U.S. Brokers, Asset Managers & Exchanges: Are Perpetual Futures a Perpetual Risk? Sizing Retail Exposure Across Exchanges

Research evidence excerpt

U.S. Brokers, Asset Managers & Exchanges: Are Perpetual Futures a Perpetual Risk? Sizing Retail Exposure Across Exchanges

Equity Research

U.S. Brokers, Asset Managers & Exchanges

18 June 2026

Are Perpetual Futures a Perpetual

Risk? Sizing Retail Exposure Across

U.S. Brokers, Asset Managers & ExchangesExchanges

POSITIVE

We continue to believe disruptive fears to the traditional U.S. Brokers, Asset Managers &

Exchangesexchange models are overblown. Given the ongoing pressure

on shares driven by perpetual futures-related headlines, we Benjamin+1 212 526 Budish,2418 CFA

lay out what is potentially at risk across the exchanges. benjamin.budish@barclays.com

BCI, US

Chris O'BrienOverview: Recent commentary from CFTC Chair Selig in an interview with CNBC indicated the

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CFTC will be considering approving perpetual futures on asset classes beyond spot BTC, which

chris.obrien@barclays.com

could include equity products, we believe, and has weighed on recent share performance for BCI, US

CBOE (-14%, vs. the XLF, +1% this week). As we have written previously, we believe that

Mason Flemingperpetual futures on equity products are unlikely to meaningfully displace CBOE index options

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products (Perpetual Futures (Revisited): Coming Soon to an Exchange Near You, 6/2/26) or other mason.fleming@barclays.com

futures contracts (see Takeaways From Perpetual Futures Webinar With ICE COO Stuart Williams, BCI, US

6/9/26). However, given the ongoing pressure on exchange shares, below we lay out what is at

Mark McLaughlin, CFArisk across the exchanges - namely, retail activity specifically related to single-leg speculative

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trades. While we find CBOE and CME most at risk, we continue to believe these risks are largely mark.mclaughlin@barclays.com