International derivatives marketplace CME Group today announced that its suite of Adjusted Interest Rate (AIR) Total Return futures reached an open interest (OI) record of more than 1 million contracts (equivalent to $365 billion notional) as well as a single-day volume record of 109,000 contracts (equivalent to $40 billion notional) on September 11.
In addition, AIR Total Return futures average daily volume stands at a record 25,000 contracts for 2025, up 80% year-over-year.
“More institutional investors are turning to our AIR Total Return futures to access U.S. index returns while mitigating interest rate, balance sheet and counterparty risks,” said Paul Woolman, Global Head of Equity Products at CME Group. “These products provide a cost-effective alternative to OTC total return swaps and allow clients to better manage their equity financing risk by trading calendar spreads along the entire financing curve. The continued growth of our AIR Total Return futures suite is yet another example of the capital efficiencies that CME Group equity markets are providing to clients.”
AIR Total Return futures, based on the Effective Federal Funds Rate, are available across a range of major global indices – S&P 500, Nasdaq-100, Russell 1000, Russell 2000, and Dow Jones Industrial Average. AIR Total Return futures based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) are available on the S&P 500.
