Best options trading account courses

Best Options Trading Brokers and Platforms. NerdWallet offers financial tools and advice to help people understand their options and make the best possible decisions. The guidance we offer and info we provide are deeply researched, objective and independent. We spent over 300 hours reviewing the top online brokers before selecting the best for our readers. And to help you find the one that’s best for you, we’ve highlighted their pros, cons and current offers. Who is the best options broker today? The answer depends on whom you ask and what they value. For some investors, the best broker for trading options is the one with the cheapest commissions. Others prioritize trading tools, platform design, research, customer service or all of the above. While most of the brokers on our best-of list below would be a good, all-encompassing choice for many investors, we’ve also highlighted the standout candidates in specific areas that matter most to options traders. Unsure what you’re looking for? See how to choose an options broker for more on what can make or break an options trading experience. Summary: Best online stock brokers for options trading.

Best for low-cost. Best options trading platform. Best for research and education. Best overall for options trading. Our top picks cover all the option trader needs — access to high-quality research, analytical tools, a user-friendly platform — at reasonable prices. TD Ameritrade and Interactive Brokers earn high marks for options investors for their advanced trading platforms, deep bench of research and tools, plus their high-caliber options trading capabilities. TD Ameritrade handily serves option traders no matter where they are on the learning curve. The broker’s thinkorswim platform offers a robust options trading experience for active investors seeking professional-grade tools to identify trading opportunities, analyze potential risks and rewards, test trade strategies and quickly place even the most complex options trades. The broker’s web-based Trade Architect platform is for investors just getting into options or those who don’t require a high-octane platform. Its stripped-down, easy-to-use interface won’t overwhelm newbies. And although Trade Architect isn’t as fully stocked with tools and data as thinkorswim, it’s no slouch, either. Intermediate investors will find advanced features like a marketoptions heat map, screening and tradefinder tools, and streaming news. Get details in our TD Ameritrade review.

For cost-conscious, active options traders looking for low costs and a platform with a lot more meat on its bones, Interactive Brokers may be more your style. Interactive Brokers charges just 70 cents per contract with no base fee ($1 minimum order), plus discounts for larger volumes, if you can manage the $10,000 account minimum. Its Trader Workstation platform (with an options method lab) is considered one of the best and most sophisticated around. But watch other fees to ensure that the lower commissions pay off. Both brokers allow prospective clients to test-drive the goods without putting any real money on the line. TD Ameritrade offers a paperMoney virtual trading account to test out the thinkorswim platform. At Interactive Brokers, once customers open a real account (which has a $10,000 minimum funding requirement), they can set up a paper trading account that offers them hands-on practice using IB’s Trader Workstation platform and tools. Best brokers for low-cost options trading. These brokers offer competitively priced options trading commissions and have eliminated or dramatically capped minimum trading fees. In early 2017 most of the mainstream online brokers slashed commissions to levels once reserved for their deep-discount peers. That doesn’t mean that they’re the best deal in town for every investor. For active options traders, eOption earns five stars from NerdWallet for its low options trade commissions.

The company charges a fixed $3 base plus 15 cents per contract. Another plus: eOption is known for having some of the lowest margin rates available. Although eOption charges a $50 annual inactivity fee on accounts that have placed fewer than two trades in the past 12 months or have less than $10,000 in credit or debit balances, the minimum trade workaround isn’t onerous, even for infrequent traders. Charles Schwab’s trade commission of $4.95 base rate plus 65 cents per contract puts it within spitting distance of deep-discount peers. Schwab recently fully took over the old OptionsXpress and incorporated that broker’s options experience into its own platform, with both web-based and mobile functionality. Commissions aren’t the only costs associated with trading options. Platform, data and other fees can quickly cancel out what you save on commissions. See our full reviews of Charles Schwab and eOption for details on what they offer. For those simply looking for a cheap way to execute options trades, Charles Schwab and eOption get the job done. Best options trading platforms. These brokers offer some of the most powerful trading platforms available for a reasonable price.

Judging a broker’s trading platform by the number of features it offers is like buying a car based solely on what you read in the dealer brochure. While all investors have their must-have features, what’s more important is how the platform feels when it’s in their hands. The trading platforms at Ally Invest and TradeStation offer a wide variety of analytical tools, provide stable and speedy trade execution, and allow investors to customize the tools and design to best suit their needs. Unlike TradeStation, Ally Invest (formerly TradeKing) is technically a deep discount broker as reflected in its commissions (options traders pay a $4.95 base plus 65 cents per contract with only one base charge per spread), $0 account minimum and free access to research and data. Frequent traders (those who place 30 or more trades per quarter or who carry a balance of $100,000 or more) pay a discounted $3.95 base and 50 cents per contract. But don’t be fooled by the lower prices: Customers get a lot of platform power for free. Ally is suitable for newer options investors. The browser-based platform resembles the offerings of its pricier competitors and comes with free options trading tools for screening and advanced charting. Navigation is easy and streamlined. Customers can create a custom dashboard with movable modules with the data and features they want to use. The setup extends to what users see across all devices, including mobile and tablet.

