CME CME Group Inc

Online broker optionsXpress Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq:OXPS) and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (NYSE:CME)(Nasdaq:CME), the world�s largest and most diverse derivatives exchange, today announced a unique new partnership to develop a wide range of investor education events. Individual investors can attend webinars and seminars to understand how options on futures such as stock indexes and currencies are important risk management trading tools for their portfolios. The optionsXpress/CME investor education effort will include one-day workshops, webinars and the regional and national versions of optionsXposm, optionsXpress� flagship customer event. optionsXpress and the CME have already held two joint events, in Los Angeles and Miami, and expect to host as many as eight more events and at least eight webinars through the end of 2007. Currently scheduled events include: Aug 1 or 2 One-Day Workshop, Seattle Sept 14-15 optionsXpress Regional Event, Phoenix Oct 25-27 optionsXpo, Chicago Dec 27 or 28 One-Day Workshop, Honolulu Dan O�Neil, executive vice president, futures, of optionsXpress, says that the joint effort between optionsXpress and CME is in keeping with optionsXpress� focus on investor education and expertise in options and futures. "Investor education has been key to optionsXpress� success in demystifying equity options, with a wide range of services including virtual trading, webinars and live customer events held in cities around the world,� said O�Neil. �We are excited to begin this new investor education series with the CME, focused exclusively on futures options.� Futures Brokerage at optionsXpress On January 24, 2007, optionsXpress Holdings, Inc. announced the acquisition of online futures broker XpressTrade, adding 8,800 futures-focused investors to its existing customer base of 216,000 customers. As a result of the acquisition, optionsXpress customers gained 24-hour access to 25 exchanges and over 300 futures products worldwide, in both electronic and open outcry markets. Unique among brokerages, whether online or traditional, optionsXpress offers futures traders simple account management with the ability to trade securities and futures side-by-side through a single brokerage account. Other benefits include easy-to-use trade tickets with advanced order capability and a comprehensive suite of futures-oriented tools and services, such as virtual trading and webinars. About Chicago Mercantile Exchange CME (www.cme.com) is the world�s largest and most diverse derivatives exchange. As an international marketplace, CME brings together buyers and sellers on the CME Globex� electronic trading platform and on its trading floors. CME offers futures and options on futures in these product areas: interest rates, stock indexes, foreign exchange, agricultural commodities, energy, and alternative investment products such as weather, real estate and economic derivatives. CME is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. (NYSE, NASDAQ: CME), which is part of the Russell 1000� Index and the S&P 500� Index. About optionsXpress Holdings, Inc. optionsXpress Holdings, Inc., a pioneer in equity options and futures trading for the retail investor, offers a comprehensive and innovative suite of online brokerage services for investor education, strategy evaluation and trade execution. Through its subsidiaries optionsXpress, Inc., an online retail brokerage specializing in equity options and futures, and brokersXpress, LLC, an online trading and reporting platform for independent investment professionals, the company provides a wide range of proprietary investor tools, outstanding customer service and competitive commissions that have led to recognition as the leading online brokerage firm by Barron's in four annual surveys (2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006) and by Kiplinger�s Personal Finance in 2006. www.optionsxpress.com