ABN AMRO launches first exchange-traded MINI Futures on Emaar

The MINI Futures have been listed on the SWX Swiss Exchange, and ABN AMRO will provide intra-day liquidity subject to a bid-offer spread.

The products are designed to permit European investors to take exposure to Emaar Properties, a leading property and construction company which trades on the Dubai Financial Market, an exchange to which they may not have easy access. The MINI Future will incorporate leverage to enhance the upside potential to investors. However, a stop loss mechanism will ensure that losses do not exceed the amount originally invested.

Ruggiero Lomonaco, Head of Middle Eastern and Islamic Private Investor Products at ABN AMRO, said:

"Many Middle Eastern investors still try to acquire United Arab Emirate shares making use of loans and margin lending. This can cause personal financial problems if the underlying stocks move in the wrong direction. With a MINI Future, the additional money required to make an investment is provided directly in the product, so that investors do not have additional personal liabilities."

MINI Futures are securitised derivative instruments that track the performance of an underlying stock, currency, index or commodity. Like Futures, they give investors the possibility of taking exposure to a certain underlying asset without buying the full nominal amount. However, MINI Futures do not require depositing a margin with a clearing house and are therefore not subject to margin calls if the underlying moves against the investor. The small denomination of MINI Futures and their easy accessibility on main European stock exchanges means that MINI Futures can be used even by retail investors for hedging or investment purposes.

There are two types of MINI Futures: MINI Longs, which benefit from a rise of the price of the underlying investment; MINI Shorts, which benefit from a fall of the underlying investment. The MINI Future on Emaar is a MINI Long.