AFFIN HWANG IB, CBOE IN PARTNERSHIP TO INTRODUCE VIX® FUTURES IN MALAYSIA

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 12 (Bernama) — Affin Hwang Investment Bank Bhd has partnered with Cboe Global Markets Inc to introduce VIX® Futures to local investors.

VIX® Futures is listed on Cboe Futures Exchange (CFE®). 

The pioneering step positions Affin Hwang Investment Bank as the first Malaysian bank-backed investment bank to deliver global innovation to local investors. It builds on the investment bank’s expansion of its foreign futures proposition since 2023, driven by strategic collaborations with global market leaders such as CME Group. 

Affin Hwang Investment Bank chief executive officer Hanif Ghulam Mohammed said VIX® Futures are standardised, cash-settled contracts that allow investors to hedge against future market volatility expectations.

“It tracks the volatility, and basically, it spikes when there are bulks of volatility. This is the first of our Cboe futures that we plan to launch, with the rest in the pipeline, including options for volatility as well.

“What we want to tell our clients is that we no longer just have to use directional products to trade, standard traditional equities, buy and sell. So, we intend to launch this future segment to be another pathway of investment for our clients,” he told the media after the launching ceremony of VIX® Futures here today. 

He said VIX® Futures is basically a volatility-driven product, which centres around spikes of volatility and where investors can hedge long equity positions. “We are going to introduce more of this type of product where investors have different alternatives to manage their portfolio, to optimise their return and secure their returns for the future,” he added. 

According to Hanif, in an environment where directional index trading has become less compelling, volatility emerges as a powerful, transparent, and exchange-traded instrument.

He said VIX Futures allow investors to hedge tail risks, diversify portfolios, and execute event-driven strategies around key macroeconomic and geopolitical milestones, providing clarity and control when markets are uncertain.

“VIX® Futures is basically traded on the exchange of Cboe, and it's largely internationally widely traded, which is why there's a huge depth of liquidity. While we are encouraging participation from local and offshore, we hope that some of the spillover effects from trading of VIX® Futures into the participation through Affin Hwang Investment Bank will spill over as well into the Bursa Malaysia market, clearing derivatives types of products,” he added. 

He pointed out that Affin Hwang IB’s approach is education-led and retail-focused. Rather than following the US index trend, it highlights volatility as an essential component of modern risk management. He said the launch propels Affin Hwang IB’s foreign futures growth into its next phase, pairing market access with structured education and disciplined onboarding to build investor readiness and support more informed participation. 

“We are also going to educate our investors. The whole programme today, we have a series of education, and it will be continuous, and we don't only want to be the bank that sells products to our clients, we want to educate our clients as well on the tools available,” he added.

— BERNAMA