Home

Welcome to the individual investor site for UK products and services. NYSE Liffe offers a range of equity futures and options for individual investors and this site provides more information to get you started, including a list of NYSE Liffe's Options & Futures Brokers.

NYSE Liffe offers a gateway to a world of investment possibilities far beyond the simple "buy at a given price, then hold or sell" type of investment, such as shares.
Futures were originally introduced as an insurance mechanism for farmers and manufacturers who wanted to fix a price for crops at a future date. The farmer wanted to be able to make plans knowing the price he would get for his crops. For the manufacturer, fixing the price meant that he could ensure consistency in the prices he charged.
Options have also existed for a long time. The concept and theory behind options dates back to the development of the law of contract in mediaeval times. For many centuries since, options have been used in a simple way to oil the wheels of trade in agricultural produce, imports and manufactured products.
Futures and options are collectively known as 'derivatives'. Derivatives, such as futures and options, are financial instruments whose price movements are derived from the price movement of an underlying security or asset.
In the case of NYSE Liffe's equity futures and options, their value is derived from the price movement of an underlying share price or index level and they hold a host of investment opportunities for the private investor.