Montreal Exchange Inc. and The Options Industry Council (OIC), a world leader in options education based in Chicago, announced today that they will undertake cooperative efforts to help Canadian investors learn about equity options and accelerate the growth of the options market in Canada.

“We are enthusiastic about joining forces with OIC,” said Luc Bertrand, president and CEO of MX, in a release. “We have been engaged in Canadian options education and training for years. OIC has set high standards of investor education in the United States, one of the world’s fastest growing and largest equity options markets. MX experts will leverage OIC knowledge and expertise to accelerate the diffusion of options knowledge in Canada.”

The MX delivers hundreds of seminars on financial derivatives to Canadian investors every year.

“We want to help Canadians discover the investment opportunities provided by exchange-traded options,” Bertrand added.

MX and OIC are planning initiatives to include a series of educational events and presentations in major Canadian cities that will introduce leading equity options experts to audiences of interested Canadian investors. The first presentations are scheduled for Saturday, April 5 in Calgary, and Sunday, April 6 in Edmonton. These sessions include a full education day on options that will cover basic, intermediate and advanced options strategies.