Tuesday, September 26, 2017

My Impressions: The Financial Times on Options

I’ve been trying to read a lot of books on Options.  Since Options is such a complicated topic, it’s really hard to learn about it from “one book” because the depth and technicality of the subject varies greatly across different books.

Usually there are books that give the basics, and pump out a lot of “strategies” -> Or basically ways to mix and match buying/selling call/put options.  To me, these types of books are generally boring.  Once you know your ABC’s, these fancy names aren’t really that special… Candors / butterflies / something bear / something bull / something spread…  Meh.  

The other extreme are books that get super technical with all the formulas and unless you’re a math major…  Good luck…


Financial Times Guide to Options: The Plain & Simple Guide to Successful Strategies, 2nd ed. (Financial Times Guides)


This book is neither, nor in the middle.  Although this book gives strategies for traders to contemplate on and gets technical on certain aspects about hedging Greeks… To me, it feels more like a, “Here are my thoughts on the market as a whole after many years of trading, don’t do stupid stuff such as XYZ.”  Because of this tone, it feels like you’re reading a book written by a human rather than a robot.    

Some key stupid stuff to not do include:
     Don’t take a net short position
     Know why your strategy is working (and why it not)
     Markets change (strategies should follow)
     Keep the bell curve in mind


I don’t think I ended up using any specific strategies mentioned in the book. However, based on new information I learned, I actually came up with new ideas and looked at new places such as the VIX and XIV.  

Check it out. Pretty cool book. Slightly different flavor than the other books on the market.



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