Stocks for Options Trading: Low-Risk, Low-Stress Strategies for Selling Stock Options -- Profitably! [Hardcover]

Harvey C. Friedentag (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2000

Buying stocks the traditional way is a stressful activity. Investors worry - what will the market do? But there's another way to make profits, and it's called selling options. This book teaches investors the basics of selling options on their stocks, including how to manage an options portfolio.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Don't learn the tricks of the trade. Learn the trade. - Anonymous
learn the tricks of the trade. Learn the trade. - Anonymous --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Harvey Friedentag (Denver, CO) is a Registered Investment
Advisor (RIA) with the SEC and an acknowledged expert on trading options,
also know as derivatives. He is a frequent guest speaker on national
financial programs and at seminars.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 370 pages
• Publisher: AMACOM; 1 edition (February 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814404235
• ISBN-13: 978-0814404232
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,360,878 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a great book!, July 31, 2000

By 

Michael Mendenhall "september17th" (Monterey, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stocks for Options Trading: Low-Risk, Low-Stress Strategies for Selling Stock Options -- Profitably! (Hardcover)

I started writing covered call options shortly before I read this book. I sure wish I had read this book first. It's hard to lose money writing covered calls because you're getting paid to offer stock that you already own. I feel like I own a bank.

What I really liked about this book more than anything else is that it covered a lot of ground. Particularly, I appreciated the discussion about taxes. I had no idea that you don't report income on writing covered calls until the option expires, someone calls your shares or you cover your position by buying back the option you already sold. This means, as the author points out, that you could sell options late in the year, pocket the money, and assuming nothing happens until January or later of the following year, the income would be taxable to that year. Get paid now, pay the taxes later. I like that idea a lot. It's information like this that helps map out a strategy for investing in the market.

Another thing the author does very well is show numerous examples of his strategies. I was surprised when he showed different ways to purchase a stock, write a covered call against it with a strike price less than the price paid for the stock and still make money. I had to read those sections a few times to figure out just how that worked.

In short, this is an excellent book for beginners and people with some experience in writing covered calls. The lack of hype was a relief. Yes, you can make 50% a year or more easily writing covered calls. It's not some mysterious gambling strategy. I always thought options were some wild trading strategy that only professional traders use. To my surprise and delight I found out that college endowment funds, churches and insurance companies write covered calls as a regular part of portfolio management. As Robert Kiyosaki, author of "Rich Dad Poor Dad" said: "Investing isn't risky. Being uneducated is risky." Do yourself a big favor and get educated about the stock market and writing covered calls. Writing covered calls has very little risk and you get paid for owning and holding stock you already have.

I'm giving this book an enthusiastic 5 stars. If you're an advanced covered call option trader, perhaps you don't need this book. If you're looking for outrageous returns, this book probably isn't for you either. If, like me, you know very little about options or have never traded them, by all means, get this book and study it. The information in this book is excellent, but as with any useful information, you've got to put it into practice. I can't see how anybody with a moderate strategy couldn't earn a decent return on their money using this.

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great advice!, April 25, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Stocks for Options Trading: Low-Risk, Low-Stress Strategies for Selling Stock Options -- Profitably! (Hardcover)

I read his first book "investing without fear" after having stumbled across it at the libary. I liked it so much I ordered this book. He shows you how to make steady returns selling covered call without all the hype like so many others sell you. It's really investing without fear like I have never seen. Most books don't deliver on their promises you read on the cover but this one does. If you apply what he shows you in the book you should have know problem making 50% a year on your money. If you are an aggresive trader This book is not for you. If you are the type of investor who wants to make a good return each year and does not want to watch the market everyday then this book is for you!

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book, May 11, 2000

By 

R. RANDOLPH (Wilson, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stocks for Options Trading: Low-Risk, Low-Stress Strategies for Selling Stock Options -- Profitably! (Hardcover)

I have read and applied the strategy for writing covered call options. This IS an excellent manual for trading with far less risk and with much greater return than I thought possible. If you are conservative and yet want better than above average returns with less risk, (heaven right?) then this book is for you!