From the Inside Flap
Today's index market offers exciting opportunities to trade and profit from a variety of different instruments, including gold, bonds, the stock market, specific sectors, and industry groups. But if you don't have a firm understanding of this market, lack a strategic plan, or fail to manage risk effectively, there's a good chance that success will elude you.
Over the course of their careers, financial experts George Fontanills and Tom Gentile have helped thousands of traders achieve success in a variety of markets. Now, with The Index Trading Course, Fontanills and Gentile show you how to make the most of your time in this market by going beyond the theoretical aspects of index trading and into the real world—where the serious index trader lives, breathes, and makes money.
Written for those who already have a rudimentary knowledge of options trading, The Index Trading Course begins with a brief history of indexes, and then transitions to a discussion of the widely followed indexes in today's markets. Along the way, Fontanills and Gentile investigate index construction, market trends, and general industry group coverage. Engaging and accessible, this comprehensive guide quickly moves toward trading applications with coverage of index-based products, including exchange traded funds (ETFs), index options, and ETF options. These different securities are paired throughout the remainder of the text with the appropriate trading strategies.
The Index Trading Course also examines many other important index-related topics, such as:
- Specific indicators and systems
- Tracking and trading volatility
- The art of risk management
- Trade adjustments
Once you gain a firm understanding of how to trade the index market, this book will then show you how to pull it all together with discussions of how to find the right broker, set up an account, and perform paper trades to test your strategies.
Successful index trading requires a certain amount of skill and knowledge that is not shared by many. It requires a different set of skills when compared to trading futures, stocks, or stock options. Filled with in-depth insight and expert advice, The Index Trading Course will help you understand what indices are, how they are used, and, most importantly, how to make money with them.
To help reinforce the information and concepts presented here, don't forget to pick up The Index Trading Course Workbook, which contains essential learning tools—such as quizzes and media assignments—that correspond directly to this book.
From the Back Cover
Praise for The Index Trading Course
"George and Tom apply their considerable options trading and teaching expertise to the arena of broad-based and sector indices. Index options traders will find the techniques, systems, and strategies invaluable—and so will those who aren't yet index traders, but want to learn to be."
—Larry McMillan, President, McMillan Analysis Corporation author, Profit with Options
"I've known both George and Tom for many years and have seen firsthand how they both can captivate a room with their knowledge of options trading and vibrant personalities. Now they have managed to capture that magic in this easy-to-understand how-to manual on trading index options."
—David Kalt, CEO, optionsXpress Holdings Inc., www.optionsXpress.com
"I traded?in the OEX pit for almost twenty years and I can't believe how well George and Tom nailed the core strategies and trading intricacies of index products. Nice job!"
—Tom Sosnoff, CEO, thinkorswim, Inc.
"Education has been a major factor in the explosive growth in the options markets. Once again, Fontanills and Gentile have delivered as leaders in options education with The Index Trading Course and The Index Trading Course Workbook. These books provide a disciplined approach to trading index and ETF options through risk management."
—Christopher Larkin, Vice President, U.S. Retail Brokerage E*TRADE Securities LLC (www.etrade.com/options)
"I found The Index Trading Course and The Index Trading Course Workbook to be filled with useful and practical information on options, ETFs, the market, and trading in general. They explain the unique characteristics of these instruments in understandable terms and should provide a good foundation to those interested in trading index options and options on ETFs. The quizzes and media assignments in the Workbook are wonderful learning tools that help reinforce the information and concepts presented in the main book."
—Debra L. Peters, The Options Institute
