of the Licensor Parties shall be (a) liable (whether in negligence or otherwise) to any person for any error in the Index or (b) under any
obligation to advise any person of any error therein.
Background on Futures Contracts
Overview of Futures Markets
Futures contracts are contracts that legally obligate the holder to buy or sell an asset at a predetermined delivery price during a
specified future time period. Futures contracts are traded on regulated futures exchanges, in the over-the-counter market and on
various types of physical and electronic trading facilities and markets. An exchange-traded futures contract provides for the purchase
and sale of a specified type and quantity of an underlying asset or financial instrument during a stated delivery month for a fixed price.
A futures contract provides for a specified settlement month in which the cash settlement is made or in which the underlying asset or
financial instrument is to be delivered by the seller (whose position is therefore described as “short”) and acquired by the purchaser
(whose position is therefore described as “long”).
No purchase price is paid or received on the purchase or sale of a futures contract. Instead, an amount of cash or cash equivalents
must be deposited with the broker as “initial margin.” This amount varies based on the requirements imposed by the exchange clearing
houses, but it may be lower than 5% of the notional value of the contract. This margin deposit provides collateral for the obligations of
the parties to the futures contract.
By depositing margin, which may vary in form depending on the exchange, with the clearing house or broker involved, a market
participant may be able to earn interest on its margin funds, thereby increasing the total return that it may realize from an investment in
futures contracts.
In the United States, futures contracts are traded on designated contract markets. At any time prior to the expiration of a futures
contract, a trader may elect to close out its position by taking an opposite position on the exchange on which the trader obtained the
position, subject to the availability of a liquid secondary market. This operates to terminate the position and fix the trader’s profit or loss.
Futures contracts are cleared through the facilities of a centralized clearing house and a brokerage firm, referred to as a “futures
commission merchant,” which is a member of the clearing house.
Unlike common equity securities, futures contracts, by their terms, have stated expirations. At a specific point in time prior to expiration,
trading in a futures contract for the current delivery month will cease. As a result, a market participant wishing to maintain its exposure
to a futures contract on a particular asset or financial instrument with the nearest expiration must close out its position in the expiring
contract and establish a new position in the contract for the next delivery month, a process referred to as “rolling.” For example, a
market participant with a long position in a futures contract expiring in November who wishes to maintain a position in the nearest
delivery month will, as the November contract nears expiration, sell the November contract, which serves to close out the existing long
position, and buy a futures contract expiring in December. This will “roll” the November position into a December position, and, when
the November contract expires, the market participant will still have a long position in the nearest delivery month.
Futures exchanges and clearing houses in the United States are subject to regulation by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission
(the “CFTC”). Exchanges may adopt rules and take other actions that affect trading, including imposing speculative position limits,
maximum price fluctuations and trading halts and suspensions and requiring liquidation of contracts in certain circumstances. Futures
markets outside the United States are generally subject to regulation by foreign regulatory authorities comparable to the CFTC. The
structure and nature of trading on non-U.S. exchanges, however, may differ from the above description.
Underlying Futures Contracts
E-mini® Russell 2000® futures contracts are U.S. dollar-denominated futures contracts (each, an “E-mini® Russell 2000® futures
contract”), based on the Russell 2000® Index, traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (the “Exchange”), representing a contract
unit of $50.00 multiplied by the index level of Russell 2000® Index, measured in cents per index point. From February 4, 1993 to
September 18, 2008, and since July 10, 2017, E-mini® Russell 2000® futures contracts have traded on the Exchange. From August 8,
2007 to June 15, 2018, E-mini® Russell 2000® futures contracts traded on the ICE Futures U.S. exchange.
E-mini® Russell 2000® futures contracts listed for the nearest five quarters, for each March, June, September and December are
available for trading. Trading of the E-mini® Russell 2000® futures contracts will terminate at 9:30 A.M. Eastern time on the third Friday
of the contract month.
The daily settlement prices of the E-mini® Russell 2000® futures contracts are based on trading activity in the relevant contract (and in
the case of a lead month also being the expiry month, together with trading activity on lead month-second month spread contracts) on
the Exchange during a specified settlement period. The final settlement price of E-mini® Russell 2000® futures contracts is determined
through the “end-of-month fair value procedure,” which fixes a price based on trading activity on the Exchange in the E-mini® Russell
2000® futures contracts between 2:59:30 P.M. and 3:00:00 P.M. Central time.