Boston Options Exchange (BOX) commenced trading on Feb. 6, 2004 with what was then a revolutionary concept: allowing trades to take place at penny increments utilizing the Price Improvement Process (PIP). This automated system submits contracts to a three-second auction, which aims to improve the contract price. On July 7, BOX announced it had saved investors a total of over $200 million through the PIP.
“We think the industry is moving towards penny trading,” says Will Easley, vice chairmen of BOX.
BOX is currently increasing its capacity by 100% to 200% in anticipation of an increase in trading volume by 2009. Easley believes growing scrutiny and potential regulatory changes to the futures industry and over the counter markets could be a boon to BOX.
“We expect what is going on to push people away from unregulated markets to regulated markets, which is good for us,” Easley says. “We are very comfortable with the future the way we see it.”