TradeStation is best left to more experienced, tech-savvy investors who want to experience options trading using the same tools as pro traders. The broker provides all the tools needed to design, test-drive, monitor, automate and speedily execute the most complex trades via direct-market access (no pesky middleman to slow down the process). Its OptionsStation Pro platform is fully integrated into TradeStation’s regular trading platform. An added bonus is the broker’s active investor forums, where traders discuss ideas, ask questions and get help. Access to all of TradeStation’s bells and whistles used to come at a steep $99.95 monthly platform fee for those who didn’t meet account balance or trading activity minimums. But in March 2017 TradeStation eliminated the service fee, lowered its trade commissions for stocks and options and tossed in free real-time market data and free access to its market-monitoring and portfolio-level back-testing tools. Educational tools and platform tutorials are plentiful, which is a plus: Because of the sophisticated nature of the platform, it may require some time to become familiar with all that it offers. See more in our TradeStation review. Best research and options trading education. Both offer extensive research and data for free, as well as live classes and webinars for beginning and advanced options traders. If you’re new to options trading or want to expand your trading strategies, a broker that devotes its resources to research and customer education is a must. Because Schwab and Fidelity each have offices across the country in addition to their online options education libraries, they’re able to offer in-person guidance and free seminars on how to trade options, as well as one-on-one guidance on using the tools each platform offers. Fidelity’s constantly refreshed library draws from more than 20 providers, including Recognia, Ned Davis, S&P Capital IQ and McLean Capital Management. The full suite is available to customers when they sign into the broker’s web-based platform.

And you don’t have to stop digging when you’re away from your computer: Fidelity has a strong mobile app that lets customers access the company’s full suite of research through a mobile browser. Charles Schwab’s options trading capabilities and lineup of trading data and research got a big boost as the company integrated its purchase of OptionsXpress. In October Schwab re-launched its online platform under the StreetSmart name, with both web-based and mobile functionality, though for now only former OptionsXpress clients have access to the new platform. In the first quarter of 2018, Schwab will begin rolling out the new platform to all clients. While the platform name is changing, Schwab still provides a fully realized suite of offerings for options traders, including trade assessment tools, customizable screeners, access to Schwab analyst options-market commentary, live online webinars and pre-recorded seminars. Best brokers for beginner options investors. These brokers provide ideal conditions (educational resources, user-friendly platforms, customer support and low minimums) for investors just learning the options trading ropes. TD Ameritrade — one of our top overall brokers — ranked highest in this category, too. But since there are many types of beginners with many different preferences, instead of highlighting the category champions we’ve focused on brokers that are excellent candidates in three key areas: Low minimum opening balance requirements. Ally Invest, TD Ameritrade, Merrill Edge: If you’re not yet ready to devote a lot of your capital to options trading, you don’t want to tie up much in an account to meet the minimum. Many of the brokers on our list require no money to open an account. However, industry regulations require that traders maintain a $2,000 minimum to trade options. Strong customer support.

Scottrade and TD Ameritrade: On-call help is particularly handy when starting out. One way to test a broker’s level of service is to contact the company with any questions you have about its option trading offerings before you even open an account. Scottrade is known for its standout customer service and huge physical presence of 500 branches. So is TD Ameritrade, with around-the-clock phone and email support and 100 branches where clients can attend seminars and meet with investment associates. At the end of 2017, TD’s acquisition of Scottrade will be complete, increasing each broker’s ability to serve clients. User-friendly platforms. Ally, Charles Schwab and TD Ameritrade: There’s nothing better than test-driving a broker’s platform before you commit. Check to see if the broker you’re considering offers paper trading (virtual trading on a platform that mimics the real deal) or contact customer service to see if they will set you up with a demo account. As for brokers discussed in this review, Ally Invest’s browser-based platform is intuitive and easy to customize. And both Charles Schwab and TD Ameritrade have multiple platforms customers can use to start learning the ropes, then graduate to more sophisticated tools and trades if desired. Best options trading brokers: summary. Updated June 30, 2017. Disclaimer: NerdWallet has entered into referral and advertising arrangements with certain broker-dealers under which we receive compensation (in the form of flat fees per qualifying action) when you click on links to our partner broker-dealers andor submit an application or get approved for a brokerage account. At times, we may receive incentives (such as an increase in the flat fee) depending on how many users click on links to the broker-dealer and complete a qualifying action.

The Best Day Trading Schools and Courses. Day trading is a tough career. Whether you're new to the field or an experienced veteran who wants a support network of other professional day traders, finding a day-trading school that offers courses and mentoring is an efficient way to get the education and tools required to succeed in the markets. Many day-trading schools offer online courses, video conferencing, in-class or group sessions andor personal consultations. The price, support systems and overall quality varies dramatically from school to school. So here's a little day trading academy review, pointing out the key aspects to ponder when evaluating an institution, along with specific popular and reputable financial trading schools. Investopedia Academy's "Become a Day Trader" In June 2017, Investopedia launched its Become a Day Trader course, taught by a Wall Street trader with over 30 years of experience. The course covers everything from how to create a trading plan to step-by-step instructions for making trades. You'll go through three hours of on-demand video (at your own pace) and along with practice trading scenarios and quizzes you'll end up with your own personalized trading plan. The instructor will walk you through a step by step playbook for six trades that you can use right away. If you're interested in other day trading course options, read on below to learn about some other great resources. Picking a Day-Trading School: The 3 Elements. One of the first things new traders look at when picking a day-trading school is, not surprisingly, its cost. While the price of tuition is an important factor, it shouldn't be the only factor.

