LIFFE
The London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange (LIFFE) is an exchange where people trade financial risk. Those who do not want to take on financial risks transfer them to people who have the appetite for them and the ability to control them.
Financial risks include market risks - being a person's or an organisation's exposure to an adverse change in the market price resulting in higher costs and/or reduced returns. Many people face risks like this.
LIFFE's marketplace enables Banks and other financial institutions to reduce their financial risks. Therefore these institutions are able to offset any changes in interest rates, stock or commodity prices.
Whereas a traditional stock exchange principally focuses on trading in one relatively straightforward product - eg company shares - LIFFE provides a central exchange for investment and risk transfer in a diverse range of 50 highly complex products that are derived from - and/or support - the larger markets in bonds, money and over the counter (OTC) derivates, as well as the equity market.
Such is the demand for these services that LIFFE has grown by over 40% a year since it was founded in 1982 and is now one of the world's largest exchanges, trading on average GBP 375 billion per day. In addition, LIFFE is the world's centre for euro money market derivatives trading.
LIFFE's major customers are the international broker dealers, financial institutions and proprietary trading firms who are seeking to maximise their access to markets on a global basis.
LIFFE was bought and taken over by the Dutch company Euronext NV in 2001. Euronext.liffe is currently the world's leading exchange for euro short term interest rate derivatives and equity options offering futures and options on equities, indices, government bonds and commodities.
Contact details
Euronext.liffe
Cannon Bridge House
1 Cousin Lane
London EC4R 3XX
Tel: 020 7623 0444
Fax: 020 7588 3624
customermanagement@liffe.com
www.liffe.com