The objective of the Option Sleuth is educate the investor on how a managed option strategy as part of a diversified portfolio can generate additional income and boost returns.
There are two basic types of options: the call and the put.
A call is an option contract that gives the holder the right to buy the underlying security at a specified price for a certain, fixed period of time.
A put is an option contract that gives the holder the right to sell the underlying security at a specified price for a certain, fixed period of time.
Option contracts may be opened as a buy (long positions) or a write (short positions).
The following common option strategies are defined in terms of a net long position, however each strategy may also be opened as a net short position.
• Buy a call
Outlook on the underlying equity: Positive
Potential gain: Unlimited
Potential loss: Limited to price paid for call
• Buy a put
Outlook on the underlying equity: Negative
Potential gain: Limited to the value of the equity
Potential loss: Limited to price paid for put
• Buy a call spread (buy a call and sell a higher strike call)
Outlook on the underlying equity: Positive
Potential gain: Limited to spread value less price paid
Potential loss: Limited to price paid for spread
• Buy a put spread (buy a put and sell a lower strike put)
Outlook on the underlying equity: Negative
Potential gain: Limited to spread value less price paid
Potential loss: Limited to price paid for spread
• Covered call (buy equity, sell higher strike call)
Outlook on the underlying equity: Positive
Potential gain: Varies
Potential loss: Limited to value of equity less price received for call
This week's featured book on options trading:
Covered Call Writing: An Insight into the Popular Option Strategy
by Sabina Salihbasic
VDM Verlag (December 2009)
From the publisher: Covered call writing has always been one of the most popular option trading strategies, and is even more interesting in the time of the bear market that we have experienced in the recent past. It is a strategy that involves selling call options on a stock, while at the same time owning the stock. This strategy is employed by investors who are looking for a certain protection in the decline of stock prices and are hoping to earn additional income during flat or down markets. In this paper, covered call writing, its risks and benefits, as well as different factors influencing the strategy, are presented. Follow-up actions of covered call writing are also discussed and a short presentation provided of some of the funds using covered call writing. A case study is presented showing that the covered write outperforms the buy-and-hold portfolio during periods where shares are flat or falling and underperforms when share prices are rising strongly. The paper should be useful to students and investors who would like to better understand this investment strategy.
This week's featured book on options trading:
Trading Stock Options: Basic Option Trading Strategies and How to use Them to Profit in Any Market
by Brian Burns
P & L Publications (November 2009)
From the publisher: Many traders and investors dismiss stock options as either too complex or too risky. But did you know that options can be easily understood and the risk easily managed? This book will show you the basics of stock options in easy to understand terminology. You will be able to read option quotes with ease, get an option enabled trading account, and trade basic option strategies in no time.
In Trading Stock Options, experienced option trader Brian Burns explains the basics of stock options and shows you how to trade the most successful option strategies. As you begin your journey on the option path, you'll have the luxury of real-life trade examples to show you the way. The diagrams and charts help turn the complex world of options into easy to visualize and simple to understand strategies that even the most novice of traders can utilize.
Trading Stock Options will show you how you can use options to:
• Get paid to buy and sell your favorite stock
• Purchase stocks for less than their current price
• Buy insurance on stocks in your portfolio
• Profit when stocks lose value
• Perform short-term trades with less money than trading the stock
This week's featured book on options trading:
The Options Playbook
by Brian Overby
TradeKing (September 2009)
From the publisher: The Options Playbook was created to demystify option trading and teach investors different option plays for all market conditions. No confusing jargon. No unnecessary mumbo-jumbo. Just clear, easy-to-understand explanations of more than 40 of the most popular option strategies broken down into a play-by-play format including:
• Play Name: Long Call, Short Call Spread, Iron Condor, etc.
• The Setup: The goals and reasons to run each play
• Who Should Run It: Rookies, Veterans or All-Stars, based on degree of difficulty
• When To Run It: Describes each play as bullish, bearish or neutral
• The Strategy: A detailed overview of each strategy, their risks and the specific costs associated with multi-leg strategies.
For the first-time option trader The Options Playbook features a "Rookie's Corner," addressing the basic definitions and concepts you need to understand this market, tips to avoid common beginner’s mistakes, and suggested strategies to "get your feet wet."
For more experienced option traders, an expanded section on implied volatility explains how this handy variable can be used to find the potential range of the stock over the options life. A detailed section on pricing variables (Greeks) helps you understand how an option’s price is affected by changes in market conditions. You will also learn how time decay and a change in implied volatility can affect your trade after it’s in place and how to recover if things don’t go according to plan.
Financial Resources