If they jump in without guidance or research, most novice day traders will lose a lot of money very quickly. If day trading the stock market, for example, that potentially means losing a large chunk of $25,000 or more – the minimum account balance required to trade on margin as imposed by the Financial Industry Regulator Authority (FINRA). From this perspective, spending $3,000 or even $10,000 for some solid training may actually be cheaper over the long run than attempting to day trade all on your own. The key phrase above is "solid training," which comprises three elements: foundation, mentoring and support. Foundation gives you knowledge about the market you wish to day trade as well as strategies to help you extract a profit from the market. While strategies do vary, for the most part this information can be found on the web (via online stock trading courses, online options trading courses or futures trading courses) or in textbooks for little to no cost. Many day-trading schools even give away their strategies for free (because the method is only a part of becoming a successful trader). Mentoring – whether by attending regular webinars, having trades critiqued or receiving one-on-one coaching – is more pivotal to success than just the information a trader receives from books or articles. The mentoring stage introduces an objective observer to your trading. It is very hard to see our own mistakes, but someone else who knows what to look for can often spot those errors immediately, correct us and provide a better way of trading. It's like trying to fix your golf swing without the aid of a video camera or a golf pro watching. Since you can't see what you are doing while you are swinging (trading), you're bound to make the same mistakes over and over again, even while working hard to correct what you think is wrong. Mentoring removes that hurdle, makes the process much more efficient and is likely to result in quicker progress than attempting to fix things on your own. Support is the ongoing element of the school, post-graduation, that is also beneficial.

It is very easy to slip into bad habits over time or change our behaviors without realizing it. Ongoing support, and having a school or a group of traders to help you through this time, is a significant advantage. Even professional traders, like athletes, can hit slumps that require a knowledgeable outside source to get them back on track. Top Day-Trading Schools. Day-trading schools tend to focus on different markets – equities, futures, forex, etc. Here are day-trading schools which offer solid foundations, mentoring and support in their specialties. (Prices, while current, are subject to change.) One of the largest trading schools is Online Trading Academy (OTA). The school began as the training arm of a trading floor in 1997, offering daily coaching sessions. Gradually, it shifted its focus to help more traders by providing classes, workshops, online courses and free trading resources, opening its first training center (despite its name) in 2001. Over 250,000 traders are in the OTA community, with live and online classes held around the United States and the world at more than 40 campuses. Unlike other day-trading schools, OTA offers curricula for several markets, including forex and futures, as well as wealth-management courses, but it's especially renowned for its stock market classes. Whatever the focus, its approach is learning in stages. For stock traders, for example, the journey begins with the free Power Trading Workshop, a half-day class where you learn to create a trading plan and implement a rule-based trading system.

Next come the Professional Trader Courses, divided into parts one and two. Part one is a five-day live workshop (or 10 three-hour online sessions), and part two is a two-day live course (or four three-hour online sessions). The courses are priced at $5,000 and $2,000, respectively. Those who take the course can come back and redo it as many times as they like, for life, providing traders with continual support, refreshers and guidance even after they have completed their training. In this series of interactive lectures and trading sessions, core strategies and methodology are taught. OTA's main focus is on supply-and-demand imbalances, a method that allows for relatively low-risk trades compared to the potential rewards. Graduates of the Professional Trader Courses can further their education with more advanced classes, and take courses related to other markets. OTA also offers a select number of specialty courses, including topics such as trading psychology and technical analysis strategies. Online Stock Market Courses. If you're interested in day trading stocks, the Stock Whisperer (aka Stefanie Kammerman) offers a number of different courses and services.

She began trading in 1994, and in 2010 began teaching in the online chat room. Stefanie provides a free daily "whisper of the day," which includes stocks and ETFs to watch, along with important price levels. Check out recent "whispers" on Scutify. For courses, you have a number of choices. The courses teach you the strategies Stefanie uses, along with lots of examples. After taking a course you can join The Java Pit to see more examples, or you can continue trading on your own with your newfound knowledge. The Stock Whisper focuses on tape reading (time and sales), spotting big buyers and sellers (prints), volume analysis, support and resistance and dark pools. Counting the Cards on Wall Street is one of the main day trading courses offered, via three pre-recorded parts ($99, $149 and $149 respectively). You can also get all three courses (along with What's Inside the Candle, which is $299) in the Ruby Education Package for $499. The package deal offers significant savings over buying the courses individually. There are a number of other courses, including swing trading courses, boot camps and one-on-one coaching. Those who've mastered the Cards trilogy can sign up for two-week, five-hours-a-day boot camp and a live seminar, held bi-monthly, that includes competitions with simulated trades.

