There is always a level of risk when investing in securities, whether it be options, fixed income or forex. The risk associated to each asset class depends on the characteristics of the asset itself and how it is affected by the factors that relate to it. For example, fixed income is generally deemed a very safe asset class...
One of the biggest misconceptions about the Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) and Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA) is that they can only include cash, stocks, bonds, and other simple assets. But in reality, these savings accounts can hold a wide variety of asset classes, including options. Options Strategy in an RRSP for...
Canadian investors love bank stocks. And why not? They have been terrific investments throughout the years. Take a company like Toronto Dominion Bank (symbol TD). It pays a dividend of $0.79 per quarter and had an indicated yield of 4.53% at the time of writing this article. In our current environment of rock-bottom interest...
Before implementing a covered call writing strategy, investors need to consider several factors in order to make an informed decision. This final article in a series of four articles on covered call writing will discuss the choice of a strike price for a call option as a compromise between the desired level of protection and...
With interest rates currently at all-time lows, finding ways to generate income in our security portfolios is a challenge. However, the strategy of writing covered call options (WCCO), whether applied systematically or on an ad hoc basis, allows us to generate additional income through the premiums received. This is the third...
Let us say you are willing to sell some securities in your portfolio, or you are considering it. Adopting the covered call writing strategy is like getting paid for making a commitment to sell the securities. This is the second in a series of four articles on covered call writing. It discusses how to use this strategy as an...
Perhaps you would like to start using options, but you do not know which strategy to implement. The simplest and most popular strategy among individual and institutional investors is covered call writing. This article is the first in a series of four articles on covered call writing. It covers the basic features of this...
With interest rates at historic lows, it is unlikely that the Bank of Canada will decide to raise the policy rate anytime soon. But we live in a world that is full of surprises, and things can change quickly. Events with the most unexpected repercussions can and do occur (the current pandemic comes to mind). Who really knows...
In times of market uncertainty like we are seeing now, many investors turn to options for the protection they can provide. Although the markets have recouped a good portion of their losses of the past few months, we cannot rule out another plunge that could test the depths of the recent decline. The high volatility in today’s...
As an investor, the first thing you need to know is how to choose which securities to buy. The second is when to sell them. That’s pretty easy, right? In this article, you will learn how to trade your first option. As you will see, you do not need to be an expert to start trading options. You just need to be familiar with...