From the Inside Flap
OPTIONS MATH FOR TRADERS
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 Options Math for Traders + Website is all about.
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.
Divided into three comprehensive parts, this reliable resource removes much of the guesswork from trading options, with comprehensive coverage of:
- The factors an options trader must consider when putting on a trade, including direction, magnitude, and time
- 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
- The what, why, and how much associated with the volatility risk premium
- The role of implied volatility in options trading and the various aspects of skew
- Time value and option price erosion
- Proven option strategies, including covered calls/overwrites, selling puts, buying calendar spreads, risk reversals, and vertical spreads
Each step of the way, Options Math for Traders + Website 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.
Most independent traders have an imperfect understanding of the math behind options. With Options Math for Traders + Website as your guide, you'll gain valuable lessons in this area and quickly discover how this information can improve your overall trading performance.
SCOTT NATIONS 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 weekly Options Action show.
