Option Trading: Pricing and Volatility Strategies and Techniques
Successful trading, in general, is difficult and options specifically can be compli-cated. In most cases, those who do well have an ability to focus on good processes and let the results take care of themselves.Nobody is more familiar with this situation than professional trader and quantitative analyst Euan Sinclair. InOption Trading, he's broken down the process into the parts you need to thrive—an understanding of market structure, knowledge of the instruments you trade, a way to capture an edge, and a methodology for managing risk.Written with the serious trader in mind, this comprehensive guide opens by exploring options, both historically and conceptually, and then uses the no-arbitrage principle to introduce option pricing—examining both static arbitrage relationships and the dynamic hedging approach. With this critical background in hand, the largest and most substantial part of the book addresses how to actually trade options.Along the way, you'll gain an in-depth understanding of:The various option strategies that can be implemented, from puts and calls to strangles, straddles, and butterfliesHow to measure and forecast realized volatility, the nature and behavior of implied volatility, and what it takes to successfully trade the twoThe concept of expected value, the general idea of hedging, and the importance of trade sizingThe strategies behind market makingThe essential aspects of risk management in option tradingAnd much moreOption trading is 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.