In February 2010 the US options industry will be changing the manner in which option symbols are represented, transitioning from a 5-character symbol format (i.e., the OPRA code) to a more descriptive 21-character format under an effort referred to as the Options Symbology Initiative (OSI). While the initial industry scheduled implementation phase of OSI is set for 2010-02-12, IB has been and will continue to implement changes in advance of this date with the goal of minimizing any last-minute disruptions.
To date, these changes have been limited to the advance conversion of two largely inactive PHLX listed products, providing the limited group of clients most likely to be impacted by OSI an opportunity to test their preparedness. Effective as of the 2010-01-06 open, the remaining option contracts listed solely on the PHLX are to be converted and on the 2010-01-11 open, contracts listed solely on the AMEX, BOX, CBOE or ARCA exchanges will be converted.
It's important to note that the OSI impact, if any, should be negligible to most clients since the Trader Workstation accommodates order entry through the underlying symbol as well as the OPRA code. To learn more about OSI, including the new data format, how you may be impacted and to monitor future conversion phases, please visit the IB Knowledge Base at http://ibkb.interactivebrokers.com/ and type KB972 into the search engine.
Link mit weiteren Details, Symbolen und vorher-nachher-Vergleich:
http://ibkb.interactivebrokers.com/node/972