The Rookie's Guide to Options


Book Description

Learn to use options from veteran option trader Mark D. Wolfinger, who spent more than 20 years on the floor of the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE). If you are a seasoned stock trader or a casual investor who dabbles in mutual funds, this book is for you.




Buy and Hedge


Book Description

If you're trying to build wealth, sharp market downturns are your worst enemy. And today, they're happening far more often: in the last 18 years, the S&P 500 has experienced sixteen violent market declines. Institutions and professional investors have mastered powerful hedging strategies for dramatically reducing the risks of market volatility. Now, you can do it, too--and you can't afford not to. In Buy and Hedge , two leading investment experts show how to apply hedging as part of a long-term program for growing and preserving your assets. CNBC Fast Money guest Jay Pestrichelli and seasoned financial industry veteran Wayne Ferbert show how to systematically protect yourself against violent downward moves while giving your portfolio maximum room to run in upward markets. The authors' techniques are easy to use, can be applied to most investment vehicles, and require surprisingly little "care and feeding" once implemented. You'll discover how to: · Take advantage of the hedge-building mechanisms built into low-cost index funds · Invest in your ideas with confidence, because you've hedged the downside · Systematically manage portfolios for risk as well as return · Master and apply the "5 Iron Rules of Buy & Hedge” · Use options to manage risk, not to create excess leverage · Generate more dividends · Effectively manage cash




Lifecycle Investing


Book Description

Diversification provides a well-known way of getting something close to a free lunch: by spreading money across different kinds of investments, investors can earn the same return with lower risk (or a much higher return for the same amount of risk). This strategy, introduced nearly fifty years ago, led to such strategies as index funds. What if we were all missing out on another free lunch that’s right under our noses? InLifecycle Investing, Barry Nalebuff and Ian Ayres-two of the most innovative thinkers in business, law, and economics-have developed tools that will allow nearly any investor to diversify their portfolios over time. By using leveraging when young-a controversial idea that sparked hate mail when the authors first floated it in the pages ofForbes-investors of all stripes, from those just starting to plan to those getting ready to retire, can substantially reduce overall risk while improving their returns. InLifecycle Investing, readers will learn How to figure out the level of exposure and leverage that’s right foryou How the Lifecycle Investing strategy would have performed in the historical market Why it will work even if everyone does it Whennotto adopt the Lifecycle Investing strategy Clearly written and backed by rigorous research,Lifecycle Investingpresents a simple but radical idea that will shake up how we think about retirement investing even as it provides a healthier nest egg in a nicely feathered nest.




Option Volatility & Pricing: Advanced Trading Strategies and Techniques


Book Description

Provides a thorough discussion of volatility, the most important aspect of options trading. Shows how to identify mispriced options and to construct volatility and "delta neutral" spreads.




Volatility Trading, + website


Book Description

In Volatility Trading, Sinclair offers you a quantitative model for measuring volatility in order to gain an edge in your everyday option trading endeavors. With an accessible, straightforward approach. He guides traders through the basics of option pricing, volatility measurement, hedging, money management, and trade evaluation. In addition, Sinclair explains the often-overlooked psychological aspects of trading, revealing both how behavioral psychology can create market conditions traders can take advantage of-and how it can lead them astray. Psychological biases, he asserts, are probably the drivers behind most sources of edge available to a volatility trader. Your goal, Sinclair explains, must be clearly defined and easily expressed-if you cannot explain it in one sentence, you probably aren't completely clear about what it is. The same applies to your statistical edge. If you do not know exactly what your edge is, you shouldn't trade. He shows how, in addition to the numerical evaluation of a potential trade, you should be able to identify and evaluate the reason why implied volatility is priced where it is, that is, why an edge exists. This means it is also necessary to be on top of recent news stories, sector trends, and behavioral psychology. Finally, Sinclair underscores why trades need to be sized correctly, which means that each trade is evaluated according to its projected return and risk in the overall context of your goals. As the author concludes, while we also need to pay attention to seemingly mundane things like having good execution software, a comfortable office, and getting enough sleep, it is knowledge that is the ultimate source of edge. So, all else being equal, the trader with the greater knowledge will be the more successful. This book, and its companion CD-ROM, will provide that knowledge. The CD-ROM includes spreadsheets designed to help you forecast volatility and evaluate trades together with simulation engines.




Trading Volatility


Book Description

This publication aims to fill the void between books providing an introduction to derivatives, and advanced books whose target audience are members of quantitative modelling community. In order to appeal to the widest audience, this publication tries to assume the least amount of prior knowledge. The content quickly moves onto more advanced subjects in order to concentrate on more practical and advanced topics. "A master piece to learn in a nutshell all the essentials about volatility with a practical and lively approach. A must read!" Carole Bernard, Equity Derivatives Specialist at Bloomberg "This book could be seen as the 'volatility bible'!" Markus-Alexander Flesch, Head of Sales & Marketing at Eurex "I highly recommend this book both for those new to the equity derivatives business, and for more advanced readers. The balance between theory and practice is struck At-The-Money" Paul Stephens, Head of Institutional Marketing at CBOE "One of the best resources out there for the volatility community" Paul Britton, CEO and Founder of Capstone Investment Advisors "Colin has managed to convey often complex derivative and volatility concepts with an admirable simplicity, a welcome change from the all-too-dense tomes one usually finds on the subject" Edmund Shing PhD, former Proprietary Trader at BNP Paribas "In a crowded space, Colin has supplied a useful and concise guide" Gary Delany, Director Europe at the Options Industry Council




