The Small Exchange ("Smalls") was designed for retail traders without the complicated symbol codes, trading hours, different tick sizes, and tick values. In other words, if you're a seasoned options trader, then you'll find the uniformity of the Smalls a welcome change and a breath of fresh air to futures trading. You can view all available Small Exchange products by referring to the Futures: Small Exchange preset watchlist in the tastyworks platform. Below, we have a broad overview of the Smalls, but you can directly visit The Small Exchange by clicking here.

tastyworks has made a conscious choice to limit futures and futures options products to those which have adequate volume and liquidity for retail trading. Unfortunately, the volume and liquidity in some of the Small Exchange products has fallen to the point that they’re no longer supported, namely options on SFX and SPRE and futures on S420, SM75, SPRE, SFX, SMES, STIX. Said products will be set to closing only for the time being. Please contact the Trade Desk (support@tastyworks.com) if you have any questions.

Available Small Exchange Contracts

Below is a table of the Small Exchange products we support at tastyworks. If the area below is blank, then please give it one moment to load.

The roll period for each Smalls contract will begin on the third Wednesday of every month, except for /SMO.

Active month /SMO contracts cease trading the day before the second Friday of each month at 1:30 PM (Central). If the second Friday is a market holiday, settlement is on the Thursday prior to the Friday holiday, and the last trading day will be preceding business day.

Commissions and Fees for the Smalls

Smalls Commissions

$0.25 per smalls contract to open
$0.25 per smalls contract to close
Or, $0.50 per smalls contract, round-trip

Smalls Exchange Fees

Non-member: $0.15 per smalls contract, or $0.30 round-trip
Member: $0.07 per smalls contract, or $0.14 round-trip

NFA Fee

National Futures Association Fee: $0.02 per side or $0.04 round-trip

FCM Clearing Fee

$0.05 per smalls contract, or $0.10 round-trip. This passthrough fee covers expenses related to clearing trades assessed by our Futures Commissions Merchant (FCM).

OCC Clearing Fee

$0.02 per smalls contract, or $0.04 round trip. This passthrough fee covers expenses related to clearing trades at the exchange by the Options Clearing Corp (OCC).

Example of Total Trading Cost (per one-lot, round-trip)

*Any Small Exchange contract held to expiration and settles to cash will be subject to the same per contract costs surrounding a closing transaction. The total fee will vary if you are a Small Exchange community member or not.

Contract Uniformity

Tick Size and Tick Value

All Smalls contracts tick like an equity options contract. Every contract ticks in a penny increment or 0.01. Each tick or 0.01 equals $1. That means a 15-cent move or 15 ticks (0.15) equals $15. Furthermore, a full point or $1.00 equals $100.

Market Trading Hours for Smalls Contracts

All Small Exchange contracts trade Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Central Time, except for expiring contracts (refer to the Settlement Time and Method section below).

Contract Months

All Small Exchange products will offer two consecutive months–an active front-month contract and a back-month contract.

Settlement Time and Method

All Small Exchange products are cash-settled on the third Friday of the month at 3 p.m. Central Time, except for /SMO*. A published settlement value determines the settlement value. Small Exchange contract(s) held to expiration settle to cash are subject to the standard per-contract closing transactions fees. Please refer to the Example of Total Trading Cost (per one-lot, round-trip) section above for total costs.

*Since /SMO ceases trading the day before the second Friday of each month at 1:30 PM (Central), any expiring contract will settle to cash. The settlement price publishes on Friday, but coincides with the prior day 1:30 PM settlement price of the front-month Light Sweet Crude Oil Future (/CL). To learn more about SMO settlement procedures, please click here.

Intraday Limits

Small Exchange products are futures, as a result, are subject to price limits. Price limits refer to an allowable price on an order ticket to be routed at an exchange. In short, price limits prevent prices from "whipsawing" that could occur otherwise if there were resting orders outside the price limit. Furthermore, all Smalls products have a 9% and 13% price limit during periods of heightened volatility from the previous day’s settlement price.

