NYSE Options
For 50 years, NYSE American Options and NYSE Arca Options have been at the forefront of the options industry, continuously evolving to meet the needs of market participants. Each market offers distinct pricing and allocation models, combining the efficiency of NYSE Pillar technology with the expertise of human judgment on active trading floors. Powered by NYSE Pillar, our markets deliver exceptional speed, resilience, and industry-leading functionality and risk controls.
Market Highlights
- Pro-rata allocation model
- Customer orders have priority and pay no fees
- Specialist and/or e-Specialist in most classes
- Allocation entitlement for Directed Market Makers and Specialist pool
Market Participants
A Specialist is a designated Market Maker obligated to provide continuous two-sided quotes for at least 90% of the trading session. Specialists are entitled to a guaranteed participation allocation when quoting at the National Best Bid and Offer (NBBO), subject to Customer order priority. On a quarterly basis, the Exchange conducts an objective evaluation of the quote performance of all Specialists and e-Specialists within a given options class to designate a Primary Specialist. This designation is awarded based on a comparative assessment of relative quoting performance.
Directed Order Market Maker (DOMM)
A DOMM can receive Directed Orders from an Order Flow Provider (OFP). If quoting at the National Best Bid and Offer (NBBO) at the time of execution, they may receive a preferential participation allocation, subject to Customer order priority. DOMMs must meet the same continuous quoting obligations as Specialists and comply with Exchange rules governing Directed Orders.
Floor Broker (FB)
Floor Brokers are registered Broker-Dealers who execute trades on behalf of customers or firms directly on the Trading Floor. FBs specialize in handling large, complex, or negotiated trades that benefit from manual execution.
Liquidity & Price Improvement Tools
Customer Best Execution (CUBE)
Electronic price improvement auction mechanism for Single-Leg and Complex paired orders of any size.
Broadcast Order Liquidity Delivery Mechanism (BOLD)
Broadcast marketable orders on NYSE market data feeds for additional execution opportunities on American Options prior to routing, cancelling, or posting on the Consolidated Book.
Market Highlights
- Price-time allocation model
- Make-take pricing
- Allocation entitlement for LMMs
- Complex Order Book (Multi-leg), Complex Order Auction (COA)
- Physical trading floor in San Francisco
Market Participants
Lead Market Makers (LMM)
An LMM is a designated Market Maker obligated to provide continuous two-sided quotes for at least 90% of the trading session. Specialists are entitled to a guaranteed participation allocation when quoting at the National Best Bid and Offer (NBBO). LMMs enhance price discovery and execution quality by facilitating trading.
Eligible Products and Specialists
Floor Broker (FB)
Floor Brokers are registered Broker-Dealers who execute trades on behalf of customers or firms directly on the Trading Floor. FBs specialize in handling large, complex, or negotiated trades that benefit from manual execution.
Options Products
ETF Options
Options on ETFs allow investors to gain exposure to the performance of an index, hedge against a decline in assets, enhance portfolio returns, and/or profit from the rise or fall of a leveraged ETF.
NYSE Index Options
Index options make it possible for investors to seek either profit or protection from price movements in a market as a whole or in broad segments of a particular market. NYSE is now the new home for MSCI Index Options.
Cash-Settled FLEX ETF Options
FLEX Options offer customizable terms—size, strike price, and expiration. Types include Equity, Index, and Cash-Settled FLEX. LEAPS Options expire in up to 3 years and are available for eligible equity/index classes.