I Heart Options

Hypothetically, if I found the readings on options to be the most interesting aspect of the CFA curriculum, what lines of work should I consider pursuing?

Option Buyer.

Sorry for my ignorance but where would you seek out option buyer positions at the entry level. Thanks, Carter

is this thread for real?

Option buyer positions are available in your own home. Just send me $49.95 and I’ll send you a ‘How to’ package in the mail…

IronMan - go to hell. Anybody can be an option buyer at their house, but I seriously doubt you’re going to do well unless you have a lot of capital. I would like to leverage my interest in options, but I know I can’t make a living buying options out of my home. I’m trying to figure out how to get into a position that will give me experience and knowledge in this area. If anyone has a worthwhile answer, I’d appreciate it. All others can f&ck off.

Yes this thread is for real. Suppose somebody read the options sections of the curriculum, and realized he’d found his true calling. What would be his next step, hypothetically?

Apologies for the flaming response. I would simply like to be able to ask a question without people acting like you’re an idiot.

I’m the first to point out stupid threads, and this is not a stupid thread. Go cruise around the CBOE website. Not sure if the member firms are listed, but if they are there’s your starting point.

wow Libre27, 24 posts under your belt and already ruling the forum… Like you said, I seriously doubt you are going to do well in anything without a lot of capital…you can go ahead and get 100% return on that dollar in your pocket, but that ain’t jack. (somebody can save the Tim Sykes comment, I know it). You know how you can make a living? By working. Thats one “option”, kaboom! Other than that, why don’t you go to the CBOE or something

what’s f & ck? is that a new clothing brand? market is testing new lows… expect comedy from me for a while…

its Ford and Calvin Klein…its Fords new venture into becoming profitable…

tvPM Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > its Ford and Calvin Klein…its Fords new venture > into becoming profitable… I AM DYING!!!

I’m reminded why I don’t post to this forum. Thank you NakedPuts for your response.

NakedPuts Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > Go cruise around the CBOE website. Not sure if > the member firms are listed, but if they are > there’s your starting point. I’d second this. If not the CBOE website, you should be able to find a listing of options specialists somewhere on the 'net. FWIW, I transferred to a university in Chicago when I was 19 without any job prospects, got an entry level with the CBOE a month later, and joined a premier prop trading firm after a few months. I had a great time there. With trading volume through the roof this year there may be some entry level positions out there somewhere.

dude you got 3 legit answers, a funny (if I do say so myself) joke, and one person who knocked you…I would call that a successful post. Now here’s a kleenex for your eyes, dry up and try posting again someday

Fair enough. Thanks for the thoughts…hoping to get out of corp finance and into something options related but just don’t know how to get there.

tvPM Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > dude you got 3 legit answers, a funny (if I do say > so myself) joke, and one person who knocked > you…I would call that a successful post. Now > here’s a kleenex for your eyes, dry up and try > posting again someday I’d second this too…

no_slogan Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > tvPM Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > dude you got 3 legit answers, a funny (if I do > say > > so myself) joke, and one person who knocked > > you…I would call that a successful post. Now > > here’s a kleenex for your eyes, dry up and try > > posting again someday > > > I’d second this too… Third.

Libre clearly needs to get into the flow of things on AF and take the hostility somewhere else. Anyway, cjones - You have to say what it is about options that interest you. Seems to me that some of the areas in which options are important are: a) Risk management - Options are used all the time by banks, energy companies, agricultural firms, investment management places to hedge risk. This is not about making market calls, but about ferreting out the risks and deciding what the cheapest and optimal way to hedge them is. For this FRM/PRM is a good way to further your study of options. For a career, just check out risk management ops. b) Trading vol - You can use options to make leveraged bets on things but I think this is rarely right. Trading options is about making directional bets with a big volatility component. These jobs are hard to get because everyone thinks they can do them. You would probably need to start under someone’s wing. Connections are key here. c) Financial engineering - There is some pretty geeky mathematics in option pricing (not just Black Scholes). I think option pricing is a key driver of financial mathematics programs (and stochastic calc). If Black-Scholes really did it for you and you have a strong math background, this might be the way to go. d) Trading options like IronMan - Well, this might be fun to watch but is not a viable career path e) Selling options on an orders desk - This is about contacting the CBOE firms. This is not a very exciting job, but it’s a way of making contacts and being in the industry.