Forum Archive Index - September 2003

["M & P Biggs" <moirabiggs@xtra.co.nz>]

Hi Everyone

 

I have been a reader only of this forum for some time.. I trade options on both ASX & US markets.

Options trading has had some quite bad press lately in consumer etc. As I am sure you are aware options are likely to be traded on the nzx next year, so I would encourage people to find out the truth about options rather than the horror stories.

Most of the bad stories come from people who have been given limited education & are expecting unrealistic returns.

I started trading options buying calls & puts & had some great gains but also some great losses.

My trading style has changed to a more conservative style of spread trading which is a combination of buying & selling a option on the same underlying. I also trade to exploit volatility which can have a substantial impact on the option premium.

The pricing of options is very complex & has a lot of factors to take into account, so I use a specialist option analysis program to do the work for me.

For me options trading is good, although I am not making millions as some people are led to believe I make a reasonable return.

 

Some good links for people who are interested are

 

1. http://www.asx.com.au/markets/Options_AM2.shtm     The asx site has lots of great info

 

2.   http://www.options21.com.au/   Who offer training in options given by people who have worked in the markets for 20yrs or more.

 

3.  http://www.optionvue.com/  Options software

 

4.  http://www.optionsxpress.com/ online us broker for options, you can open a paper trading account online & use their full site facilities

 

So let us give options trading a chance as I am sure it has a place in our stock exchange

 

Regards

 

Moira