The Complete Guide to Option Selling: How Selling Options Can Lead to Stellar Returns in Bull and Bear Markets, 3rd Edition
Introduction 1
Part I: Selling Options: Why and How it Works 7
1. The Option Seller’s Secret: Excelling in the World’s Most Underrated (and Undiscovered) Investment Strategy 9
2. The “Who” of Selling Options: Insights From 30 Years in the Options Market 19
3. Why Aren’t You Selling Options? The Key Advantages of Option Selling 25
4. Buying Options Versus Selling Options: Who Wins? 43
5. O ption Selling on Steroids: An Introduction to Futures Options 61
6. SPAN Margin: Your Key to High Returns 79
Part II: Option Selling Strategy and Risk Control 89 7. How to Pick the Right Option to Sell: Lessons Learned from Three Decades in the Field 91
8. The Use and Abuse of Spreads: How to Keep Them from Taking Your Money 119
9. Recommended Spreads: The Few and the Proud: Spread Strategies That Really Work for the Individual Investor 141
10. The Best Option-Selling Strategy Ever:The Ratio Credit Spread 159
11. Option-Selling Mechanics: Quick Tips on Liquidity, Timing,Order Placement, Assignment, Limit Moves, and More 169
12. Managing Your Option-Selling Risk: Defense Wins Championships 181
Part III: Market Analysis and Option Selling 203
13. Fundamentals: The Dirty Little Secret About how Money Really Gets Made in Commodities 205
14. Key Fundamentals of Select Markets: What to Watch, Where to Find Them 223
15. Seasonal Tendencies in Option Selling: A Most Potent Profit Formula 243
16. The Best Markets for Seasonal Option Sales: A Primer for Seasonal Neophytes 261
17. Volatility Simplified: All You Need to Know About the Most isunderstood Option Component 287
18. How to Structure Your Option-Selling Portfolio: Tips on Building Your Premium Ladder 297
Part IV: Getting Started 307
19. How to Avoid the Mistakes New Option Sellers Make: Learn Them Here and Save Yourself Time, Money, and Headaches 309
20. Finding a Good Broker or Money Manager: The Best Trading Decision You’ll Ever Make is Choosing the Right Professional 319
21. Option Selling as an Investment: Frequently Asked Questions 331
22. Pulling It All Together: A Quick Review of What You Have Learned 343
References and Resources 351
Index 355
About the Authors 362
Investing today is more complicated and unpredictable than ever before. The strategy of buy-and-hold has been replaced by buy-and-hope. Trying to grow your assets means worrying about how the next geopolitical crisis or government announcement will affect your portfolio. In an age of stunted economics and uncertain interest rates, attempting to guess market direction can seem futile.
The good news is, you don't have to anymore. There is a better way to invest. It's time to borrow a page from the pros and radically change your entire philosophy to building a solid, high-yielding portfolio.
The Complete Guide to Option Selling takes you through the process step by step. Updated to help you draw steady, high profits in an age of skittish markets, this classic text covers the ins and outs of:
- The Fundamentals of Option Selling
Why writing options works so well, what kind of investor writes options, and how futures options could be the missing piece to your puzzle - Option-Selling Strategy and Risk Management
Choosing the right options to sell, the most powerful spread strategies, the mechanics of selling, and protecting yourself from downside risk like a pro - Market Analysis and Writing Options
How to find the best markets to take premium, the secret of seasonal trends, and tips on building your premium ladder
You don't need a fancy Greek calculator to succeed in writing options. All you need is a little knowledge, a lot of common sense, and The Complete Guide to Option Selling.
PRAISE FOR THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO OPTION SELLING:
"A must-read. Cordier and Gross have covered all the bases in this book about the (arguably) best option strategy--writing options." -- LAWRENCE MCMILLAN, bestselling author of Options as a Strategic Investment and editor of The Option Strategist Newsletter and Daily Volume Alerts
"The Complete Guide to Option Selling offers investors a truly unique, practical, and valuable perspective into another dimension of option strategy. A very cool book and interesting angle!" -- JARED A. LEVY, risk manager and author of Your Options Handbook and The Bloomberg Visual Guide to Options
"James and Michael not only have an excellent ability to analyze market fundamentals, but more importantly, to design the appropriate option strategy to take advantage of their market outlook." -- DANIEL P. COLLINS, editor-in-Chief, Futures Magazine
"The Complete Guide to Option Selling is an excellent reminder that selling options is less stressful and more forgiving than traditional direction trading strategies. This book has what it takes and is valuable to both novice and experienced traders." -- JACK WALKER, author of Volatility Trading Digest
"Cordier and Gross comprehensively and convincingly demonstrate how options selling strategies can function not only as a facile income-producing technique but also as a performance-based investment strategy all on their own." -- GIL MORALES, Managing director of MoKa investors, LLC, and coauthor of the bestselling books Trade Like an O'Neil Disciple, How to Make Money Selling Stocks Short, and In the Cockpit with the O'Neil Disciples