New Webcast: Time Spreads Webcast

In this brand new offering from The Options Industry Council, Peter Lusk of the Chicago Board Options Exchange discusses time spreads, also known as a calendar or a horizontal spread. If you're neutral on an underlying stock, learn how you might use this hedged position to profit from decay in an option's time value, but with a limited, maximum loss amount that you know up-front. Peter will also address management of this spread in the event of unfavorable moves in the underlying stock's price. Watch Now.

New Podcast: An Exploration of Options Pricing

Join Darren Tait, a Senior Representative at the Options Industry Council, as he introduces options pricing. Learning how options are priced may help you make more knowledgable investment decisions. Listen at our web site or via iTunes.

Take the Introduction to Spreading Class

This class will introduce you to the concept of "spreading." We will cover the use of basic bullish and bearish call and put spreads - i.e. simultaneously purchasing and writing calls (or puts) with different strike prices. We'll investigate how and why the potential risk and reward profiles for these strategies differ from those of simple long calls or long puts. You will also see what might motivate an investor to use simple bull or bear spreads. Take the class.

NASDAQ Options Market Joins The Options Industry Council

The NASDAQ Options Market has become a member of The Options Industry Council (OIC). NASDAQ Options Market joins the member firms and other exchanges of OIC (American Stock Exchange, Boston Options Exchange, Chicago Board Options Exchange, International Securities Exchange, NYSE Arca, Philadelphia Stock Exchange and The Options Clearing Corporation) in helping to promote the use of equity options through education. Read more.

Have you tried the OIC Help Desk?

Are you having difficulty understanding a particular options strategy? Want to discuss a potential contract adjustment? Did an options investment not work out the way you planned? Our Investor Services Specialists are here to assist you with these and other questions regarding options. Simply dial 1-888-OPTIONS (1-888-678-4667) and we will do our best to help you.

Interested in our Virtual Trading System?

Starting this month our new Virtual Trading System is now available to all OIC Select users. A free OIC Select account offers educational webcasts, podcasts, and now the Virtual Trading System! To get started, click here.

The OIC Announces April Volume Increases 43 Percent

The Options Industry Council (OIC) announced today that 281,722,376 total options contracts changed hands in April, continuing the high-growth trend experienced over the last several years and representing a 43.09 percent increase over April 2007 volume. Average daily volume for the month was 12,805,562 contracts. Read more.

Chat Live With an Options Professional

Wondering how to use options to hedge your positions or portfolio? Visit our web site, where you can now instant message our options professionals. After numerous customer requests, we are offering this additional line of communication to our experienced Options Help Desk. We are available to chat and answer your options questions every trading day. Why not give it a try today?