For millions of traders and investors, options have become an indispensable tool: not just for increasing profits but also for systematically controlling risk. Now bestselling author Thomsett covers everything from the core principles of options trading to the calculation of returns and taxes.

To protect portfolios in today's volatile and uncertain market environment, institutional investors need to hedge losses, create extra sources of income, and reduce risk. In his extensively updated and expanded Options Trading for the Institutional Investor, Third Edition, renowned options expert Michael C. Thomsett shows how to do all this effectively. One step at a time, Thomsett helps institutional investors exploit powerful, carefully chosen options strategies that can dramatically increase overall returns as you manage risks within your institution's limits. Thomsett discusses covered call writing on carefully selected stocks, contingent purchase strategies, and powerful "combination" strategies that produce cash to bolster current income. He guides professional investors through every strategy, using actual examples, portfolios, and graphs taken directly from today's markets. Wherever applicable, he addresses specific forms of risk and volatility that only institutional investors face. This thoroughly updated Third Edition includes a chart-based analytical method that relies on reversal signals in the underlying as an alternative to volatility analysis. Thomsett presents new chapters on two powerful strategies he has developed and utilized to optimize returns while minimizing risk: the 1-2-3 Iron Butterfly, and the Dividend Collar. This edition also adds detailed new coverage of risk evaluation.

This Element is an excerpt from The Options Trading Body of Knowledge (ISBN: 9780137142934) by Michael C. Thomsett. Available in print and digital formats. Understand the language of options--so you can start profiting from them! Options is a highly specialized, intricate, and often-misunderstood market. The reputation of options as high risk is only partially deserved. In fact, you can find option products to suit any investment profile, from very high risk to very conservative. You can buy and sell options on stocks, futures, indexes, and even ETFs. All listed options include standardized terms. These are....

This Element is an excerpt from The Options Trading Body of Knowledge (ISBN: 9780137142934) by Michael C. Thomsett. Available in print and digital formats. Why options traders need to analyze stocks--and how to do it effectively. Options traders will benefit by spending time analyzing stocks, notably for any strategies that combine options positions with stock holdings. Choosing options based on appropriate risk levels and stocks makes more sense than selecting stocks to maximize option returns. In other words, any position combining option and stock positions should be based on appropriate stocks held as long-term investments....

Sophisticated options traders need systematic, reliable approaches for identifying the best option combinations, underlying assets, and strategies. This book makes these approaches available for the first time. Leading-edge traders and researchers Sergey Izraylevich and Vadim Tsudikman treat the option market as a whole: an unlimited set of trading variants composed of all option combinations that can be constructed at any specific time moment (using all possible strategies and underlying assets). They introduce a system that permits thorough analysis and comparison of many option combinations in terms of both expected profitability and potential risk. For the first time, they formalize and classify more than a dozen criteria intended to select preferable trading alternatives from a vast quantity of potential opportunities, and show how to apply multiple valuation criteria concurrently to select the best possible trades. By applying these principles consistently, traders can systematically identify subtle price distortions using proven statistical parameters. They can gain a clear and consistent advantage over competing traders, transforming option trading into a continuous process of profit generation with tightly controllable parameters of risk and profitability.