Trading Price Action Trends


Book Description

A practical guide to profiting from institutional trading trends The key to being a successful trader is finding a system that works and sticking with it. Author Al Brooks has done just that. By simplifying his trading system and trading only 5-minute price charts he's found a way to capture profits regardless of market direction or economic climate. His first book, Reading Price Charts Bar by Bar, offered an informative examination of his system, but it didn't allow him to get into the real nuts and bolts of the approach. Now, with this new series of books, Brooks takes you step by step through the entire process. By breaking down his trading system into its simplest pieces: institutional piggybacking or trend trading (the topic of this particular book in the series), trading ranges, and transitions or reversals, this three book series offers access to Brooks' successful methodology. Price Action Trends Bar by Bar describes in detail what individual bars and combinations of bars can tell a trader about what institutions are doing. This is critical because the key to making money in trading is to piggyback institutions and you cannot do that unless you understand what the charts are telling you about their behavior. This book will allow you to see what type of trend is unfolding, so can use techniques that are specific to that type of trend to place the right trades. Discusses how to profit from institutional trading trends using technical analysis Outlines a detailed and original trading approach developed over the author's successful career as an independent trader Other books in the series include Price Action Trading Ranges Bar by Bar and Price Action Reversals Bar by Bar If you're looking to make the most of your time in today's markets the trading insights found in Price Action Trends Bar by Bar will help you achieve this goal.




Profiting with Iron Condor Options


Book Description

In a straightforward approach, Hanania Benklifa provides readers the practical knowledge needed to trade options conservatively in Profiting with Iron Condor Options: Strategies from the Frontline for Trading in Up or Down Markets. The objectives are simple: make 2%-4% a month staying in the market as little as possible. Market experts use option condors to consistently earn monthly returns while trading conservatively and staying in the market as little as possible. Benklifa--who manages $10+ million in condor trades each month--shows you exactly how to run these trades and earn these returns, delivering all the details you need to master every nuance of this remarkable strategy. Benklifa shares option condors examples using market realities, not oversimplified abstractions. You’ll learn how to handle real-life market dynamics that can dramatically impact results, including rising and falling volatility, changing bid-ask spreads, and distorted call parity. You’ll learn how to profit in the sideways markets where condor options are most widely used--and also in extreme-trending markets that offer their own surprising opportunities. Traders who focus on a specific type of trade have a history of outperforming stock pickers and directional investors. This book will give you that deep and usable level of knowledge about one of today’s most well-proven strategies: option condors.




Trading Price Action Reversals


Book Description

A detailed guide to profiting from trend reversals using the technical analysis of price action The key to being a successful trader is finding a system that works and sticking with it. Author Al Brooks has done just that. By simplifying his trading system and trading only 5-minute price charts he's found a way to capture profits regardless of market direction or economic climate. His first book, Reading Price Charts Bar by Bar, offered an informative examination of his system, but it didn't allow him to get into the real nuts and bolts of the approach. Now, with this new series of books, Brooks takes you step by step through the entire process. By breaking down his trading system into its simplest pieces: institutional piggybacking or trend trading, trading ranges, and transitions or reversals (the focus of this book), this three book series offers access to Brooks' successful methodology. Trading Price Action Reversals reveals the various types of reversals found in today's markets and then takes the time to discuss the specific characteristics of these reversals, so that you can use them in your everyday trading endeavors. While price action analysis works on all time frames, there are different techniques that you can use in trading intraday, daily, weekly and monthly charts. This, among many other issues, is also addressed throughout these pages. Offers insights on how to handle volatility and sharp reversals Covers the concept of using options when trading certain charts Examines how to deal with the emotions that come along with trading Other books in the series include Trading Price Action Trends and Trading Price Action Trading Ranges If you're looking to make the most of your time in today's markets the trading insights found in Trading Price Action Reversals will help you achieve this goal.




Trading by Numbers


Book Description

Get the E*Trade experts' inside track on playing the markets For retail traders, knowing which possible strategies to employ when has always been a challenge. That is, until now. For the first time, popular E*Trade educators Rick Swope and Shawn Howell introduce their two-dimensional scoring system for determining how bullish/bearish a trade setup looks by reading charts. In Trading by Numbers, they present a scoring system that uses a trend score and a volatility score, removing the guesswork and giving you a solid guide to the markets. Based on the score, the authors provide a toolkit of option strategies that are best to execute in each specific situation. Using common indicators and patterns, the book provides analysis for choosing your right strategy while managing risk. Authors Swope and Howell are accomplished market educators and their partners are the leaders in trading and investing, including E*Trade, CBOE, OIC, NYSE, NASDAQ OMX, CME and ISE An easy-to-use guide that will help you make the best decisions in any situation, the book is essential for traders at all levels Trading by Numbers outlines a proprietary market scoring system that helps traders determine the best option strategies to execute in any market climate.