The Volatility Edge In Options Trading

“Jeff’s analysis is unique, at least among academic derivatives textbooks. I would definitely use this material in my derivatives class, as I believe students would benefit from analyzing the many dimensions of Jeff’s trading strategies. I especially found the material on trading the earnings cycle and discussion of how to insure against price jumps at known events very worthwhile.” —DR. ROBERT JENNINGS, Professor of Finance, Indiana University Kelley School of Business “This is not just another book about options trading. The author shares a plethora of knowledge based on 20 years of trading experience and study of the financial markets. Jeff explains the myriad of complexities about options in a manner that is insightful and easy to understand. Given the growth in the options and derivatives markets over the past five years, this book is required reading for any serious investor or anyone in the financial service industries.” —MICHAEL P. O’HARE, Head of Mergers & Acquisitions, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. “Those in the know will find this book to be an excellent resource and practical guide with exciting new insights into investing and hedging with options.” —JIM MEYER, Managing Director, Sasqua Field Capital Partners LLC “Jeff has focused everything I knew about options pricing and more through a hyper-insightful lens! This book provides a unique and practical perspective about options trading that should be required reading for professional and individual investors.” —ARTHUR TISI, Founder and CEO, EXA Infosystems; private investor and options trader In The Volatility Edge in Options Trading, leading options trader Jeff Augen introduces breakthrough strategies for identifying subtle price distortions that arise from changes in market volatility. Drawing on more than a decade of never-before-published research, Augen provides new analytical techniques that every experienced options trader can use to study historical price changes, mitigate risk, limit market exposure, and structure mathematically sound high-return options positions. Augen bridges the gap between pricing theory mathematics and market realities, covering topics addressed in no other options trading book. He introduces new ways to exploit the rising volatility that precedes earnings releases; trade the monthly options expiration cycle; leverage put:call price parity disruptions; understand weekend and month-end effects on bid-ask spreads; and use options on the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) as a portfolio hedge. Unlike conventional guides, The Volatility Edge in Options Trading doesn’t rely on oversimplified positional analyses: it fully reflects ongoing changes in the prices of underlying securities, market volatility, and time decay. What’s more, Augen shows how to build your own customized analytical toolset using low-cost desktop software and data sources: tools that can transform his state-of-the-art strategies into practical buy/sell guidance. An options investment strategy that reflects the markets’ fundamental mathematical properties Presents strategies for achieving superior returns in widely diverse market conditions Adaptive trading: how to dynamically manage option positions, and why you must Includes precise, proven metrics and rules for adjusting complex positions Effectively trading the earnings and expiration cycles Leverage price distortions related to earnings and impending options expirations Building a state-of-the-art analytical infrastructure Use standard desktop software and data sources to build world-class decision-making tools

If you have experience in option trading, or a strong understanding of the options markets, but want to better understand how to trade given certain market conditions, this is the book for you. Mark Sebastian's new edition will teach trade evaluation, using Greeks, trading various spreads under different market conditions, portfolio-building, and risk management. Sebastian's approach will help traders understand how to find edge, what kind of trade under what conditions will capture edge, and how to create and successfully hedge. The book demonstrates how to structure a portfolio of trades that makes more money with less risk.

Breakthrough option strategies from Jeff Augen: Three books packed with new tools and strategies for earning higher, more consistent profits and systematically controlling risk! In three remarkable books, Jeff Augen teaches you dozens of up-to-the-minute option trading strategies and techniques for earning powerful, consistent profits! The Option Trader’s Workbook, Second Edition offers start-to-finish hands-on practice with every leading strategy, including the newest trading techniques. Through hundreds of realistic problems (each with fully explained solutions), you’ll walk through trades designed to profit from changing prices, volatility, and time decay…plus new ways to use CBOE Weekly Options Expiration options, collars, covered calls, covered puts, ratio and variance trading, VIX options, volatility ETFs, and more…all without risking a dime! In Trading Options at Expiration: Strategies and Models for Winning the Endgame, Augen reveals new ways to structure positions that profit from predictable end-of-contract price distortions with remarkably low risk. Packed with brand-new statistical models, minute-by-minute pricing analyses, and optimized strategies, this book teaches you how to create trades that regularly deliver returns of 40%—300% with just two days of market exposure per month, or even less. Finally, in The Volatility Edge in Options Trading: New Technical Strategies for Investing in Unstable Markets, Augen introduces breakthrough strategies for identifying and profiting from subtle price distortions that arise from changes in market volatility. Drawing on more than a decade of never-before-published research, Augen shows option traders how to study historical price changes, mitigate risk, limit market exposure, and structure mathematically sound high-return positions. You’ll even discover how to build your own customized, low-cost analytical toolset to transform these state-of-the-art strategies into practical buy/sell signals!

