2023 Market Review for Asian InvestorsThere are potential diversification benefits for Asian investors who incorporate U.S. equities to alleviate their tendency for a home country bias. Representing nearly 60% of the global equity market, as measured by the S&P Global BMI, U.S. equities provide a larger opportunity set outside of Asia, along with potential diversification due to different economic structures and cycles between markets, coupled with differing sector exposures. The $S&P 500(.SPX)$ , widely regarded as the best single benchmark of large-cap U.S. equities, has an estimated $5.7 trillion in assets tracking[1] the index and a robust trading ecosystem. Market participants can consider using S&P 500 index-linked products to ef
Options Industry 2023 Review: Index Products Lead Growth
Jan 25, 2024As we welcome 2024, let us review how the options industry fared in 2023 and what 2023 performance indicates for the new year.U.S. options volumes industry-wide set another record in 2023 as more investors seek the utility and flexibility derivatives provide to manage risk and generate income. 11.11 billion option contracts traded market-wide in 2023 with daily volume averaging 43.3 million contracts, an increase of 6.8% from one year ago.As inflation persisted in the second half of 2023, many investors became wary of the high valuations of stocks and shifted their portfolios to safer assets such as bonds. The economic outlook also deteriorated, as both the manufacturing and service sectors showed signs of slowing down. Moreover, the leading indicators and the shape of the yiel