Details

<p>Preface ix</p> <p>Acknowledgments xvii</p> <p><b>Part One The Basics</b></p> <p>Chapter 1 The Basics 3</p> <p>Chapter 2 Direction, Magnitude, and Time 17</p> <p>Chapter 3 Volatility 25</p> <p>Chapter 4 Option Pricing Models and Implied Volatility 37</p> <p><b>Part Two The Phenomena</b></p> <p>Chapter 5 The Volatility Risk Premium 51</p> <p>Chapter 6 Implied Volatility and Skew 63</p> <p>Chapter 7 Time Value and Decay 77</p> <p>Chapter 8 The Bid/Ask Spread 87</p> <p>Chapter 9 Volatility Slope 105</p> <p><b>Part Three The Trades</b></p> <p>Chapter 10 Covered Calls 115</p> <p>Chapter 11 Selling Puts 151</p> <p>Chapter 12 Calendar Spreads 171</p> <p>Chapter 13 Risk Reversal 197</p> <p>Chapter 14 Vertical Spreads 217</p> <p>Appendix 235</p> <p>Index 243</p>

"Options Math for Traders + Website: How to Pick the Best Option Strategies for Your Market Outlook by Scott Nations is an excellent educational tool for the investor wishing to utilize options in their investment strategies.  Options Math for Traders guides you and helps you understand the thought process when evaluating and analyzing risk and reward on an options trade". —<b><i>Dax Rodriguez</i></b>, <b>President, Livevol, Inc.</b><br />

<p><b>SCOTT NATIONS</b> is President and CIO of NationsShares, a division of Fortress Trading, Inc. Previously, he was head trader for Sovereign Capital, a proprietary trading firm, and a floor trader at both the Chicago Board of Trade and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Nations is also a financial engineer, creating, testing, patenting, and licensing a number of sophisticated option-based and option-enhanced products including the Nations Enhanced Covered Call Index; the Nations Enhanced Collar Index; the Nations Option Levered Index; and the Nations VolDex. He appears on CNBC several times each week and serves as one of the regular panelists on CNBC's <i>weekly Options Action</i> show.

<p><b>OPTIONS MATH FOR TRADERS</b> <p>Trading options is considerably different from the buying and selling of other financial instruments. And while no book on options can guarantee success, if you understand and use options math effectively, good things can happen. That's what <i>Options Math for Traders + Website</i> is all about. <p>Written by Scott Nations—President and CIO of NationsShares, a leading developer of domestic and international option-enhanced investment products—this practical guide takes the mystery out of the math behind options, making it both understandable and usable. It also provides you with a solid conceptual foundation of options behavior so you can make more informed decisions when choosing an option strategy for your market outlook. Ultimately, the goal is to familiarize you with the mathematical sophistication required for successful options trading. <p>Divided into three comprehensive parts, this reliable resource removes much of the guesswork from trading options, with comprehensive coverage of: <ul> <li>The factors an options trader must consider when putting on a trade, including direction, magnitude, and time</li> <li>The quantifiable variables that can be used to determine an option's value and how option pricing models can offer insights as to what an option could be worth</li> <li>The what, why, and how much associated with the volatility risk premium</li> <li>The role of implied volatility in options trading and the various aspects of skew</li> <li>Time value and option price erosion</li> <li>Proven option strategies, including covered calls/overwrites, selling puts, buying calendar spreads, risk reversals, and vertical spreads</li> </ul> <p>Each step of the way, <i>Options Math for Traders + Website</i> includes various examples of the strategies covered—illustrating how you can effectively incorporate them into your trading endeavors. It also contains informative "takeaway" sections at the end of each chapter that highlight essential issues you should be aware of when dealing with the specific topics discussed. <p>Most independent traders have an imperfect understanding of the math behind options. With <i>Options Math for Traders + Website</i> as your guide, you'll gain valuable lessons in this area and quickly discover how this information can improve your overall trading performance.

US