Designed and written for active traders who are interested in practical information that can improve their results, Trading Index Options offers tried-and-true techniques without a lot of theory and math. Bittman provides traders with the know-how to evaluate practical situations and manage positions. Among the key features: the basics of index options, including various spreads; how to match strategies with forecasts; alternatives for losing positions; the importance of price behavior and volatility. A windows-based software program that provides multiple option pricing and graphing is included in the package.

Praise for The Index Trading Course "George and Tom apply their considerable options trading and teaching expertise to the arena of broad-based and sector indices. Index options traders will find the techniques, systems, and strategies invaluable-and so will those who aren't yet index traders, but want to learn to be." —Larry McMillan, President, McMillan Analysis Corporation author, Profit with Options "I've known both George and Tom for many years and have seen firsthand how they both can captivate a room with their knowledge of options trading and vibrant personalities. Now they have managed to capture that magic in this easy-to-understand how-to manual on trading index options." —David Kalt, CEO, optionsXpress Holdings Inc., www.optionsXpress.com "I traded in the OEX pit for almost twenty years and I can't believe how well George and Tom nailed the core strategies and trading intricacies of index products. Nice job!" —Tom Sosnoff, CEO, thinkorswim, Inc. "Education has been a major factor in the explosive growth in the options markets. Once again, Fontanills and Gentile have delivered as leaders in options education with The Index Trading Course and The Index Trading Course Workbook. These books provide a disciplined approach to trading index and ETF options through risk management." —Christopher Larkin, Vice President, U.S. Retail Brokerage E*TRADE Securities LLC (www.etrade.com/options) "I found The Index Trading Course and The Index Trading Course Workbook to be filled with useful and practical information on options, ETFs, the market, and trading in general. They explain the unique characteristics of these instruments in understandable terms and should provide a good foundation to those interested in trading index options and options on ETFs. The quizzes and media assignments in the Workbook are wonderful learning tools that help reinforce the information and concepts presented in the main book." —Debra L. Peters, The Options Institute

In this book, a hedge fund manager and an option trading coach show you how to earn steady, reliable income selling options by managing your option trades and running your option portfolio as a real business with consistent, steady returns. Packed with real-world examples, the authors show you how to manage your own “one man” hedge fund and make consistent profits from selling options by applying the basic framework and fundamental business model and principles of an “insurance company”. This framework helps you to apply your option trading strategy to a solid, predictable, business model with consistent returns. For someone who has some knowledge of trading options and wants to become a consistent income earner. The authors provide a complete “operations manual” for setting up your business. Gain pearls of wisdom from both a professional options trader and coach, and from a hedge fund manager focused on managing an options based portfolio.

This authoritative guide offers an easy-to-understand, fundamental explanation of the goals and objectives of each player involved in the options trade. Along with this tactical information, traders will gain insight into trading strategies and options concepts. Includes coverage of EAPs, CAPs, and industry indexes.

An indispensable, hands-on companion to The Index Trading Course In The Index Trading Course, financial experts George Fontanills and Tom Gentile provide an in-depth look at the tools and techniques used to trade in this profitable market. Now, in The Index Trading Course Workbook, Fontanills and Gentile offer a wealth of practical exercises that will help further your understanding of index trading, as well as test and apply what you've learned before you take one step into the real markets-where time and money are luxuries you can't afford to lose. The media assignments found in each chapter are especially useful. They'll help you put the material you've read into action by prompting you to access some of the extensive media tools currently available to all traders-including financial papers, magazines, the Internet, and television. This hands-on companion to The Index Trading Course also includes a complete answer key for every multiple-choice question and covers a wide range of issues related to this discipline such as: Core stock market indexes along with the sector offerings from a variety of financial entities Actively traded index products, including exchange traded funds (ETFs), index options, and ETF options Options strategies used for different trends and volatility situations Indicators and systems Trade adjustments The art of risk management

A thorough guide to technical analysis methods applied for success in the options market Though still not widely practiced or accepted in the options market, technical analysis is becoming increasingly common. As the practice spreads, traders are discovering how useful technical analysis is for determining clear entry and exit signals. Trading Options: Using Technical Analysis to Design Winning Trades takes the standard technical analysis approach and applies it to the options market. Author Greg Harmon combines technical analysis with a deep understanding of the options market to explain how to design technically created trades that lead to outsized gains with low costs of entry and managed risk. The book covers trend determination, security identification and selection, tools and trade design, and executing, hedging, and adjusting trades. Ideal for individual investors and options traders Identifies and applies mainstream technical analysis methods to the volatile options market Perfect for stock traders that wish to delve in to technical analysis and options Written by the founder of Dragonfly Capital Management, which provides daily technical analysis of securities markets and trade ideas, and CIO of Presidium Capital Management which provides money management for clients

