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16 CD-Rom Home Study Course

$499.00

A Comprehensive Option Education in Video Format

Containing over 25 hours of educational material spanning 16 topics, this CD-Rom set is the perfect learning tool for any caliber trader. Divided into novice, intermediate, and advanced volumes, The Home Study Course promotes a comprehensive learning experience and is instructed by Lawrence G. McMillan himself. Each seminar is at least an hour long and includes audio and visual in a slide-show seminar format.  Purchase the entire 16 CD set or just the novice, intermediate or advanced cd's.

  • 16 different topics on 16 CD-Rom discs (1 hour plus running time each)
  • Compatible with PCs running Microsoft Windows
  • Contains audio and visual in Windows Media Player file format
  • Will not work with home stereo or CD player 

Click on each CD Topic below to view the seminar outline

Novice Seminar Set (5 discs)

Option Basics
  • Definitions: Describing options
  • Option markets
  • Intrinsic value; examples
  • Relationships; examples
  • Factors influencing the price of an option
  • Pricing curves
  • Basic terms: call options
  • Basic terms: put options
  • Time value premium decay
  • Option trading details
  • Mechanics of exercise & assignment
  • Assignment on expiration day
  • Anticipating early assignment
  • Dividends and assignment
  • Symbols, definitions and examples
  • Wraps symbols
  • LEAPS option symbols
  • Stock splits and spinoffs
  • Caution regarding adjustments
  • Position and exercise limits
  • Order entry
  • Considerations for index options
  • Index settlement price
  • Considerations for futures options
Basic Spreads & Straddles
  • Definition of option spread
  • Why spread?
  • Types of spreads
  • Price of the spread
  • Spread market
  • Spread orders
  • Call bull spreads
  • Bull spread mechanics
  • Call buy vs. bull spread
  • Vertical spread "problem"
  • Degrees of aggressiveness
  • Bull spread using puts
  • Put credit spreads
  • Credit spread cautions
  • Bear spread
  • Bear spread using puts
  • Calendar spread
  • Reverse calendar spread
  • Straddle buy
  • Straddle variations
  • Strangle buy
Covered Call Writing
  • Positives and negatives
  • Covered writing terms
  • Comparison to owning stock
  • Total return concept
  • Returns in cash accounts
  • Downside protection
  • Returns in margin accounts
  • Covered write calculator
  • Probability of making money
  • Probability calculator
  • Differing philosophies
  • Importance of diversification
  • Follow-up strategies
  • Avoiding a locked-in loss
  • Equivalence to naked puts
  • Writing against stock already owned
  • Rolling for credits
Naked Option Writing
  • Benefits of naked option writing
  • Risks of naked writing
  • Expiring Option Statistics
  • Profit graphs
  • Brokerage Firm Requirements
  • Investment Required
  • Equity Option Margin examples - In-money vs. Out-of-money
  • Marked to market daily
  • Naked Index Option Margin
  • Naked Futures Option Margin
  • Margin Comparison
  • The Philosophy of Naked Writing
  • Naked Writing Concepts
  • The Strategy of Naked Writing
  • Use Index or Futures Options
  • Sell Expensive Options
  • Use A Probability Calculator
  • The Option Strategist Analysis Tools
  • The Monte Carlo Simulation
  • Allow Enough Margin
  • Have Somewhere To Roll To
  • Strategy Summary
  • Alternative Ratio Strategies
  • Credit Spreads
Speculative Option Buying
  • Why buy options?
  • Basic terms
  • Option pricing curve
  • The factors influencing the price of an option
  • Volatility B historical and implied
  • Delta
  • The option pricing model
  • Time value premium is a misnomer
  • What underlying should I trade?
  • Which option should I buy?
  • Using the model for your sanity
  • The frustration problem of the option buyer
  • How many options should I buy?
  • Follow-Up Strategies
  • Considerations for index and futures options

 

Intermediate Seminar Set (5 discs)

