ToolBox: 5 Useful Options Sites
Founded by former CBOE member Mark Longo, The Options Insider offers a wide range of content with the options investor in mind. According to the web site’s founder, The Options Insider was created to fill a pressing need to provide relevant options-related information to the public. It does a good job. The site includes breaking news, daily updates of interesting trading activity, and the latest industry-related news. Timeless educational articles discuss the options market, the brokerage industry, strategies, trading techniques, and technology. Mark Longo also covers live events like the OIC conferences and intereviews experienced options trading professionals for Options Insider Radio. The Options Insider message board gives visitors an opportunity to discuss current events and options trading strategies.
Bernie Schaeffer is a well-known and widely read options strategist. Author of several options-trading books, his web site, Schaeffer’s Investment Research offers comprehensive coverage of the listed options market. Basic and advanced educational articles cover a number of asset classes including bonds, stocks, ETFs, and options. Commentary of the options market is updated throughout the day, including breaking news, unusual options activity alerts and strategy discussions. Schaeffer’s recently updated their Options Center, which is now powered with content from WhatsTrading.com. The web site offers a number of options-specific tools including an options-pricing calculator, options quotes/chains, and implied volatility data. Premium subscription products are available for a fee.
Yahoo! Finance has an Options Center. It’s a little old and out-dated, but investors looking for a forum to discuss futures and options can find a link to a message board. The Option Dragon, a light version of OptionXpress’ Dragon, is probably the most interesting tool on the site. It allows traders to screen for options with increasing volume, high implied volatility, and other variables. Yahoo! Finance Options also includes links to options-related commentary and educational articles (both from Optionetics) as well as links to an expiration calendar.
MarketWatch revamped its web site, which now also includes an Options Center. The front page includes a few options-related articles from Interactive Brokers and some stories of broader market significance. Investors can also find links to options chains, a screener (powered by Optionetics), and a few short educational articles. Overall, there isn’t a lot of content yet, but the site is worth bookmarking, as a company spokesperson tells us there is more in the pipeline for the MarketWatch Options Center.
The Options Guide is a great free source of options education. The front page provides links to basic options terminology and a glossary. The Options Guide also goes beyond the basics and looks at risk graphs of more advanced strategies. Discussions of VIX options, futures and futures options are also included. The site offers a number of other free educational articles as well. It appears that advertisements are driving the revenue for the site and therefore there seem to be a lot. Neverthless, the content looks accurate and traders might want to bookmark The Options Guide for future reference as well.
Category: All Indexes, ToolBox
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About the Author (Author Profile)
Frederic Ruffy is a well-known trader, writer, and strategist who has spent years educating investors and creating intelligent, insightful, unbiased market observations that are frequently cited by the Wall Street Journal and other financial publications. As senior analyst, Fred provides frequent and regular notes and daily updates for activity of interest.
