KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 12): Affin Hwang Investment Bank has partnered with Cboe Global Markets Inc to introduce access to VIX® futures, offering investors a new tool to hedge against future market volatility.

The VIX® futures are standardised, cash-settled contracts that track the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX), Wall Street’s main measure of investor anxiety, showing how much people pay to protect against S&P 500 market drops. 

Affin Hwang Investment Bank has become the first Malaysian bank-backed investment bank to introduce VIX® futures to local investors. Its chief executive officer Hanif Ghulam Mohammed said the launch comes at a timely juncture, amid heightened uncertainty in global equity markets, including recent geopolitical developments such as US intervention in Venezuela. 

The investment banking arm of Affin Bank Bhd (KL:AFFIN) — the country’s second-smallest of eight domestic banking groups — also plans to roll out more foreign futures products like VIX® futures to offer investors a broader range of tools to manage risk, optimise returns and strengthen long-term portfolio resilience, he said.

“VIX futures allow investors to hedge tail risks, diversify portfolios, and execute event-driven strategies around key macroeconomic and geopolitical milestones. In short, they provide clarity and control when markets are uncertain.

“What we want our clients to understand is that investing no longer has to rely solely on directional products, the traditional buy-and-sell approach in equities. We intend to introduce this segment as another investment pathway for our clients,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the launch of VIX® futures.

VIX® futures are not limited to active or retail traders, but are also targeted at high-net-worth (premier) clients, corporates and treasury desks. 

According to Hanif, Affin Hwang Investment will prioritise investor education to support demand for the product, rolling out a series of ongoing programmes to help clients better understand the tools available. He said this approach is expected to drive early interest and uptake of VIX® futures.

“Our approach is education-led and retail-focused. We are not simply following the US index trend. Instead, we are spotlighting volatility as an essential component of modern risk management. This strategy does two things. It creates attention in a crowded market and it opens meaningful conversations about risk, conversations that lead to deeper engagement across our futures suite,” he added.