If you are interested in trading options, TradePro Academy has a number of different courses and services available to you. Options aren't typically day traded. But based on the strategies you will learn, you can make short-term options trades for both day and swing trading. The Path to Profits course introduces traders to the options market and then teaches a reliable options trading method where risk and reward are fixed on each trade. The course includes an options refresher (available for free), assessing volatility, picking the best options to trade, building a trading plan, placing orders, capital management, managing trades, assessing profitloss scenarios, part-time trading and a full day of live trading. It, along with other courses (from Trading Foundations to Market Analysis Live), are available by monthly subscription. But the package deals might be better. For $99 per month, for example, the Pro Package gives you access to a success coach, all trading courses (as well as additional ones that might be offered in future), weekly analysis webinars and live trade alerts. It also offers "premium chat support." George Papazov is the founder of TradePro Academy. He began trading in 2001 and started TradePro in 2012.

The Day Trading Academy (DTA) offers traders the opportunity to learn to deal in a variety of market conditions in the futures markets – calm, volatile or in-between. The DTA method centers on reading price action, so while indicators may be used, they aren't relied upon. The Day Trading Academy was started in 2011 by Marcello Arrambide, a professional day trader since 2002 and a globe trotter who also founded the popular Wandering Trader web site. More than 50,000 traders subscribe to the DTA newsletter, which provides free resources and trading advice and outlines how to gain access to the futures day-trading course. One can view one live trading class for free entering the program – newcomers are accepted monthly – includes access to the classes, both live and recorded, and providing what traders need to know about the futures market as well as core day-trading strategies. The curriculum is split into four sections beginner, intermediate, advanced, and pro. It includes an online course with reading and loads of videos highlighting each point. It goes from simple concepts with technical analysis like support and resistance areas, trend lines and price action, to more advanced concepts like trading psychology, emotional intelligence, and high probability trades with at least a 2:1 reward vs risk. Once traders are familiar with the material, they attend live webinars, held during market hours twice a week, to see how the strategies are applied in real-time. This also provides an opportunity to ask questions and interact with professional traders. Daily recaps at the end of the day highlight the trade signals that occurred. The course is currently $2,997 and includes (all online) access, three months of one-on-one mentoring, weekly webinarslive trading classes, review classes and video recaps showing the main opportunities (based on the method) each day. Packages with additional mentoring time are also available. While traders can use the method to trade all day, the DTA focuses primarily on trading near market open, attempting to profit by only trading for a couple hours each day.

Traders in the program take screenshots of their trades, send them into support and receive video feedback from a professional trader on how to improve entries and exits, and how to better read the price action to improve decision-making. Training is provided in an online setting, making it accessible to anyone in the world. Foreign Exchange (Forex) Trading Courses. The forex market is open 24 hours. A swing trade (lasts more than a day) doesn't have any more restrictions imposed on it than a day trade would. So schools that focus on forex often cover both day trading and swing trading. Winner's Edge Trading began as a blog in 2009, providing free trade signals, strategies and advice, which it still does today. Not so much a formal day trading academy as an online tutorial center and trading room, Winner's Edge provides its core method for free – to more than 70,000 subscribers – as well as frequent blog and video posts, which highlight current and upcoming trades using the "Double Trend Trap" method. The method can be used in any time frame, although trade signals are primarily traded on the hourly chart in the New York Session Trading Room. Trades typically last about 18 hours, according to Casey Stubbs, the CEO, and there are about 10 trade signals a week. Traders can also adapt the method to shorter time frames if desired for more or quicker trades. Joining the trading room is $97 per month, and promotions are often available for multi-month sign-ups. The training begins with learning the core system in detail, as well as more advanced strategies. Sessions give traders a chance to ask questions and see trades occurring in a live environment, as well as how to manage existing trades.

In 2014 Winner's Edge introduced its Extreme Growth Mentoring Series ($397). Once their training is complete, members are provided with a monitored demo account, in which a professional trader provides feedback on the trader's performance. The ideas is that novices need someone over their shoulder (figuratively) to point out what is being done well and what is being done poorly, and then allowing them to take corrective measures. Cost is an important factor when deciding which day-trading school to join, but it isn't the only factor. Dishing out a few thousand dollars up front (or a few hundred monthly) to take get an options trading education, a power trading workshop or even just a few stock market courses or futures trading courses may be a good investment if they cut your learning curve and get you on the path to profitability quicker. It's like paying university tuition so that, down the road, you can make a better income. What the school gives you should be worth the cost, though. Any day trading academy worth its salt should offer you a good foundation of information to build on, mentoring by knowledgeable and successful pros to help you understand the information and fully implement it in the market, and a support network (via emails, webinars or chat rooms) where successful traders using the same methods can interact and help each other if required. The foundation and mentoring stages should get you to a comfort point when day trading, and hopefully a profitable position. The post-graduate network will help you succeed and stay on track even after your initial training is done. 12 Specific Options Trading Courses Designed to Get You From Beginner to Professional.

