Liffe in Perspective

Abstract

The development of a wholly new financial market in the City of London is a rare event and the launch of the London International Financial Futures Exchange in the converted main hall of the Royal Exchange on the last day of September 1982 has few parallels. Whilst new products have been launched on existing markets, such as traded options on the Stock Exchange in 1978, and even new markets for futures like the International Petroleum Exchange in 1981, the start of liffe was much more significant. From the very beginning liffe was seen as a complete new exchange trading a variety of futures contracts and providing a European equivalent of the great Chicago exchanges, the Chicago Board of Trade and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.