Options Boot Camp

Roll Call: Mark and Dan introduce the newest Drill Instructor, John Critchley from SogoTrade. Find out more about SogoTrade, from its philosophy to its commission structure. Basic Training: What you need to know Why should someone trade options? What's in it for different levels of traders? Will you be able to drive a Maserati tomorrow? How options work: the honest breakdown. Believe it or not, options can actually reduce risk. The negative connotation of derivatives. The concept of the multiplier. Why trade options? Mail Call: Giving listeners a chance to steer the discussion. Can you exercise options early? What happens when options are exercised? How options settlement works. When is premium credited to an account?

Options Bootcamp 6: Complex Spreads Basic Training: Today we're going to dive into complex spreads. What are complex spreads? We're usually talking multi-leg spreads. Calendars are when you buy and sell a call/put at the same strike price, but in a different month. Diagonals, a combination of a vertical and horizontal spread, can be a proxy to a covered call. The concept of the ratio, 1-to-1 on a simple spread, but you can play with the ratio. A stock repair strategy using diagonals, ratio risk reversals and collars. Roll Call: Mark and Dan sit down with Craig Pinkston, Senior Director of Operations at Zecco. Mail Call: Does the Theta decay occur just at open/close or is it a gradual decay throughout the day? (Via Facebook from Jason Cruz)

Options Bootcamp 5: Spread Trading Basic Training: Today we're going to dive into spreads. Spreads are really the defining characteristics of options. What is a spread? Why would you do a spread vs. trading an option outright? Max value of a spread is the differential between the two strike prices. Long call spread, aka vertical, examples with everyone's favorite stock XYZ. Spreads have components called legs - they are the individual parts of the spread. Roll Call: Mark and Dan sit down with Christopher Newman, the Zecco Trading Vice President of Customer Service, and run him through a few questions: A big part of the brokerage experience is support. What are some of the things Zecco does to ensure the customer has a great experience when they need support? If I'm a Zecco customer, or a potential Zecco customer, how can I reach out to get support?What methods of communication does Zecco offer? If I'm an options trader, will Zecco go the extra mile for me on the phone? Explain what options traders can expect

Options Bootcamp 4: Selling Options Basic Training: Turning to the dark side! It's time to learn how to sell options. Why sell options? Time decay and theta. Collecting theta, instead of paying theta, turning an enemy into a powerful ally.Example: The Naked Call The Naked Short Put Options Drills: The Covered Call Roll Call: Mark and Dan sit down with this Zecco Trading's President Michael Feser, to discuss Zecco in 2012. Given the difficulty for new retail traders in the last year, what can we see now, a full quarter into the new year? What issues may investors need to be cognizant of before coming into the market this year? Explaining the success of Zecco Share. Mail Call: Facebook questions from the Zecco community.From Chad: What is the difference between a married put and a covered call? From Austin: I have an IRA account which is approved for basic options strategies. My investment objective is to preserve capital and generate additional income while remaining risk adverse. What basic strategies c

BASIC TRAINING - BUYING OPTIONS Buying Options, with special guest Joe Burgoyne from the Options Industry Council. Benefits & Downsides of buying options. The Greeks most relevant to novice options buyers. Bullish Example: Buying a call Bearish/Defensive Example: Buying a put. Common options buying mistakes: Buying OTM options vs ATM/ITM options, Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic value, Loading up before earnings. ROLL CALL Mark and Dan sit down with this episode's guest Benny Joseph to discuss the Zecco mobile app. They cover a wide range of topics including: Can it execute options orders? Can you access the greeks of your position via the mobile app? Can you execute complex, multi-leg spreads via the mobile app? What features of the Zecco mobile app set it apart from the rest of the pack? What has the feedback been since launching this new app? MAIL CALL Mark and Dan answer questions from Zecco's Facebook community including: From Arsalan: If I buy a call option and when it is time to exercise it, will t

Options Bootcamp 2: The GreeksBasic Training: Risk variables (aka "the Greeks") are Delta, gamma, theta, and vega. Delta: The measure of the sensitivity of the options' price given a change in the underlying instrument. It's also used to view the likelihood of whether an option will expire in-the-money. Gamma: The rate of change of an options' delta given the change in the underlying instrument. Theta: The rate of change of an options' value given a change in the number of days until an options' expiration. Vega: The rate of change in an options' value given the change in implied volatility. How professional traders use the Greeks and ways that novice traders can use them, too. It's a symbiotic relationship. Roll Call John Foley joins Mark and Dan to discuss the how customers can use the Greeks to enhance their trading, where they can find the information in the Zecco platform, and how to avoid mistakes they have made in the past.

Options Bootcamp: Premiere Episode Host: Mark Longo, The Options Insider Co-Host: Dan Passarelli, Market Taker Mentoring Guests: Michael Raneri and Tony Leach from Zecco Basic Training: Dan and Mark make the case for trading options, shattering myths and resetting expectations. The evolution of options: eliminating barriers to entry, increasing the flow of information, commissions. What is an option? The impact of timeframe on options. What are calls and puts? The leverage, safety, and risk management components to options. How options can be income-generating. Long call and long put examples. Roll Call: Mark and Dan are joined by Tony Leach and Michael Raneri from Zecco. They touch on the need for more options education. Why did Zecco want to educate the retail options trading audience? For Zecco, why options, and why now? Zecco's new trading platform: The single trading page approach, contextual trading, help mode, ease of spread execution, the depth of spread calculations within the strategy chain, custo