On Saturday, the Options Industry Conference closed with a panel discussion by the options exchange leaders of current issues affecting the options markets and exchanges.

On Thursday, the Options Industry Council released the findings from their Financial Advisor Benchmark Study, conducted by Bellomy Research. The study found that options usage from financial advisors is on the rise.

A look at how March turned out for the options exchanges

Options Insider Radio 83: Jaw Caauwe, CFE's Director of Business DevelopmentIn this episode, Mark sits down with Jay Caauwe, Director of Business Development for the CBOE Futures Exchange (CFE). Mark and Jay discuss the past, present and future of VIX futures including: * The strategy behind the creation of the CFE * The real players in the VIX futures market * Why even the mini-VIX has failed to attract retail customers to VIX futures * Why so many options traders erroneously assume that VIX options derive from the VIX cash * The growing threat/opportunity posed by realized volatility products * New product launches including GLD VIX and Oil VIX * And much more…

Details on February options volume

Of the top ten derivatives exchanges in the world, Eurex and NYSE Euronext come in at three and four, respectively, for a 21.52% of 2010's volume.

Options Insider Newsletter readers choose their "Exchange of the Year."

A breakdown of the market share stats for 2010

In this episode, Mark is joined by Tom Boggs, Director of Equity Index Products at CME. Mark and Tom discuss the multiple equity and index options products available at CME, dispelling the notion that the exchange is just for futures traders. They also discuss the new products being traded based on VIX methodology. Tune in for all the details.

Has Ballista Securities, the first options dark pool, finally closed its doors?

Today, CBOE Holdings (NASDAQ: CBOE) is the exchange thought of by many as synonymous with options trading. In the past, it was the Philadelphia exchange.

In this episode, Mark is joined by Craig LeVeille, Director of FX Products, CME Group. Mark and Craig discuss CME Group's ongoing struggle to dispel the notion that the exchange has little to offer options traders. They examine the exchange's efforts to target retail options traders, including a new landing page and an options-focused product team. They also explore the hidden liquidity benefits that many futures options bring to the table vs. ETF options. Finally, Mark and Craig discuss the reasoning behind CME Group's surprise decision to license Volcontracts from the Volatility Exchange.