An important aspect of trading in the derivatives market is that the delivery and settlement of an options or futures contract does not ensue immediately. In other words, at the time the contract is concluded, the buyer does not have to deliver the liquid funds, nor the seller the commodity. One of the world’s largest derivatives markets is Eurex®, a subsidiary of Deutsche Börse AG.

In addition to the exchange-based options and futures market, there is also an OTC (over-the-counter) derivatives market, in which the majority of participants are banks and other financial institutions.