Stock Options for Dummies [Paperback]

Alan R. Simon (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Stock options are no longer solely an executive perk. While most books on the subject focus on how business owners can set up a stock options program for their company, this book shows option holders at all levels the keys to exercising one of the most lucrative benefits in today's booming market. This friendly guide brings you:

• Clear, detailed explanation of the different types of stock options-pre-IPO versus post-IPO options
• Clarification of realistic tax and legal consequences to consider when handling stock options
• Descriptions that outline the purpose, pros, and cons of Employee Stock Purchase Plans, 401(k)s, and other company investment vehicles
• Warning signs to look for and why your options might turn out to be worthless
• Advice on what happens to your options if you leave the company or when your company is bought out by another
• And much more!

From the Back Cover

Find out if you should keep 'em or cash 'em

The fast and easy way™ to master IPOs, ISOs, ESPPs, and more! Confused by the huff and puff surrounding stock options? Let expert Alan Simon demystify this often-confusing world for you. From clear explanations of how your stock options might make you money — or not — this unintimidating guide will help you navigate your company's stock option plan with ease.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 1 edition (July 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 076455364X
• ISBN-13: 978-0764553646
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #168,489 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

  #64 in

  Books > Business & Investing > Investing > Options

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Author response to "misleading title" complaints, March 21, 2006

By	Alan Simon - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stock Options for Dummies (Paperback)

First, disregard the 5-star rating. *I* think the book is good of course, but that's not why I'm writing this comment.

To the two recent reviewers who complain that the book isn't about puts and calls but rather about ISOs, NQSOs, etc. - look, I'm sorry for your inconvenience but if you had taken about 2 minutes to skim the table of contents and the editorial review on the amazon.com page ("...your company's stock option plan..."), you would CLEARLY see what type of stock options this book discusses. In fact, taking less time to do so than it took you to write your complaint-reviews and give the book a poor review would have saved each of you $20 or whatever the book cost you.

So my sympathies to you for your misspent $, but come on: blaming the author and publisher for your own haste and, further, feeling the need to do so publicly on an amazon.com review with one- and two-star rankings? (At least the other reader who did the same thing back in August, 2003 had the courtesy to give a 5-star ranking because of the reselling experience on amazon.com to rectify his/her error.)

I sincerely hope that if you do begin to dabble in puts and calls - the other kind of stock options - that you do so with much greater care than you took in making your respective book purchases. Otherwise, you should really think twice about that side of the investing world.

To the one reader who is looking for a beginner's book about the other kind of stock options: see "Futures and Options For Dummies" by Joe Duarte. But do your homework first before buying!

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Every option-holder should read this book!, August 9, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Stock Options for Dummies (Paperback)

By far, the best, most thorough, and most honest book on stock options I've ever read. Even though other books (such as Pastore and Thomas) cover taxes on stock options in more detail, the author definitely provides more than enough information, including considerations I've never seen elsewhere - ordinary income tax and AMT implications of working in multiple states, for example. And he covers the dreaded AMT trap of ISOs with detailed scenarios, better and easier to understand than I've seen anywhere else. But by far, this book's greatest value is in the author's no-holds-barred discussion of - as he puts it in one of the chapter headings - the good, the bad, and the ugly of stock options, including an entire chapter on stock option agreements and what to watch for. Like most Dummies books, there is humor and sarcasm, but the author doesn't overdo it; it just makes the book extremely readable. Even those who have had stock options in the past - whether or not they made money or not - will find value in the author's fresh perspective and post-crash look at just about everything about options.

57 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is not what I was looking for., August 9, 2003

By	bemydemon (CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stock Options for Dummies (Paperback)

I was looking for a "dummies" book on options trading (puts, calls, volatility, etc.) so I ordered it. What I got was a comprehensive review of the ramifications of owning stock options issued by the company that employs you. In short, I felt like a dummy for not researching further before purchase. Don't make the same mistake I did. There is a silver lining, though. I promptly repackaged the book in the shipping box that I received it in and sold it through Amazon, recouping almost all of my original cost. If you have any books you don't need or want, I wholeheartedly endorse Amazon's used book marketplace. I gave it 5 stars because of this experience, and the fact that it is another top-notch example from the excellent Dummies series, just not what I was looking for. Incidentally, if you're looking for what I was looking for originally, you can't go wrong with anything Larry McMillan has written.