Nasdaq Launches OTC Alternative For European Equity Exposure, Plans To Include U.S. Stocks

Nasdaq launched a Custom Basket Forwards solution on Tuesday that enables investors to create a cash settled forward contract on a customized European equity basket. Alessandro Romani, vice president and head of European derivatives at Nasdaq in Stockholm, said the product will help portfolio managers gain tailored equity exposures for ESG and climate investments, thematic investing, exchange-traded-fund replication, investing in tailor-made indexes and for equity financing, without the increasing challenges associated with over-the-counter derivatives, such as bilateral risk, bilateral dependency in liquidity provision, and costs associated with regulation.