Morningstar has announced the signing of a multi-year licensing agreement that will allow CME Group to launch derivative products based on several of Morningstar’s flagship equity indexes, including the Morningstar US Total Market, Large Cap, Large Cap Value, Large Cap Growth, Mid Cap, and Small Cap indexes.
CME Group will offer derivatives linked to Morningstar Market Indexes for the first time, as these benchmarks undergo rebranding following the integration of CRSP. This will enable clients to access derivatives tied to indexes that serve as benchmarks for more than $3 trillion in assets.
The agreement will expand the range of investment and hedging instruments linked to some of the most widely used U.S. equity indexes. As a result, investors will gain access to tools for managing risk and taking positions across different segments of the market, from large-cap companies to mid- and small-cap stocks.
“We are delighted to collaborate with CME Group to bring derivative products linked to Morningstar Market Indexes to market for the first time. These are among the most comprehensive and representative benchmarks of the U.S. equity market,” said Amelia Furr, President of Morningstar Indexes. “Following the acquisition of CRSP earlier this year, we have become the leading provider of U.S. equity indexes, and this new relationship with CME Group will further accelerate our growth. Most excitingly, we expect to open new opportunities and bring our high-quality equity indexes to an entirely new segment of the global investment market.”
“We are pleased to partner with Morningstar to help develop next-generation risk management tools that are more precise and effective for the global investment community,” said Tim McCourt, Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Equity, FX, and Alternative Products at CME Group. “The combination of CME Group’s highly liquid equity derivatives marketplace with Morningstar’s data and index ecosystem will allow us to provide clients around the world with an enhanced framework for confidently managing market volatility and capitalizing on new investment opportunities.”