Product Description
Read the following excerpt from The Option Trading Body of Knowledge, Introduction.
Enhancing profits is a goal for every stock investor. The options market is one avenue to achieving this goal, but it is complex; within the market itself, there are many ways to trade. This makes the options market both exciting and potentially risky.
The scope of possible strategies can be overwhelming for an options trader. The basic trades–buying calls or puts for speculation–are only the most obvious uses of options. They can be used in a broad range of expanded strategic applications. Some are very high-risk, and others are very conservative.
One of the most popular strategies is the covered call, which involves selling one call against 100 shares of stock owned. A covered call seller (also called a writer) receives a premium when the option is sold, and that premium is profit if the call ends up expiring worthless. The short position can also be closed at any time or held until exercise. In any of these outcomes, the trader continues to earn dividends on the stock and has a lot of control over the outcome. A properly selected covered call can easily create double-digit profits in any of the possible outcomes. This makes the strategy practical for most people.
On the far side of the spectrum is the practice of selling naked options. When traders do this, they receive premium income, but they also risk exercise and potentially large losses. Many variations of naked writes might be used to mitigate the market risk. To continue reading, purchase and download now.
About the Author
Michael C. Thomsett has authored dozens of financial books, notably on the topics of options. These include Options Trading for the Conservative Investor (FT Press); Winning with Options (Amacom Books); The LEAPS Strategist (Marketplace Books); and the best-selling Getting Started in Options (John Wiley & Sons), now in its 8th edition with over 250,000 copies sold.
Thomsett is also author of The Investment and Securities Dictionary (McFarland), named by Choice Magazine as an Outstanding Academic Book for 1988, and many other investment and trading books. Before starting his professional writing career in 1978, Thomsett was an accountant. He also spent seven years as a consultant in the financial services industry with clients including securities broker/dealers, insurance master agencies, and insurance companies. He has been an active options trader since the mid-1970s.
Thomsett lives in Nashville, Tennessee, and writes full time.
