As we saw in an earlier article, delta measures how much an option’s price moves in relation to a change in the price of the underlying asset. Delta is a variable from the Black-Scholes option pricing model, and it is also used in the industry as an approximation of the probability that the option will be in-the-money at...
Option pricing, or insurance, is a relative value product. For instance, a $300 annual premium for $1 million of life insurance coverage for a young, healthy individual is reasonable. However, that same $300 price tag to insure a 65 year-old smoker with high blood pressure is way too cheap. When it comes to life...
In the two previous articles, we compared purchasing put options as a protective strategy with selling covered call options. The first article used options with monthly expirations, and the second article used options expiring after our period of analysis, from April 17, 2015 to January 22, 2016. In both cases, the analysis led...
In the last article, we compared purchasing put options with selling call options. We reached the conclusion that, in the absence of a known target price and timeframe, it is better to use strategies that take advantage of the decaying time value of options, such as selling call options, as protection against a decline in the...
Is it better to purchase put options or to sell call options for protection against loss? Many investors ask this question but, in this as in many areas, there is no single right answer. As we have seen in earlier articles, purchasing options has one major disadvantage: the erosion of the time value that must be counterbalanced...
Reflecting on the last 9 months, we can decisively identify the global reflation trade as the primary driver of the equity rally. This was considerably accelerated by the Republican sweep in the U.S. elections driven by expectations of new growth driven by tax cuts and fiscal spending. During that roaring bull advance, it was...
Onex is a stock that has done very well over the long term. Since going public in 1996, the stock has had an annualized total return over 16%. The company places emphasis on managers owning stock and investing alongside shareholders – this is something I like to look for when investing in a company. For an investor who...
This week, we will look at another Greek variable, called vega. Vega measures the amount that an option contract’s price changes in response to a change in the volatility of the underlying asset. You will recall that an option’s time value is influenced by the time remaining until expiration and by the implied volatility of...
I assume that all investors understand the value of diversification. It is all about developing a long-term portfolio strategy that will deliver performance within a tolerable level of risk. Bonds are typically used as a portfolio diversifier. The fixed rate of interest delivers critical cash flow to the portfolio to offset the...
Using volatility ETPs is a pure play way to target volatility for your portfolio – no strike risk to worry about. But make sure you understand the key points below very well before wading in… ——————— I’m often asked about long volatility exchange traded products (ETPs) –...