Learning with Option Alpha for only 30 minutes a day can teach you the skills needed to generate the income you’ve been dreaming about. Options Basics. Whether you are a completely new trader or an experienced trader, you'll still need to master the basics. The goal of this section is to help lay the groundwork for your education with some simple, yet important lessons surrounding options. Bullish Strategies. If the market is heading higher we'll show you how to create specific strategies that profit from up trending markets including low IV strategies like calendars, diagonals, covered calls and direction debit spreads. Options Expiration. Whether you are a completely new trader or an experienced trader, you'll still need to master the basics. The goal of this section is to help lay the groundwork for your education with some simple, yet important lessons surrounding options. Professional Trading. Mindset is everything. The business of trading full-time or professionally only requires 2 things being consistent and persistent. In this bonus section we'll show you what it takes to make options trading an income machine.

Entries & Exits. Teaching you the different option order types so that you can properly execute smarter option trades each day including market, limit and stop orders while highlighting some key tactics and tips you can use today. Neutral Strategies. You'll learn to love sideways markets because of the opportunity to build non-directional strategies that profit if the stock goes up, down or nowhere at all. This is how you learn make money trading in any market. Earnings Trades. When companies announce earnings each quarter we get a one-time volatility crush. And while most traders try to profit from a big move in either direction, you'll learn why selling options short-term is the best way to go. Real Case Studies. Detailed look at some of our best trades broken down by date, time, price so you can follow along step by step and learn in the process. Everything from multiple iron condor adjustments to calendar rolls and earnings hedges. Portfolio Management. When I say "portfolio risk management" some people automatically assume you need a Masters from MIT to understand the concept and strategies - that is NOT the case. But you do need to use simple checks and balances.

Bearish Strategies. Declining markets and higher IV gives traders like us an amazing opportunity to sell expensive options that decay in value. We'll cover our favorite strategies to profit even when stocks are falling like iron condors, strangles, etc. Pricing & Volatility. A complete and full understanding of how options are priced and where we get our "edge" as options traders using IV percentile. This section includes mastering implied volatility and premium pricing for specific strategies. Trade Adjustments. What happens when a trade goes bad? Do you roll out to the next month, move your strike prices, addremove one side or do nothing at all? We'll give you concrete examples of how you can hedge different options strategies. "Looking for the rare breed of a service provider who under-promises and over-delivers?

Well, you've found it here with Kirk and team. Actually, I need to amend that. Option Alpha promises big things and then delivers." "If you are even marginally interested in options, you have to checkout @OptionAlpha. Great site and video content. Very well done!" "I subscribed to Option Alpha just 6 weeks ago and it's litterally plug and play training . I just wish I could get back all those wasted hours trying to do this myself before I found you guys." - Dennis Ganster (Michigan) "This is awesome and simply to the point ! I stumbled onto the Option Alpha website earlier at work and came home dove right in. The training is incredible and easy to follow for someone like me. Thank god I found you!" - Ramon Alvarez (Los Angeles) Join More Than 47,345 Members. Membership is always free & you can upgrade anytime to unlock our live trades.

Options Trading DVD Course. Give Yourself a Gift that Will Change Your Life. Check out our Holiday Specials! Option Trading DVD Course. Specialize in Options Trading. The Methodology Essentials Premier Options Trading Course is for traders who have limited or no experience trading options. This course includes the complete Premier Course with the Options Trading Course. To learn more about this course, please watch “the Peek Inside” Video. Who will benefit from the Options Traders Course: This course is designed specifically for traders who do not have prior options training. Options trading is suitable for low capital base traders, part-time traders, and retirees. What you will gain from taking this course: You will by-pass all of the common mistakes new options traders make. You will learn a simpler, easier, and more reliable way to trade options for monthly income.

You will give yourself the opportunity to increase your income with less work and risk. The Option Trading DVD Course includes: Methodology Premier and the Options Trading Course. Option Trader Student Support package. Advanced Trading Tools and Special Options Trading Tools. In-depth training on all aspects of new types of options. Self-graded tests to help you retain what you have learned. Guidance during your Simulator Trading to hone skills. Customized charts for options. Online Student Wiki files with additional training. Daily Market Educator ongoing lessons to hone your skills. Mentoring Sessions with student stock picks analyzed. The Home Study format has been proven to be a superior method of education.

You are able to study at your own pace, at the time that is most convenient for you. The printed materials provide a continuing reference resource and the DVDs allow for review on a regular basis as needed. With our unlimited questions resource for students, our training is the best and that is why TechniTrader is the Gold Standard of Stock Market Education. Who will benefit from the Options Trading DVD course: Day Traders who want to trade option premiums as an alternative to day trading stocks. Options dramatically lower the risk of day trading. Step 1: Watch Peek Inside. Step 2: View Syllabus. Click the gold button below. Need Help with Enrollment: Swing and Momentum traders. Swing and Momentum traders who want to premium trade options as an alternative to swing trading stocks. You will learn the NEW premium swing style trading of options that lowers risk, increases profits and makes option trading simple and fun to do. Finally, a brand new approach to entering a position style trade before the stock completes its bottom. This lowers risk and provides far more opportunities for you. Position traders can use options for leveraging into a stock and to lower risk, for higher position trade income. Or, they can trade option premiums for short term profits.

