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:
Options Made Easy: Your Guide to Profitable Trading
by Guy Cohen
FT Press (July 2005)
From the publisher: Options trading offers unparalleled opportunity for rapid profit, but most options guides are difficult to understand and even harder to use successfully. Not this one. Options Made Easy has earned a worldwide reputation for simplicity, clarity, and practical value. In this thoroughly revamped Second Edition, renowned options trader Guy Cohen delivers even more of what makes this book so valuable: better graphics for easy visual learning, updated hands-on examples that walk step by step through real trades, and the clearest plain-English explanations of trading techniques you'll find anywhere. Unlike its competitors, Options Made Easy, Second Edition shows you how to design your own trading plan for high probability trades and consistent profits, offering proven strategies you can begin using right now. Best of all, Cohen teaches through easy-to-understand charts and graphs, not complicated math! Coverage includes: filtering for moving stocks; selecting the right strategy for each situation; bull call and put spreads; covered calls; straddle/strangle; volatility and sideways strategies; trading and investing psychology; and much more. This edition also contains a completely revamped introduction to the Greeks-- the standard sensitivities to options risk characteristics that every trader must know.
Also available: Options Made Easy (Kindle edition). Learn more about the Amazon Kindle, a wireless reading device.
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