Starting November 17, Russian investors on the "SPB Exchange" gain the ability to trade contracts on Apple, Enphase Energy, and SolarEdge shares without purchasing the securities themselves. The instrument opens ruble-denominated access to the price movements of American companies, but if the forecast is wrong, the position can result in a loss.
Trades with the new instruments will be executed without an exchange commission, but a fee will have to be paid for carrying the position over to the next day. Investors betting on a decline must also take dividends into account: the full payment will be debited from them, whereas for bets on growth only 70% will be credited.
How the neo-assets on Apple will work
The neo-assets will receive the tickers AAPLperp (Apple), ENPHperp (Enphase Energy), and SEDGperp (SolarEdge). Apple represents consumer electronics and digital services, while Enphase Energy and SolarEdge represent solar energy.
Such contracts allow earning on changes in the value of foreign shares without buying them, and the investor does not become the owner of the securities. Each contract corresponds to one share of the company. The price is quoted in US dollars, while settlements are made in rubles, so the final result may also be affected by the dollar exchange rate.
Dividends on neo-assets are accounted for asymmetrically: holders of long positions (a bet on growth) are credited 70% of the declared payment, while holders of short positions (a bet on decline) will have 100% debited. The remaining 30% is withheld for the payment of taxes in the US.
The exchange does not charge a commission for operations but levies a fee for carrying an open position over to the next calendar day, so holding for a long time costs more than intraday trades. Investors can use rubles or securities as collateral. Trading runs daily: on weekdays from 07:00 to 00:00 Moscow time, on weekends and holidays from 10:00 to 00:00 Moscow time.
The lineup grows along with demand
This is already the second expansion of the lineup in November: on November 3, the exchange announced the launch of neo-assets on shares of NVIDIA, Alphabet, Oracle, McDonald's, and six other companies. The number of such contracts on global securities and cryptocurrency indices then reached 75, with eight of the ten new products coming from the technology sector, to which Apple also belongs.
The expansion coincided with a surge in demand: on November 5, the daily trading volume of neo-assets set a new record and amounted to RUB 78.4 billion, which is 31.3% above the October 23 high. Contracts on BTC, ETH, AMD, Circle, and NVIDIA were among the 15 most traded, meaning demand is concentrated mainly in cryptocurrencies and technology companies.
Rapid growth has a downside: in October, the exchange's total turnover increased by 3.7% to RUB 970.39 billion, but the entire increase was provided by neo-assets. Trading in classic securities declined by 5.9% over the month, and if interest in cryptocurrencies declines, the venue could lose most of its turnover.
Cryptalist analysis: The launch of neo-assets on Apple consolidates the trend toward tokenizing access to traditional assets and expands the toolkit of ruble investors without direct access to foreign markets. However, the concentration of turnover in synthetic contracts and the asymmetry of dividend calculations increase risks for retail participants. The sustainability of the "SPB Exchange" model will depend on its ability to diversify demand beyond cryptocurrencies and the technology sector.