Long Term Portfolio Investors. Now you can learn how to use the safest lowest-risk options for mitigating the risk of a bear market or intermediate term correction of your long term held stocks. You will learn how to hedge against losses and how to use low-cost option contracts as insurance against overall market risk factors. 401K and Mutual Fund Investors. You will learn how to use options to mitigate losses in your long term portfolio when the broad market corrects and how to hedge as an insurance policy against sudden unexpected downtrends. What makes TechniTrader Option Trading DVD Course totally different from all other courses? Instead of just learning option strategies, our course covers who, what, when, where, how, and why the market trades options trading. You will gain a deeper understanding of the options market: all of its products for trading options, the market participant groups who use options, and the market conditions that will affect option trades. No one else teaches options from the inside out like this. Now, for the first time ever, you will learn how to trade options like a professional. You will get to see how options market makers, Buy Side Institutions, and professional traders make huge incomes from trading options.

You will learn how these professionals use options for leveraging, premium trading, hedging, and mitigation. Our instructors have been on the floor of major options markets and have worked with market makers and professionals to create this one-of-a-kind options course. Our options course takes learning about options to a whole new level of expertise. As always, our training covers the essentials of options and goes far beyond Greeks, Implied Volatility, and all the options strategies. TechniTrader’s Modern Methodology and Process of Trading Options takes the guesswork out of option trading. If you are a beginner, this course will start you off on the right track and it will help you avoid the common mistakes, pitfalls, and chronic losses so many retail options traders have when starting out. If you have some experience with a few options strategies, this course will fill the holes in your education, streamlining what you have learned, and it will help you customize your option trading to your needs, time, and goals. This course will pay for itself many times over as you discover how to trade options with minimal risk and high profit potential. The TechniTrader Options Course is the fulfillment of your education for trading options. TechniTrader’s Methodology and philosophy for trading options takes the work, frustration, confusion, and mistakes out of option trading. Now you can trade like the professional traders, finding the Dark Pools’ huge liquidity draw and options buying before the stock and its option move with strong momentum. Learn how to trade options the right way, the easy way, and the low-risk way. Now is the time for you to begin your options trading career with the most complete, most in-depth options course ever developed. What are the best options trading courses?

Best Broker for Trading US stocksOptions from Australia. Best options trading account for non-frequent trader? Best broker for trading options? BestCheapest way to backtest Options Strategies. Best broker to trade ASX options, CFDs and shares all in one package? Recent Posts Search Help. Established in 2004, Aussie Stock Forums is an online community with a focus on the Australian stock market (ASX) and all aspects of trading and investing. Code of Conduct Posting Guidelines Privacy Policy Disclaimer. Competition Recent Activity Account Members. None of the content posted on Aussie Stock Forums should be considered financial advice. Opinions expressed are those of the respective authors and do not represent the views of Aussie Stock Forums management.

5 Steps to Finding the Best Options Trading Course. With the growing popularity of options trading, traders are often looking for a training program that will help them turn a profit. As a result, there are numerous programs available that look to provide the proper options education. It’s easy to get caught up in the larger than life returns in a short amount of time which many products promote, but it is important to research and find out the details of what the program is all about. I have purchased many products over the last decade of trading and have learned the hard way that many products don’t live up to their promises. I was also fortunate enough to find the NetPicks family of products which made a huge difference in me becoming a profitable trader. Throughout the process of trying to find the right product for me I learned what to look for, which I will outline below. First, it’s very important to find a course taught by a real trader with skin in the game. It is one thing to be a teacher but a whole different ball game when you have live hard earned money on the line. I find I learn better when I see someone go through wins and losses in real time market action so I can get a realistic picture of what to expect. Make sure you check to make sure the teacher or developer you are interested in is live in the markets.

Next, make sure you are using a product that is comprehensive. There are many products out there that come in different stages. Each stage of the training comes with an additional charge. In order to gain access to the full program the costs can add up quickly. Instead, find a product that will teach you everything from the basics to advanced topics in a single course. This will allow you to dedicate more funds to actual trading. In my experience with different products I found it best to have a combination of training, along with a proven system that puts the odds in your favor. An options education course is great for gaining book knowledge but that doesn’t always translate to success in the markets. You also need a detailed system that gives you defined entry and exit points. Having a system that prints a road map for you to follow will allow you to put the options knowledge to good use.

Make sure the program that you select also provides detailed method criteria. Just learning how a call or put option works is not enough. You need to know how to select the correct call or put in order to make sure the odds are in your favor. It’s also extremely important to make sure you give the product time to work. Often time traders will use a system until the first sign of trouble. After that it’s on to the next product when if they only would have been a little more patient the original product could have been the answer. No system is going to produce with 100% accuracy so don’t spend the time looking for it. Make sure you use a system that puts the odds in your favor long term and then commit to learning that system inside and out. Do this and you are well on your way to becoming a successful trader. Finally, if possible look for feedback from an existing student. A product can sound great on paper but are students really able to profit from it? Feedback or even communication with a current student can be a great sign that the system is being used with success. Do these comments mean you are guaranteed success with the PTU Options Mastery program?

