equity market. To complement S&P DJI’s iconic market benchmark, the S&P 500 Equal Weight Index was launched in January 2003, measuring the performance of equal allocations among S&P 500 constituents,” said Bruce Schachne, Chief Commercial Officer at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “S&P DJI is excited to collaborate with CME Group as it expands its offering, and further reinforces the crucial role independent and transparent benchmarks play in the capital markets.”

Source: CME