European golfers may have dominated the Ryder Cup this decade, with three wins to one over their US opponents, but the US is the clear leader in the options market. Last year, 2.9 billion stock options contracts were traded in the US and only 421 million in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, according to data from the International Options Market Association.

There are two factors, retail participation and structure, that mean the options markets in the two regions are very different. The US market is characterised by a high proportion of retail participation. Research consultancy Tabb Group estimates 15% of options users were retail last year, but some estimates go as high as 50%. Whatever the precise figure, it is clear that the comparative sophistication of retail investors in the US has a big impact on the market.