Purchasing Options in the Market Essay

Introduction

Options are traded in the options market. Option is a term synonymous with the finance department that gives one (buyer/owner) the mandate to buy or sell a commodity as per the agreed price but within a given period.

The “right or obligation to buy or sell is manifested within the seller who exercises it in order to fulfill the transaction” (William 15).

An option that gives the owner the right to sell an instrument or an asset is known as a ‘put option,’ while an option that gives the owner the right to buy an instrument or an asset is known as a ‘call option’ (Hull 27). In the stock market, both options are commonly traded.

Examples of options traded include equity options, bond options, over the counter options, commodity options, and the currency options. There are certain styles that are used to distinguish between properties of different options that are traded in different markets.

For instance, the European option is an option that is only traded or exercised after the expiry of the specified date.

Protecting a ‘short position’ with options

In the options market, the owner or the buyer of an asset or instrument is said to have a ‘long position.’ At the same time the ‘writer’ or seller of the option, in this case being an underlying asset or instrument, is said to have a ‘short position’ (William 14).

A trader will always want to be protected from ‘short position’ or short-term occurrences or happenings in the stock market. In order to achive this goal the following strategies are adopted.

First, the protective purchase of options is adopted. It involves purchasing the ‘puts’ or ‘calls’ in proportions.It is based on either on the ‘long’ stock or on the ‘short’ one. A ‘short position’ will be protected in a sense that the position will be turned into either a ‘put’ or a ‘call’ within its life. Second, the ‘writers’ should be covered.

These ‘writers’ will allow a trader to sell options, thus having the ability to generate cash and enjoy protection from short-term happenings.

It is important to note that a trader is only protected up to the price of the ‘call.’ It means that if the price of the stock declines or moves down, a trader will have protection against losses and will receive protection against the ‘call’s’ price.

If the price of the ‘call’ moves upwards, the trader will not make substantial profits but will be limited in terms of profits made. This strategy, therefore, offers protection of ‘calls’ on the lower side. Third, the ‘short put’ strategy should be adopted. It happens when a trader wants to purchase stocks only when the price is down.

A trader could put a limit order. But the best way is to ‘short a put’ at price or strike where the trader wants to buy the stock. It means that if the price of the stock moves towards this strike, the trader will purchase the stock.

When the price of the stock doesn’t move towards the ‘short a put’ strike, the ‘put’ will be considered to have expired and the trader will make profits from the price of the expired ‘put.’ This strategy is different from the protective purchase. It is dependent on the trader’s opinion of buying the stock at a certain specified price.

Finally, the ‘collar’ strategy, an approach that combines both protective purchase of options and the covered ‘writers, should be adopted’. A ‘collar’ is similar to a fence, meaning that a trader has set limits on both profits and losses in order to receive protection from ‘short position’ (Scholes 640).

The way leverage works in purchasing ‘call’ options

When trading in options, leverage simply means borrowing funds in order to purchase instruments. Leverage is important as it can be used to turn a smaller amount of invested capital into substantial gains or profits.

In trading options, the contracts serve as a leverage tool to the traders, meaning that traders are given the ability to multiply their initial invested capital heavily. The leverage factor allows traders to make higher profits. It should also be noted, that the higher the leverage, the higher the profits or the losses.

If a trader wants to purchase the ‘calls’ of ABC Company, which trades at $20 with a strike price of $200 and a contract size of 1000, the investor will purchase 50 contracts at $2000 each. So, this trader will have control of 5000 shares of ABC Company, resulting in 50 contracts each covering 100 shares.

If shares were bought directly and the initial investment was $10,000, then the trader has been able to purchase ten times as much ‘call’ options with leverage as the shares of ABC Company. It is obvious that the trader will make higher profits through sale options.

This illustration indicates how leverage works in purchasing options. The principle of options in leverage simply means that the smaller amount of initial capital is used to make substantial profits.

Works Cited

Hull, John. Options, Futures and Other Derivatives. London: Oxford University Press, 2005. Print.

Scholes, Myron. “The Pricing of Options and Corporate Liabilities.”Journal of Political Economy 81.3 (2010): 637–654. Print.

William, Lasher. Practical Financial Management. New York: St. Martin’s, 2011. Print.