Customer Reviews

A Conservative Approach to Trading Options: Common Sense Strategies to Increase Income, Limit Risk, Protect Profits, and Leverage Resources

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The idea of "Trading Options" for many garden-variety private investors most likely calls to mind the speculative, risky activities of day traders, or for those with Finance degrees such as myself, the dry and complicated options pricing theory to which we were brutally subjected in business school. However, as the somewhat ironic title of this book suggests, options can be very effective tools in the conservative investor's toolbox to protect profits, leverage available capital and even purchase stocks at a discount.

The author is himself a very successful private investor who has built his security via tried and true conservative principals of sound fundamental analysis, discipline and patience. The book starts off with a simple, easy to digest explanation of what options are and how they work, and then moves into several case studies which examine different scenarios under which options can be used to support conservative investment strategies. Each of these scenarios is based on real-world data and experience (the names of the companies have been changed to avoid implicit recommendations). In each case, the author presents best, worst and middle-of-the-road case scenarios for what outcomes might result from each strategy, and leaves plenty of room for the reader to make his/her own determinations based on individual risk tolerance.

I would highly recommend this book for any private investor's library. It takes a topic which can be quite complicated, and boils it down to simple, straightforward advice which can be used by any average private investor effectively in practice. I used it myself to help navigate 2008 as the market nosedived and was able to avoid the losses I might have suffered had I not had these techniques at my disposal. Definitely check it out.

J.A. Fisher
Atlanta, GA

Most retail investors believe that trading stock options is an activity best left for professionals, gamblers or "well qualified" (rich) investors. Not necessarily true.

Prof. Wolpert has produced a book that is accessible to anyone who knows how to buy and sell common stock shares. I believe that his background as professor of education and a successful investor has enabled him to write this book in a style that makes the subject understandable to everyday investors. The book explains terminology and strategies with real-world examples that a moderately knowledgeable investor can use and understand.

Wolpert proves if you've done your homework on a stock, then trading options in that stock can be easy, relatively low-risk and profitable. This book can be recommended to persons seeking more "options" for their investments.

Be cautioned that Wolpert is using the word "conservative" as it was understood fifty years ago to relate to the idea of actually conserving something, in this case you conserve your money. If you're looking for a political angle, you won't find it in this book.