Options Strategies

What Are Options Strategies?

Options are one of the most flexible and powerful vehicles for investing in the stock market. Investors can utilize stocks in many ways, including buying and holding onto them to long-term appreciation in value or short-term trading to make a quick buck. However, the stock market is huge, and investors can utilize many sophisticated strategies.

The first complex strategy is called a call option. Call options are contracts that enable the holder to purchase a stock or other asset at a specific price within a specific time frame. If the price goes above the strike price, the owner can buy the stock at a lower price and then sell it at a higher price. This can result in a large return, but a loss is possible if the stock doesn't move.

Types of Options Strategies

There are four ways to trade options: call, put, spread, and straddle. First, let's start with the call and put. A call is a contract that gives the owner the right to buy a stock at a specific price on or before the option's expiration date. On the other hand, a put is a contract that gives the owner the right to sell a stock at a specific price on or before the option's expiration date.
  
Spreads and straddles are both strategies used to manage risk. A spread is created by buying the same type of option with the same expiration date but with a different strike price. The strike price is the underlying stock price when the option is exercised. A straddle is created by buying an option with a lower strike price and an option with a higher strike price with the same expiration date.

Pros and Cons of Options Strategies

Just like picking a stock to invest in, picking an options strategy can be a daunting task with risks and potential payout. The pros and cons of options strategies help you decide which is best for your investing style. 

Pros:

- Lower investment costs​
- Stock options can be used as a way to hedge your investment or portfolio risk 

Cons: 

- High risks and losses can occur if you don't research your options strategy​
- Options can only be exercised at the expiration date​
- Minimum investment of $1000 or more

Conclusion

Traders can use Options strategies to take advantage of both rising and falling prices of stocks. We hope you have gained a deep understanding of what options strategies are from our blog. If you want to learn more about options trading, then read our other blog posts on this topic. Remember, option strategies are a great way to diversify your portfolio, and we hope you have found our blog post helpful.