Navigate options markets and bring in the profits Thinking about trading options, but not sure where to start? This new edition of Trading Options For Dummies starts you at the beginning, explaining the common types of options available for trading and helps you choose the right ones for your investing needs. You'll find out how to weigh option costs and benefits, combine options to reduce risk, build a strategy that allows you to gain no matter the market conditions, broaden your retirement portfolio with index, equity, and ETF options, and so much more. Options are contracts giving the purchaser the right to buy or sell a security, such as stocks, at a fixed price within a specific period of time. Because options cost less than stock, they are a versatile trading instrument, while providing a high leverage approach to trading that can limit the overall risk of a trade or provide additional income. If you're an investor with some general knowledge of trading but want a better understanding of risk factors, new techniques, and an overall improved profit outcome, Trading Options For Dummies is for you. Helps you determine and manage your risk, guard your assets using options, protect your rights, and satisfy your contract obligations Provides expert insight on combining options to limit your position risk Offers step-by-step instruction on ways to capitalize on sideways movements Covers what you need to know about options contract specifications and mechanics Trading options can be a great way to manage your risk, and this hands-on, friendly guide gives you the trusted and expert help you need to succeed.

Thinking of trading options, but not sure where to start? Trading Options For Dummies starts you from the beginning with clear, step-by-step advice on how to use top option strategies to reduce your risk while boosting your income and enlarging your retirement portfolio with index, equity, and ETF options. This plain-English guide explains the common types of options and helps you choose the right ones for your investing needs. You find out how to weigh option costs and benefits, combine options to reduce risk, and build a strategy that allows you to gain no matter what the market may bring. You’ll learn the basics of market and sector analysis and what to look for when trying out a new option strategy. You’ll also find what you need to know about options contract specifications and mechanics. Discover how to: Understand option contracts and orders Determine and manage your risk Guard your assets using options Trade options on securities exchanges Protect your rights and satisfy your contract obligations Target sectors using technical analysis Minimize potential losses and optimize rewards Map out your plan of attack Limit your downside when trading the trend Combine options to limit your position risk Benefit from exchange traded funds Key in on volatility for trading opportunities Capitalize on sideways movements Trading options is serious business. Trading Options For Dummies gives you the expert help you need to succeed.

Equity and index options expire on the third Friday of each month. As that moment approaches, unusual market forces create option price distortions, rarely understood by most investors. These distortions give rise to outstanding trading opportunities with enormous profit potential. In Trading Options at Expiration: Strategies and Models for Winning the Endgame, leading options trader Jeff Augen explores this extraordinary opportunity with never-before published statistical models, minute-by-minute pricing analysis, and optimized trading strategies that regularly deliver returns of 40%-300% per trade. You’ll learn how to structure positions that profit from end-of-contract price distortions with remarkably low risk. These strategies don’t rely on your ability to pick stocks or predict market direction and they only require one or two days of market exposure per month. Augen also discusses: · Three powerful end-of-cycle effects not comprehended by contemporary pricing models · Trading only one or two days each month and avoiding overnight exposure · Leveraging the surprising power of expiration-day pricing dynamics If you’re looking for an innovative new way to reignite your returns no matter where the markets move, you’ve found it in Trading Options at Expiration. “Learn and profit from Jeff Augen’s book: It clearly explains how to take advantage of market inefficiencies in collapsing implied volatility, effects of strike price, and time decay. A must-read for individuals who are options oriented.” --Ralph J. Acampora, CMT, Director of Technical Analysis Studies, New York Institute of Finance “A fantastic, insightful book full of meticulously compiled statistics about anomalies that surround option expiration. Not only does Augen present a set of effective trading strategies to capitalize on these anomalies, he walks through the performance of each across several expirations. His advice is practical and readily applicable: He outlines common pitfalls, gives guidance on timing your executions, and even includes code that can be used to perform the same calculations he does in the text. A thoroughly enjoyable read that will give you a true edge in your option trading.” --Alexis Goldstein, Vice President, Equity Derivatives Business Analyst “Mr. Augen makes a careful and systematic study of option prices at expiration. His translation of price behavior into trading strategy is intriguing work, and the level of detail is impressive.” --Dr. Robert Jennings, Professor of Finance, Indiana University Kelly School of Business “This book fills a gap in the vast amount of literature on derivatives trading and stands out for being extremely well written, clear, concise, and very low on jargon--perfect for traders looking to evolve their equity option strategies.” --Nazzaro Angelini, Principal, Spearpoint Capital “Instead of considering macro-time strategies that take weeks to unfold, Jeff Augen is thinking micro here--hours or days--specifically the days or hours right before expiration, and harnessing grinding, remorseless options decay for profit. He builds a compelling case for the strategy here. The concept of using ratio spreads plus risk management for as brief a period as one day--open to close--to capture expiring premium is worth the price of admission alone. A superb follow-up to his first book. Must-read for the serious options student.” --John A. Sarkett, Option Wizard software