Options as a Strategic Investment [Hardcover]

Lawrence G. McMillan (Author)

Book Description

Release date: March 1, 2002

Reflecting today’s market realities and the new innovative options products available, this fourth edition features an in-depth analysis of volatility and volatility trading; updated information on all stock option strategies, reflecting recent market conditions; buy and sell strategies for Long Term Equity Anticipation Securities (LEAPs); detailed guidance for investing in the growing field of structured products; the latest developments in futures and futures options; and the market impact of the most recent changes in the margin rules.

Packed with graphs and charts to clarify profit and loss potential, margin requirements, and criteria for selection of a position, this classic remains an indispensable resource for investors determined to master the world of options--and profit.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

The options world has a lot to offer investors and traders alike, but it can be dauntingly hard to understand. Since its original publication, Options as a Strategic Investment has answered many a question; and each succeeding edition has answered many more. It is the options reference in our office.

John Bollinger, CFA, CMT, President

Bollinger Capital Management, Manhattan Beach, California Larry McMillan’s Fourth Edition of Options as a Strategic Investment is a must read. This latest version of his original classic presents his latest thinking on options. McMillan is truly the master of his field.

John Murphy, President

Murphy Morris, Inc., Dallas, Texas

Larry’s book is the bible of the options community. It has established the benchmark by which all other option books are compared - and none measure up. Alex Jacobson, Vice President International Securities Exchange, New York, New York Larry has taken options education into the 21st century with this book. His insights into trading concepts will always stand the test of time. Keeping up with the latest information on options is mandatory and no one does it more masterfully than Larry.

Mark D. Cook, Professional Options Trader

Mark D. Cook Trading Instruction, East Sparta, Ohio

The options product is the premier tool for managing risk, but most professionals are no longer taught about it, and individual investors shun it because of its supposed complexity. Mr. McMillan not only makes this risk management tool easy to understand, but fun to learn. Did you realize that if you own a car you own a put? Read the book and find out how you are already using options as a risk management tool without realizing it. This book should be read by everyone - professionals and individual investors alike. Thomas J. Dorsey, President Dorsey, Wright & Assoc., Richmond, Virginia The best one-stop source of understandable option information that you can act on immediately. Every serious investor should read this book.

Ken and Daria Dolan

Heard daily across America on the WOR radio network.

About the Author

Lawrence G. McMillan is the editor of The Option Strategist Newsletter and the author of numerous articles on options and investment trading. Formerly senior vice president of the Equity Arbitrage Department at Thomson McKinnon Securities, he currently publishes newsletters and gives seminars on options, manages money for private clients and trades his own account.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1001 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall Press; 4 Sub edition (March 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735201978
• ISBN-13: 978-0735201972
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 2 x 9.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #65,096 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #22 in Books > Business & Investing > Investing > Options

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

124 of 126 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This is THE book. July 15, 2002

By FreeAtLast

Format:Hardcover

Try as I might, I cannot understand the negative reviews here. This is THE book on options. McMillan writes clearly and well. There is nothing glib here -- no promises of great wealth, no hype, no pandering to fools. What is here is solid information presented well and thoroughly.

A criticism that came up more than once (copy cat reviews?) is that the book doesn't show practical stuff. What! It provides all the information that any reasonably intelligent person needs to UNDERSTAND exactly what the strategies are and when to apply them. To ask for more is to ask for easy and oversimplified answers that will part you from your money.

The book is thick. True. You don't need all that is in it. True. The book is frightening or dull or not as useful as (gimme a break!) Wade Cook!!!

Hey! It's a text book, not a novel. Wake up! You can use it to find what YOU want to know.

There is more useful information in this book than in any hustler's high-priced and hype-filled seminar. It's all you need and it's currently selling for less $. Don't get scared off by the negative reviews or you'll miss out on the most respected and best of all the many books written on options.

If you're not willing to spend $ and a little effort to learn about options, you're not likely to profit from them. Buy the book. Then, sit down and read in it to find the definitive answers to your option questions. It simply doesn't get any more accurate, any clearer, or any better.

(Oh yes, one or two reviewers suggested that the book is out of date.

62 of 62 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Reference Book on Options December 21, 2003

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

I won't say I've read every book on Options out there, but I've looked at a range, from the very complex, full of calculus equations and whatnot, to the very simple, and to my mind, this is the best. First of all, it is very thorough and well organized. It goes step by step through virtually every option strategy, analyzing the various payoffs, follow-up actions if the market goes against you, etc. It is written clearly and concisely, with lots of examples. One reviewer says it's too complicated. If you think this book is too complicated, then you simply should not be trading options. Period. Another critic says there are too many examples. Yes, there are a lot of examples, and if you find you understand the concepts the author describes just fine without the example, then you'll probably just skip them. However, if there is something you don't quite get, the examples are a real help. I think some reviewers were hoping for a book that would tell them how to get rich in a few months trading options. Well, good luck, and let me know when you find it. But for a terrific reference that every serious amateur will go back to time and again, then this book should be the first on your Options bookshelf.

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best options book for intermediate level - very practical August 9, 2004

By R. TANAKA

Format:Hardcover

I've browsed/read a number of equity options related books and this is the best one I've come across for someone that is kind of at the intermediate level. It's very much a "how to" book that goes really in-depth on strategy. Almost as if the author were reading your mind, he addresses what the options trader/speculator is thinking and breaks everything down in a nice, simple manner. For instance, he has sections on what the alternatives and their pros and cons are if you have an option that has moved in-the-money and what things you need to consider. This book focuses on strategy, application, and practice...not much, if at all, on theory (Black Scholes, etc.) and that's what I like so much about this book.