No but they do show that if you commit to the system the odds are in your favor of joining the rest of the profitable PTU Options Mastery students. There are many courses out there today so make sure you are taking the time to dig in and find the right one for you. More Options Trading Resources. Contact Us. 9400 MacArthur Blvd. Click here to subscribe to our RSS Feed, receiving all of our news in your inbox. The Best Options Broker. Latest Update October 28, 2016. The best options trading platform isn’t going to be an afterthought tacked on to an existing suite of products: it should be robust and easy to use. Beginners need enough support to learn the ropes and experienced traders are after low fees and powerful tools. We signed up, assessed the fees, took the tools for a spin, and narrowed it down to three top picks. The one that's best for you depends on what you’re after.

Tons of online and in-person support, plus a practice platform that lets you try everything out with “paperMoney.” The downside? Higher fees. Rock-bottom pricing, but no research or method support. Unrivaled tools & research with pricing that favors active traders. There are a lot of brokers that are perfectly capable of trading options — nearly all of the big (read: old-school) names have an options platform integrated into their suite of offerings. But for those looking to really dive in, whether as a beginner just starting out or an active trader looking to level up, the best platform won’t be something that’s just tacked on. How We Found the Best Options Broker. To find the brokers that cater specifically to options, we looked at 36 choices and analyzed their products. We prioritized the most important aspects: Cost matters a lot when it comes to trading options. It’s the very nature: part of the appeal of options is that the returns can be major even if you don’t fork over a lot of cash up front, and many traders use options as a cheaper alternative to going long on a high-priced stock. Fees can add up and even wipe out the profits from any profitable trades.

Granted, slightly higher fees may be worth it if a broker can provide other perks (say, excellent resources and education for beginners), but we wanted all our picks to have competitive pricing. We also wanted to avoid minimum balance requirements, or a set number of trades per month. Easy-to-use interfaces are a make-or-break for most platforms. The price of options contracts can swing a lot over the course of a trading day poking around a clunky options chain can literally cost you. Education and resources are important, especially for investors who are getting their feet wet. Sure you’ve got a handle on multi-leg options trades, but do you know when it’s the right time for a bull call spread? What’s an iron butterfly? Not all traders will need hand-holding, but we wanted to find at least one excellent options broker we could recommend to newcomers. Flexibility can be interpreted a few ways. For us, it meant the robustness of the platform (could we research and purchase stocks and ETFs in addition to options?) its flexibility (could we streamline a multi-leg options trade, or did we have to input them all separately?

) and whether or not we could customize it to our liking. It was quick work to eliminate the most expensive platforms, as well as the ones that had absolutely no resources or reports. To test ease of use and flexibility, we signed up for accounts and simulated making trades on all the rest. Three brokers rose to the top, and each brings something unique to the table. Our Picks for Best Options Broker. TD Ameritrade Higher fees on an ultra-easy platform. Plus, tons of support and education. TD Ameritrade is one of the largest online brokerages in the market today, with over 7 million funded customer accounts and over $700 billion in total client assets, and despite its slightly higher prices, it provides the best platform for a beginner trading any product, options or otherwise. For more novice traders, the platform supports the jump from trading stocks with the funds in an IRA to more sophisticated products like options. It’s robust, plus it has the customer service and educational resources to make the transition. There are webinars and hours of on-demand videos that’ll teach you about options strategies and how to literally execute those strategies on the platform. TD Ameritrade is a full-service broker, and that full service (we’re talking 247 customer service and 100 branches for face-to-face consultations) does come with higher fees. Barron’s agrees, awarding it “best platform for novices” five years running. We can anticipate its service only getting better too.

In 2016, TD Ameritrade started the process of acquiring Scottrade, another platform known for it’s in-person customer service offerings. In fact, TD Ameritrade is one of the best platforms for all levels of investors, serving up two discrete products: thinkorswim and Trade Architect. Thinksorswim is a desktop platform designed for an all-around trading experience: charts with real-time data, news tickers, 300-plus technical studies, alerts and alarms, heat mapping, options screeners, securities scanner, and more, all accessible in a single click. It’s definitely for seasoned investors — newcomers will likely be overwhelmed — but it’s worth bringing up because a virtual playspace called paperMoney allows even total novices to cut their teeth without risking even a single penny. We recommend beginners stick to TD Ameritrade’s web-based platform Trade Architect. It is nowhere near as robust as thinkorswim (and has nowhere near as jazzy a name), but it provides everything a new investor would want and it’s ultra-easy to use. It’s not bogged down with all the bells and whistles and live-streaming CNBC. Tabs at the top are simply categorized under jargon-free headings: account overview, watch lists, alarms, idea generators, and heat maps. Unlike thinkorswim, the platform is customizable. If you want more widgets, like say, additional stock tickers or video, they’re there for the adding. If beginner investors use TD Ameritrade’s education library to learn the ropes, practice using paperMoney in thinkorswim, and then easily execute trades with Trade Architect, the slightly higher fee may suddenly seem worth it. OptionsHouse The lowest fees and no minimum balance requirements. OptionsHouse isn’t the most recognizable name in the industry, and that’s probably because this online broker hasn’t pursued an aggressive marketing campaign like some of the other brokers out there (remember E*Trade’s old Super Bowl ads?). The company was founded in 2005 and was established to specifically provide options traders who demanded lower fees from the then burgeoning online brokerage industry.