During a triggered intraday limit event, the market state is switched to “paused” for 3 minutes, and the following actions take place: 

• For the first minute, trading is paused, and only order cancelations are allowed.
• During the second minute, the market is in a pre-open state.
• In the final minute, the market is in a pre-open no cancel state and then reopens. After the market reopens, a new opening price is not calculated or published. 

Please visit the Info Hub at the Small Exchange by clicking here to learn more about Intraday Limits.

Smalls Contract Descriptions & Specifications

Below are descriptions of each available Small Exchange product. To view learn more about the index each Small futures contract tracks, please click here.

/SFX Small Dollar Index

The Small Dollar Index is a combination of Euro, Chinese Renminbi, Japanese Yen, British Pound, Canadian Dollar, Australian Dollar, and Mexican Peso. Weights are determined through the associated region’s gross domestic product and dollar-denominated trade volume. The Index creates a diversified way of participating in the foreign exchange market.

/SMO Small US Crude Oil

The Small US Crude Oil Futures is a cash-settled future whose underlying is a United States referenced Light Sweet Crude Oil having an API (American Petroleum Institute) Gravity between 38° and 43°, and a Sulfur content of less than 0.42%.

/SM75 Small Stocks 75 Index

The Small Stocks 75 Index comprises 5 equally weighted sectors, with each sector containing 15 stocks. Components are re-evaluated annually. The determination of the symbols within each sector is assessed through volatility, market capitalization, and liquidity (i.e., notional traded volume). The Index favors liquid, large-capitalization stocks with high volatility. The Index creates a diversified way of participating in the equities market.

/SMES Small Equities 400 Index

 The Small Equities 400 Index groups together 400 companies across multiple sectors and weights them according to market capitalization. This is a great product as it gives traders small, low-cost exposure to a diversified stock market in a single trade. The small size and diversified nature of /SMES futures relative to larger stock index futures can offer both beginner and experienced traders the ability to hedge equity investments or simply speculate on stocks with greater flexibility.

/SPRE Small Precious Metals Index

The Small Precious Metals Index comprises a price-weighted combination of gold, silver, and platinum. Each metal’s weight within the Index is calculated through a unique combination of global production, domestic consumption, and dollar-denominated volume. The Index creates a diversified method of participating in the precious metals market.

/STIX Small Technology 60 

The Small Technology 60 IndeX (STIX 60) consists of 60 stocks representing the technology sector with 4 distinct subsectors — information, retail, media, biology — contributing 15 stocks each.

/SCCX Small Cryptocurrency Equity Index

The Small Cryptocurrency Equity Index (/SCCX) measures the performance of 17 securities involved in the cryptocurrency industry. The Index is intended to track cryptocurrency’s movement given its positive historical correlation to assets like Bitcoin. All Index components are NYSE-, Nasdaq- or OTC-listed securities.

/S2Y Small 2 Year U.S. Treasury Yield Index

The Small 2 Year U.S. Treasury Yield Index is based on the U.S. 2-year Treasury yield to maturity of the on-the-run U.S. 2 Year Treasury Note. The Index is expressed as the computed yield multiplied by 1,000. 

/S10Y Small 10 Year U.S. Treasury Yield Index

The Small 10 Year U.S. Treasury Yield Index is an average of the constant maturity 10-year U.S. Treasury yield. The Index is expressed as the computed yield multiplied by 1,000. The Index creates a more exact way of participating in the interest rate market. 

/S30Y Small 30 Year U.S. Treasury Yield Index

The Small 30 Year US Treasury Yield Index is based on the U.S. 30-year yield to maturity of the on-the-run U.S. 30 Year Treasury Bond. The Index is expressed as the computed yield multiplied by 1,000. 

/S420 Small Cannabis

The Small Cannabis measures the performance of companies involved in the cannabis industry. All equities are NYSE- or Nasdaq-listed.