A top options trader shows investors how they can use certain strategies, teaches why day trading options are more practical than ever, and helps them understand trends in the options market that have leveled the playing field between large institutions and private traders.

Don’t Miss out on Today’s Hottest Trading Arena: Commodity Options! “The authors have written the definitive work on trading commodity options. Their in-depth knowledge of this subject is legendary among industry professionals and expert traders alike, and their ability to relay their knowledge through text, pictures, and the spoken word is unparalleled in our industry.” –Lan Turner, CEO, Gecko Software, Inc. “This book captures the realities of commodity option trading in a simple and easy- to-read presentation that will be beneficial for traders of all sizes and skill levels.” –Chris Jarvis, CFA, CMT, Caprock Risk Management, LLC “Even the most experienced investors often overlook the fact that options on futures are fundamentally different from options on stocks. This book fills that gap and sets the record straight with clear and concise descriptions that are easy to understand. Guaranteed to become a true source of value creation for anyone interested in trading commodity options.” –Jeff Augen, author, The Volatility Edge in Options Trading “Commodity Options arms readers with the strategies and tactics needed to take a more active approach to managing risk in today’s turbulent markets. The authors exhaustively break down every component of a commodity option to its lowest common denominator, making this book an essential piece of information for those looking to expand their trading tool box or further build on existing option strategies.” –John Netto, Chief Investment Strategist, NetBlack Capital and author, One Shot–One Kill Trading Investors worldwide are discovering the enormous opportunities available through commodity options trading. However, because commodities have differing underlying characteristics from equities, commodity ­options behave differently as well. In this book, two of the field’s most respected analysts present strategies built from the ground up for commodity options. Carley Garner and Paul Brittain begin with a quick primer on how commodity options work, how they evolved, and why conventional options strategies often fail in the commodity options markets. Next, using detailed examples based on their own extensive research, they show how to leverage the unique characteristics of commodity options in your own trades. You’ll walk through trades from “top to bottom,” master both long- and short-option approaches, and learn powerful strategies usually ignored in options books. For example, the authors introduce synthetic swing trading strategies that systematically reduce volatility from the market. This book’s easy-to-use trading strategies are strategically employed by the author’s clients every day: With Commodity Options, you can work to put the odds in your favor, too! • Why commodity options are different—and what it means to you Understand key differences in the underlying assets and the logistics of market execution • Systematically rewrite the odds in your favor Four ways to make winning trades more likely—and losing trades less common • When to trade short options—and how to manage the risk Why careful option selling may improve your odds of success • Master strategies designed for diverse market conditions Combine long and short options to create the right strategy for any market opportunity • Exploit short-lived trends through “synthetic” swing trading Get the advantages of futures contracts without the volatility

An A to Z options trading guide for the new millennium and the new economy Written by professional trader and quantitative analyst Euan Sinclair, Option Trading is a comprehensive guide to this discipline covering everything from historical background, contract types, and market structure to volatility measurement, forecasting, and hedging techniques. This comprehensive guide presents the detail and practical information that professional option traders need, whether they're using options to hedge, manage money, arbitrage, or engage in structured finance deals. It contains information essential to anyone in this field, including option pricing and price forecasting, the Greeks, implied volatility, volatility measurement and forecasting, and specific option strategies. Explains how to break down a typical position, and repair positions Other titles by Sinclair: Volatility Trading Addresses the various concerns of the professional options trader Option trading will continue to be an important part of the financial landscape. This book will show you how to make the most of these profitable products, no matter what the market does.

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

A detailed, one-stop guide for experienced options traders Positional Option Trading: An Advanced Guide is a rigorous, professional-level guide on sophisticated techniques from professional trader and quantitative analyst Euan Sinclair. The author has over two decades of high-level option trading experience. He has written this book specifically for professional options traders who have outgrown more basic trading techniques and are searching for in-depth information suitable for advanced trading. Custom-tailored to respond to the volatile option trading environment, this expert guide stresses the importance of finding a valid edge in situations where risk is usually overwhelmed by uncertainty and unknowability. Using examples of edges such as the volatility premium, term-structure premia and earnings effects, the author shows how to find valid trading ideas and details the decision process for choosing an option structure that best exploits the advantage. Advanced topics include a quantitative approach for directionally trading options, the robustness of the Black Scholes Merton model, trade sizing for option portfolios, robust risk management and more. This book: Provides advanced trading techniques for experienced professional traders Addresses the need for in-depth, quantitative information that more general, intro-level options trading books do not provide Helps readers to master their craft and improve their performance Includes advanced risk management methods in option trading No matter the market conditions, Positional Option Trading: An Advanced Guide is an important resource for any professional or advanced options trader.