Overview
- Multiple news reports published Friday say Charles Schwab is working with Cboe Global Markets to develop all-or-nothing options tied to the S&P 500 that let customers take a simple yes-or-no position.
- The contracts would work like binary options, paying a fixed cash amount if the index closes above or below a preset level and expiring worthless otherwise.
- Schwab and Cboe have discussed a Cboe “Plus Zone” feature that would give partial payouts when a trader’s forecast is close to the outcome, and the firms have talked about expanding beyond the S&P 500.
- The offering is reported to be built inside regulated options-market infrastructure rather than as futures-style event contracts, and Schwab plans to limit markets to verifiable financial outcomes rather than politics or sports.
- The product is not yet launched and remains subject to final design, internal approvals and oversight from regulators including the CFTC, a factor that could change timing, who may trade the contracts, and how they are sold to retail investors.