SuperUnits and SuperShares

In the fourth quarter of 1992, new instruments called SuperUnits and SuperShares were introduced into the US capital market. They essentially consist of fully collaterized traded baskets of securities designed to mimic the behavior of the Standard and Poor 500 stock index. SuperUnits have symmetrical payoffs while SuperShares have option-like payoff characteristics. Unlike other trading vehicles for the S&P 500, these new instruments are long-dated, allowing investors to mold their payoff functions over periods longer than those afforded by commonly used derivatives, such as the S&P 500 futures or the S&P 100 options.