CME Group Adjusted Interest Rate Total Return Futures Reach Record Open Interest of 1 Million Contracts

Rhea-AI Summary

CME Group (NYSE:CME), the world's leading derivatives marketplace, has achieved significant milestones with its Adjusted Interest Rate (AIR) Total Return futures. The suite reached a record open interest of 1 million contracts (equivalent to $365 billion notional) and set a single-day volume record of 109,000 contracts ($40 billion notional) on September 11, 2025.

The company's AIR Total Return futures are experiencing substantial growth, with average daily volume reaching 25,000 contracts in 2025, marking an 80% increase year-over-year. These products, available across major global indices including S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100, offer institutional investors a cost-effective alternative to OTC total return swaps while helping manage equity financing risk.

Positive

• Record open interest of 1 million contracts ($365 billion notional)
• Single-day volume record of 109,000 contracts ($40 billion notional)
• Average daily volume up 80% year-over-year to 25,000 contracts
• Expanded product offering across major global indices

Negative

• None.

CHICAGO, Sept. 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- CME Group, the world's leading derivatives marketplace, today announced that its suite of Adjusted Interest Rate (AIR) Total Return futures reached an open interest (OI) record of more than 1 million contracts (equivalent to $365 billion notional) as well as a single-day volume record of 109,000 contracts (equivalent to $40 billion notional) on September 11.

In addition, AIR Total Return futures average daily volume stands at a record 25,000 contracts for 2025, up 80% year-over-year.

"More institutional investors are turning to our AIR Total Return futures to access U.S. index returns while mitigating interest rate, balance sheet and counterparty risks," said Paul Woolman, Global Head of Equity Products at CME Group. "These products provide a cost-effective alternative to OTC total return swaps and allow clients to better manage their equity financing risk by trading calendar spreads along the entire financing curve. The continued growth of our AIR Total Return futures suite is yet another example of the capital efficiencies that CME Group equity markets are providing to clients."

AIR Total Return futures, based on the Effective Federal Funds Rate, are available across a range of major global indices – S&P 500, Nasdaq-100, Russell 1000, Russell 2000, and Dow Jones Industrial Average. AIR Total Return futures based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) are available on the S&P 500.

For more information on these products, please visit www.cmegroup.com/airtrf.

As the world's leading derivatives marketplace, CME Group (www.cmegroup.com) enables clients to trade futures, options, cash and OTC markets, optimize portfolios, and analyze data – empowering market participants worldwide to efficiently manage risk and capture opportunities. CME Group exchanges offer the widest range of global benchmark products across all major asset classes based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, cryptocurrencies, energy, agricultural products and metals.  The company offers futures and options on futures trading through the CME Globex platform, fixed income trading via BrokerTec and foreign exchange trading on the EBS platform.  In addition, it operates one of the world's leading central counterparty clearing providers, CME Clearing. 

CME Group, the Globe logo, CME, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Globex, and E-mini are trademarks of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc.  CBOT and Chicago Board of Trade are trademarks of Board of Trade of the City of Chicago, Inc.  NYMEX, New York Mercantile Exchange and ClearPort are trademarks of New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc.  COMEX is a trademark of Commodity Exchange, Inc. BrokerTec is a trademark of BrokerTec Americas LLC and EBS is a trademark of EBS Group LTD. The S&P 500 Index is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC ("S&P DJI"). "S&P®", "S&P 500®", "SPY®", "SPX®", US 500 and The 500 are trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC; Dow Jones®, DJIA® and Dow Jones Industrial Average are service and/or trademarks of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. These trademarks have been licensed for use by Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. Futures contracts based on the S&P 500 Index are not sponsored, endorsed, marketed, or promoted by S&P DJI, and S&P DJI makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in such products. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 

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SOURCE CME Group

FAQ

What records did CME Group's AIR Total Return futures achieve in September 2025?

CME Group's AIR Total Return futures reached a record open interest of 1 million contracts ($365 billion notional) and a single-day volume record of 109,000 contracts ($40 billion notional) on September 11, 2025.

How much has CME Group's AIR Total Return futures trading volume grown in 2025?

The average daily volume reached 25,000 contracts in 2025, representing an 80% increase compared to the previous year.

What indices are available for CME Group's AIR Total Return futures?

AIR Total Return futures are available for S&P 500, Nasdaq-100, Russell 1000, Russell 2000, and Dow Jones Industrial Average. SOFR-based futures are available for the S&P 500.

What benefits do CME Group's AIR Total Return futures offer to investors?

These futures provide a cost-effective alternative to OTC total return swaps and help investors manage equity financing risk through calendar spreads, while mitigating interest rate, balance sheet, and counterparty risks.