Advanced Spreading Techniques
  • Advanced spread types
  • Butterfly spreads
  • Butterfly strategy
  • Alternative butterflies
  • Selling the butterfly
  • Unbalanced butterfly
  • Box spread
  • Buying the box
  • Selling the box
  • Ratio write
  • Ratio call spread
  • Call ratio follow-up
  • Put ratio spread
  • Delta neutral ratio spreads
  • Backspreads
  • Put backspread
  • Diagonal spreads
  • Diagonal bull spread
  • Writing against LEAPS
  • Reverse calendar spread
  • Reverse diagonal backspread
Expiration & Program Trading
  • The four basic strategies
  • Option market affect on the stock market
  • The arbitrage position at expiration
  • Arbs hedge with stock
  • Unwinding the hedge moves the stock market
  • Anticipating the arbs positions
  • Using open interest at expiration
  • The expiration day strategy
  • "Games" during expiration week
  • Effect of early exercise of OEX options
  • Post-Expiration effect
  • Post-Expiration trade
  • Pre-Expiration trade
  • Expiring option statistics
  • Index arbitrage
  • Index futures fair value
  • Fair value formula
  • Index arb example
  • The effect of index arbitrage
  • Relating arb to OEX trading
  • Program trading
  • Portfolio Insurance
LEAPS Strategies
  • Basic Properties
  • LEAPS Option Symbols
  • Listing a New LEAPS
  • Pricing LEAPS options
  • Other Important Factors
  • LEAPS Call Pricing vs. Rates
  • LEAPS Call Pricing vs. Dividend
  • LEAPS Call Pricing vs. Volatility
  • LEAPS As Stock Substitute
  • Protecting Stock With LEAPS
  • Speculative Option Buying With LEAPS
  • Buying LEAPS On Margin
  • Selling Covered LEAPS Calls
  • "Free" Covered Call Writes
  • Uncovered LEAPS Selling
  • Writing Short-Term Calls Against LEAPS
  • Other Strategies Using LEAPS
Predicting Takeovers & Other Corporate News Events
  • Direct indicators definition
  • Options as a direct indicator
  • Volume alerts
  • Important patterns to look for
  • Filtering out "noise"
  • The "ideal" pattern
  • Examples of volume predicting takeovers
  • Trading the position
  • Not all news is good
  • Predicting earnings surprises
  • Implied volatility as a predictor
  • Examples of volatility and volume together
  • Up-Down Volume: momentum indicator
  • Examples of momentum breakouts
  • Dangers of expensive options
  • The event-driven straddle buy
  • Playing earnings announcements
Using Put Call Ratios
  • Calculating the ratio
  • Overview of put-call ratios
  • Contrarian trading
  • The Equity-only put-call ratios; NYSE and NASDAQ indicators
  • Dollar-weighted put-call ratios
  • $OEX put-call ratio
  • Which option to buy?
  • Considerations for broad market signals
  • Stocks with a good track record of put-call signals
  • Considerations for stock option signals
  • Considerations for sector put-call ratios
  • The best sectors to trade with put-call ratio signals
  • Continuous futures contracts
  • Considerations for futures options
  • Futures with a good history of put-call signals
  • How to identify the signals as they are occurring
  • Trading summary
  • Put-call Ratio chart service

 

Advanced Seminar Set (6 discs)

