CBOE Holdings announced in January that it has bought more than 50% of Vest Financial, a company founded in 2012 that aims to provide investors with a simple way to use options on individual equities and exchange-traded funds as protection against market downturns.
Vest's internet-based platform is accessible through financial advisors and is designed to give investors access to the same investment tools and protections already available to institutions and high net worth individuals. The platform enables an investor to choose the desired level of risk for their investments, then structure a protective strategy based on a portfolio of exchange-traded options. The entire process is done online by interacting with Vest's software and the minimum amount required to open an account is just $5,000.
Ed Tilly, CBOE's chief executive officer, called the deal a "groundbreaking opportunity" to expand options and volatility trading. “Our investment in Vest is a major step forward in our ability to democratize the risk management properties of options and volatility trading,” said Tilly.
