Cboe Global Markets today announced it plans to launch trading in Nanos by Cboe beginning Monday, March 14, subject to regulatory approvals.

At a fraction of the size of a standard options contract, Nanos is a first of its kind, one-multiplier, cash-settled listed options contract that will help provide greater access to options trading. The new contracts will be listed exclusively on the Cboe Options Exchange.

Nanos will be available to trade based on the value of the S&P 500 Index, providing investors with a simple and cost-effective way to gain broad exposure to the U.S. equity market and execute hedging, asset allocation and income generation strategies.

“Cboe’s investment in Nanos is specifically designed to meet the needs of today’s growing retail trading community,” said Ed Tilly, Chairman, President and CEO of Cboe Global Markets.

“Our goal is to broaden accessibility to options, empower new market participants with education, and enable them to better express their opinions on market movements. Nanos are the first option of its kind that we believe will provide a new and simpler way to begin trading options, allowing investors that are new to options trading to start small and learn the potential benefits that index options can provide.”

With a smaller multiplier than standard options contracts, Nanos S&P 500 options (ticker: NANOS) allow traders to express their opinions on market movements at a lower cost than options with larger contract sizes and thus higher notional values. The product is expected to result in an average premium price of approximately $5 per contract (excluding applicable transaction fees and broker commissions), lowering the financial barrier to entry for many investors.

In addition, at 1/100th the size of the Mini-S&P 500 Index options (XSP) contract, Nanos are designed to help traders more easily identify and size trades, providing them with greater precision when hedging or taking a directional position.

Nanos will be available to investors who are approved by their retail brokerages to trade options. To complement the launch of Nanos, the Cboe Options Institute plans to offer a new options introductory curriculum tailored to retail traders. In addition, Cboe expects to work with retail brokerages to provide additional educational resources and tools to help investors better understand the characteristics of options and build the knowledge they need to trade with confidence.