Inter-market Spreads & Pairs Trading
  • Definitions
  • Intermarket examples: futures, stocks, indices
  • Oil & gas index ($XOI) vs. crude oil futures
  • The Option Strategy for intermarket spreading
  • Option strategy profits
  • Determining the proper ratio to use
  • Two ways to make money
  • Gold & silver index ($XAU) vs. gold futures
  • Futures spreads: inter- and intra-commodity
  • Unleaded gas vs. heating oil
  • Eurodollar spread
  • Intermarket spreads involving stocks
  • Cross-ownership of stock
  • Examples of cross-ownership
  • Strategies for cross-ownership trades
  • Pairs trading in stocks
  • Pairs trading strategy
  • Risk arbitrage
  • Risk arb no collar
  • Risk arb with collar
  • Intermarket strategy summary
Insurance Using Options
  • Types of Derivative Insurance
  • Swaps
  • Hedging With Futures
  • Portfolio Insurance With Futures
  • Portfolio Insurance Problems
  • Index Put Options As Insurance
  • Adjusted Volatility (Beta)
  • Using OEX LEAPS
  • Cost Of Insurance
  • Summary of Index Put Insurance
  • Problems With Put Insurance
  • Using A Sector Index
  • Using Stock Options As Insurance
  • The "Collar"
  • Collar CAUTION!!
  • An Interesting Trait of LEAPS
  • Generalized "no-cost" collar Table
  • Insurance Summary
Option Models & The GREEKS
  • Overview
  • What are "the Greeks?"
  • "Greeks" as risk measures
  • The Black-Scholes Model
  • Other Formulae:
  • Other Models
  • Computing Implied Volatility
  • Theta
  • Call Pricing vs. Time
  • Call Pricing vs. Volatility
  • Call Pricing vs. Interest Rates
  • LEAPS Call Pricing vs. Rates
  • Computing the other "Greeks"
  • Gamma
  • Comparing Delta and Gamma
  • Relationships Between "Greeks"
  • Delta As A Function of Volatility
  • Delta As A Function of Time
  • Gamma As A Function of Time
  • Gamma As A Function of Volatility
  • Theta As A Function of Volatility
  • Measuring Portfolio Risk
  • Delta Neutral
  • Problems with Delta Neutral
  • Why Gamma Helps
  • Delta & Gamma Neutral
  • More Complex Neutrality
  • Projecting Risk Into The Future
  • Lognormal Price Movement
Structured Products
  • Overview
  • The Two Most Popular Structures
  • Part 1: Protected Stock or Index
    • Index Structure Product
    • Cash Settlement Value
    • The Underlying Structure
    • Secondary Market
    • Values Prior to Maturity
    • Bear Market Values
    • Determining the Interest Rate
    • SIS: A completed issue
    • SIS – Cash Value
    • Trading At A Discount
    • The Imbedded Call Option
    • Call Option "Formulae"
    • More Advanced Call Evaluation
    • Advanced Call Value Using SIS
    • Annual Adjustment Factor (AAF)
    • AAF: True Participation Rate
    • Variations: the Bull Spread
    • Option Strategies Using Listed Option
    • Other Variations
  • Part 2: Products designed to produce "income"
    • PERCS
    • Examples
    • Comparative Price Graph
  • Exchange Traded Funds
Why Trade Volatility? Pt.1
  • Volatility is easier to predict than stock prices
  • Owning volatility benefits from chaotic market movements
  • Types of volatility: historical vs. implied
  • Determining if volatility is cheap or expensive
  • Composite implied volatility
  • Strategies to use when volatility is cheap; Examples: general and specific
  • Straddle buying procedures; Detailed example
  • Probability estimates; the Monte Carlo distribution
  • Strategies to use when volatility is expensive
  • Volatility Backspreads
Why Trade Volatility? Pt.2
  • Two types of volatility -- historical and implied
  • Calculating implied volatility
  • Volatility Skew -- definition
  • Forward Skew -- soybeans, e.g.
  • Reverse Skew -- $OEX, e.g.
  • Skew Terminology
  • Price Distributions: skewed vs. normal
  • Markets which often display a skew
  • Trading the Forward Skew
  • Bull Spreads
  • Call Ratio Spreads
  • Put Backspreads
  • Ratio spreads: caution
  • Trading the Reverse Skew
  • Bear Spreads
  • Put Ratio Spreads
  • Using 3 strikes in the ratio spread
  • Call Backspreads
  • A Skewed Position is biased
  • Bullish Directional Bias
  • Bearish Directional Bias
  • What does the bias mean?
  • Follow-up action
  • Strategy Summary

Click on each CD Topic above to view the seminar outline

Testimonials

"The CD set I bought at the money show is worth 10 x the price. After years of working with options and stocks I have picked up more information from the CDs than in all that time. They really are great. The best thing is really how he identifies all of the pitfalls of all the option strategies and what works and what he thinks is a waste of time. His experience and comments are golden!"
- Dave J.

List Price: $499.00
Price: $499.00