MIAX Expands Retail Push with Bloomberg Index Futures on NinjaTrader

Miami International Holdings (NYSE:MIAX) has launched two of its futures products on the NinjaTrader platform, a strategic move to increase access for the growing retail investor segment. The exchange operator's CEO, Thomas P. Gallagher, confirmed that the Tini Bloomberg 500 (B500) Index Futures and Tini Bloomberg 100 (B100) Index Futures are now available to NinjaTrader's user base of approximately 4.5 million.

Targeting the Retail Futures Market

According to Gallagher, reaching retail traders has been a "top near-term priority" since the products first launched in May. He noted that retail is one of the fastest-growing segments in U.S. futures. The products were specifically designed with this audience in mind, featuring:

• Smaller notional sizes for easier access.
• No exchange fees or market data costs.

"NinjaTrader serves approximately 4.5 million users and is where active retail traders go to access the futures markets, so it was a natural place to start," Gallagher stated in an interview with Investing.com.

Differentiated Products and Bloomberg Partnership

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The Tini futures are based on a 10-year exclusive license with Bloomberg to list derivatives based on the Bloomberg 500 and Bloomberg 100 indices in North and South America. Gallagher highlighted that the indices offer a key advantage through a rules-based methodology designed to incorporate large new company listings, such as SpaceX, into the benchmark earlier than other indices.

This approach provides traders with a different way to gain broad exposure to large-cap U.S. companies. "We’re not just trying to take a slice of an existing market," Gallagher explained. "We think there’s room for a differentiated alternative that helps grow the overall market."

Expanding Product Pipeline

MIAX plans to further build out its product suite for this audience. The company expects to launch cash-settled options on both the B500 and B100 indices on MIAX Options. These options will clear at the Options Clearing Corporation (OCC), the same clearinghouse as its futures, which Gallagher said should provide "enhanced margin and capital efficiencies."

Beyond its equity index products, MIAX recently launched four physically-settled fertilizer futures, citing customer demand and a need for transparent risk management tools amid supply chain volatility. The new contracts include NOLA Urea, NOLA Mono-ammonium Phosphate, NOLA Di-ammonium Phosphate, and NOLA Potassium Chloride.