Those low fees are still what makes OptionsHouse so popular. There’s a $0 minimum deposit to join and options trade at $4.95 + $0.50contract (stocks trade at a flat $4.95 fee). This is the lowest price in the industry. Only TradeKing comes close — matching that $4.95 options base fee, but charging $5 more than OptionsHouse for the exercise fee. The OptionsHouse platform is striking if a bit chaotic — there are buttons, tabs, and menus all over the place. It’s intuitive and there’s a tutorial to walk you through, but to a beginner it might seem more like sitting in front of the controls of an aircraft than is comfortable. Beginners take note: OptionsHouse does have a virtual platform that’s great for practicing. And, the tradeLAB makes dissecting options spreads simple — the green smiley face is good the red frown is no good. What you won’t get for those low fees is method and research: OptionsHouse has about 30 technical studies TD Ameritrade has 300. It’s important to note that E*Trade purchased OptionsHouse for a whopping $725 million in 2016.

It is still unclear how any pricing structures or account features and perks will change after the sale is completed, but an OptionsHouse blog post suggests that E*Trade’s tools and services will become available after the platforms merge. Best Tools and Research. optionsXpress A one-stop shop within a major firm, with an options-native platform. OptionsXpress was purchased by Charles Schwab back in 2011 to enhance Schwab’s competitive edge in options trading. The result is a one-stop shop with an options-native platform that’s pretty whiz-bang. Everything happens through the desktop platform, Xtend, but all the trading tools are also on the optionsXpress web platform. It’s fully customizable, and it’s easy to find real-time quotes and market data, news and reports, and company background information. The Idea Hub scans the market for volatility, earnings, and income-based strategies and offers new trade ideas. With Walk Limit, you can set a few parameters, and it will scan updated market data and re-create an order you may have made at a higher price in the past. Sign up for the Xpresso newsletter and you’ll get a daily email alerting you to the day’s risks and opportunities. Add to that an impressive library of educational resources, as well as access to all of Charles Schwab’s investment research (and free access to its seminars and meetings at local branches), and a virtual trading platform that helps beginner investors practice all types of trading with $25,000 in fake cash. If you need help from a broker — to calm your first-timer nerves or to walk you through a complex method — they’re ready to help and totally free, too. The standard rates are steep, so we don’t recommend optionsXpress to the casual trader.

Make more than 35 trades a quarter and you’ll click into “Active Trader” status and your fees will go down. Trade in volumes and there’s another discount trade contracts under a nickel and there’s another discount. This is all to say the price structure favors the active. And while optionsXpress has a $0 account minimum and does not charge any annual or inactivity fees, if you leave, there is a $60 full outgoing transfer fee. The Best Options Broker at a Glance. Options are contracts that allow an investor the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell an asset on or before a set date. Here’s an example: Say you are a buyer looking for a specific vintage car and you end up finding one you just have to have. When you find it, however, you know you won’t have any cash to buy it for another six months. You then negotiate with the owner to give you an option to buy the car in six months for a specific amount. If the owner agrees, you pay him a percentage up front for that option. The same scenario applies in the stock market – just for financial assets instead of vintage cars. If you were trading stocks, you’d be actually buying the car.

Or, rather, not buying it since you didn’t have the money. Because options are simply options and not promises, if something happened to that vintage car — say it was sitting in the driveway and a tree fell on it — you wouldn’t have to buy it. You’d still be out the price you paid for the options contract, but at least you wouldn’t have lost all that money on a now-worthless pile of steel. And, if in those same six months something happens that makes the car go up in value, well, hey, you’ve already locked in your price. If you’re new, you should prize learning tools. If you’re experienced, you’ll need to choose between low cost or amazing tools. No matter what, options trading shouldn’t be an afterthought tacked onto your platform. Best for Beginners. TD Ameritrade TD Ameritrade fees might be higher, but sometimes you get what you pay for. Consider your entire investment method. Don’t make your final decision solely based on options trading if it’s not the only kind of trading you’ll be doing. These online brokerage firms all offer a variety of investment opportunities. You may want to take into account their extra perks or the price of their mutual funds, for example. Know your expirations.

Options are contracts that expire if they’re not acted on and an expired contract is worthless. Make sure you understand your expirations and set reminders using your broker’s platform, or on your calendar if you’re not trading every day. We find the best of everything. How? We start with the world. We narrow down our list with expert insight and cut anything that doesn't meet our standards. We hand-test the finalists. Then, we name our top picks.