what is the cboe options exchange 
founded in 1973 the cboe options exchange is the world s largest options exchange with contracts focusing on individual equities indexes and interest rates 1originally known as the chicago board options exchange cboe the exchange changed its name in 2017 as part of a rebranding effort by its holding company cboe global markets traders refer to the exchange as the cboe see bo cboe is also the originator of the cboe volatility index vix the most widely used and recognized proxy for market volatility 12understanding the cboe options exchangecboe offers trading across multiple asset classes and geographies including options futures u s and european equities exchange traded products etps global foreign exchange fx and multi asset volatility products it is the largest options exchange in the u s and the largest stock exchange in europe by value traded it is the second largest stock exchange operator in the u s and a top global market for etp trading 3the exchange has a rich history including the creation of the cboe clearing corp which later became the options clearing corporation occ the industry clearinghouse for all u s options trades the business of the cboe goes beyond simple trade executions and in 1985 it formed the options institute its educational arm developed to educate investors around the world about options in addition the company offers seminars webinars and online courses including learning for professionals 1cboe productsthe exchange offers access to many diverse products starting with of course put and call options on thousands of publicly traded stocks as well as on exchange traded funds etfs and exchange traded notes etns investors typically use these products for hedging and income production through the selling of covered calls or cash secured puts 45there are options available on stock and sector indexes including the standard poor s 500 s p 100 dow jones industrial average russell indexes selected ftse indexes nasdaq indexes msci indexes and sector indexes including the 10 sectors contained within the s p 500 6the exchange offers social media indexes and specialty indexes covering several options strategies such as put write butterfly and collar 6finally the vix index is the premier barometer of equity market volatility this index is based on real time prices of near the money options on the s p 500 index spx and is designed to reflect investors consensus view of future 30 day expected stock market volatility traders call the vix index the fear gauge because it tends to spike to very high levels when investors believe the market is very bearish or unstable 7the vix index is also the flagship index of the cboe global markets volatility franchise this includes volatility indexes on broad based stock indexes etfs individual stocks commodities and other specialty indexes 7the cboe created the vix index in 1993 it has since become the de facto barometer of u s equity market volatility 1