University of Evansville

UE Students to Visit Major Chicago Financial Markets

University of Evansville finance students will visit three major financial markets in Chicago, on Monday, October 18. The students will be able to witness more that 50 different futures and options products traded by open auction on the exchange floor at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). The CBOT, established in 1948 pioneered the futures market. This exchange is the largest in the world and in 2003 broke the record for futures contracts. A futures contract is an agreement where one trader agrees to buy a commodity, like corn, at an agreed price on a specified future date and another trader agrees to sell that commodity for the agreed price and on the future date.

The second financial market that the students will visit is the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). The CME is the largest financial exchange in square footage and it is also home to the largest futures clearing house in the world. The CME brings together buyers and sellers of derivative products both on an open trading floor and electronically. A derivative is a financial product that derives its value from an underlying security.

The third financial market that the students will visit is the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE). The CBOE founded the first U.S. options exchange in 1973. Twenty years later the CBOE is the largest options exchange in the world. An option is the right, but not the obligation to buy or sell stock, before a specified future date expires. The students are enrolled in Finance 462—Investments and the trip is sponsored by the Finance Club at UE. Dr. Khan, a finance professor in the School of Business Administration will accompany the students to Chicago.