As both local and overseas investors regard the Hang Seng Index as an indicator to measure the performance of Hong Kong's stock market and portfolio, investors have been using Hang Seng Index futures and options contracts for trading and risk management. The characteristics of Hang Seng Index Futures are: high cost performance, low transaction cost, and performance guarantee by clearing companies.

1, high cost performance.

Hang Seng Index futures and options contracts can provide more cost-effective investment opportunities. Investors only need to pay a deposit when buying and selling Hang Seng Index futures and options contracts, and the deposit only accounts for a part of the contract face value, which makes hedging activities more cost-effective.

2. Low transaction cost

Each Hang Seng Index futures option contract is equivalent to a basket of high-value stocks, and only one commission is charged for each transaction, so the transaction cost is lower than buying or selling constituent stocks.

3. Performance guarantee of the clearing company

Like other futures and options contracts traded in HKFE, Hang Seng Index futures and options contracts are now registered, settled and provided with performance guarantee by Hong Kong Futures Clearing Company Limited (HKSCC), which is wholly owned by HKFE. As the clearing company is the counterparty of all open contracts, there will be no counterparty risk among clearing house participants. This ensures that the financial responsibility of clearing house participants to their customers will not be advanced. Therefore, investors should carefully and prudently choose brokers for trading.