Advanced Study
PlainLanguagePlace.com helps you get started with Understanding Investing in Plain Language.
See other advanced Special Training and Trading Systems
Trading Options Can Bring In Great Gains Even in a Slow Market
Trading options can be used to minimize risk or speculate on price movements. While trading options has a mistique about being very risky and complicated it is actually rather simple and as I have stated can and many times is, used to minimize risk.
The two basic types of options are puts and calls. Each put and call option contract lets you control 100 shares of a company's stock while only paying a fraction of the market price of the stock. You receive the full benefit of the stocks move up or down. A put option increases in value if the stock price falls and a call option increases in value if the stock price rises.
You can also sell put and call options that you don't already own. If you do this you are betting the price of the stock doesn't move much and the option expires being worthless. Then you get to keep the full price you received from the buyer. So the bottomline is that options are a way to make money in an up or down market and even one that is flat and going no where.
To minimize the risk of a stock you already own you can buy a put option to protect your investment or any profit you have already made. Since a put increases in value as the stock price falls you can buy one valued just under the current price. If for some reason the stock has bad news and the price starts falling your put option begins increasing thereby offsetting your loss dollar for dollar. If you think the stock price will keep falling in the future you can sell your stock and keep the put option to MAKE money on the way down.
Making money when the stock price falls is a large part of options trading. A put option will increase in value as the stock price falls. That is because it is a contract to sell at a given price. For example, if you own a put option with the right to sell at $50 and the stock price drops to $48 your put has gained $2 per share in value. If the price drops further to $43 your put is now worth $7 per share more because you own the right to sell at $50 per share. Since each put option controls 100 shares your profit would be $200 at 48 and $700 at 43.
To obtain the training needed for options trading I would highly recommend e-Opts.com. They have an excellent practice paper trading system that allows you to experience real world trading without risking any of your investment money. It is an excellent way to gain confidence while building your skills. Only when you are comfortable and your practice accounts are consistently showing a profit will you be ready to invest your hard earned money in the real market.
To open a basic account at e-Opts is costs only $9.95 a month. So for about $30 you can receive 3 months of practice that is conducted at your own pace. The e-Opts premium package is $24.95 which is a wise choice if you have some serious time to devote to options trading. In any case the cost is minimal for the experience and confidence you will gain.
Our site is the Equity Options Paper Trading System (e-Opts.com); we give investors the opportunity to practice stock options trading strategies.
With our site investors practice trading without the risk of losing their investment, adding the benefits of automatic market updates, integrated charting, and detailed record keeping.
PlainLanguagePlace.com recommends this training method, because, obviously, you can learn before risking your money, and as they say, SAVE while you learn.
See other advanced Special Training and Trading Systems
|