The print version of my new book "Option Strategy Risk / Return Ratios: A Revolutionary New Approach to Optimizing, Adjusting, and Trading Any Option Income Strategy was the #1 Options book on Amazon again this morning. Since reaching #1 last month, the book has consistently been in Amazon's top 10. In addition, the early reviews have been very encouraging; eleven independent readers have posted 5-Star reviews.
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Continue reading for the complete reviews on Amazon.
Eleven 5 - Star Reviews for Option Strategy / Risk Return Ratios
5 Stars: "The Book is a class by itself - Simply one of a kind" - bbensaid
Trading options for income has been covered in hundreds of books over the years. Unfortunately, most of the coverage that I have seen (I have seen probably the majority of the books published about the topic in the last 20 years) is rather shallow and rehashes the same material that can be found for free on the internet. Three main different points separate this book:
#1 - The writing is as good as it gets and I am not talking style only here; I am talking about concepts and strategies that are examined from every angle with weaknesses and strengths highlighted very clearly. What to be careful about, avoid, or focus. Also, the graphs are terrific and use real market data.
#2 - The tools provided (detailed formulas with clear explanations and an Excel spreadsheet - don't be intimidated with the math it is really simple) are something that the author should be sincerely commended for. It is obvious that he spent a considerable amount of time developing and frankly it is very generous for him to share. Option income traders' challenge has been (at least in my experience) how to balance price (delta & gamma) and volatility (vega) risks against potential returns (theta). This book gives you a quantifiable strategy to optimize that risk/reward and take lots of the guessing/uncertainty out of your trading.
#3 - For those of you who are inclined to do more, the last chapter on how to develop/optimize your own strategy is really a terrific road map on how you can challenge yourself to do even more.
In summary, this is a great book and the author a great teacher based on the way he was able to explain the material.
5 Stars: "A Great Read for the Option Trader" - Steve Papale
Brian presents a well thought out method of risk/return evaluation of several popular options strategies. The material is targeted to the trader with some understanding of options and is presented clearly with plenty of supporting graphs and tables. The presentation of various risk ratios leads to practical application for use in any underlying. As an options trader with 25 years experience, I am always looking for new ways to evaluate and measure performance. This fit the bill.
5 Stars: "Original investment research packaged in an easy to understand, ready to use format" - JW
Before getting into the book, I must disclose that I have known the author since 2008 when he taught an undergraduate financial derivatives class that I completed. Despite this fact, I have done my best to provide an objective review of the material.
Option Strategy Risk/Return Ratios will benefit the speculator who has a thorough understanding of option Greeks. If you are not familiar with option Greeks, the book has a chapter devoted to providing a high level overview of the Greeks, but you may want to take a deeper dive with additional resources to best utilize the logic in the book.
The author focuses on developing market neutral option income strategies that derive value from positive Theta (benefit from the passage of time). Taking the concept a step beyond simple position construction, Brian walks through the development of an innovative process that allows traders to objectively measure the risk/return profile of these option combinations, allowing for adjustments to positions to maintain the optimal return profile relative to assumed risk.
This is institutional quality research provided by a successful market practitioner who also has a penchant for teaching. Despite the seemingly advanced nature of the subject, the material is dispensed in easy to digest increments, with multiple references to stated goals and objectives that help the reader frame a thought process in the context of a larger idea. Furthermore, with the book you’ll get access to an Excel model that produces the ratios discussed in the book, thereby allowing an individual to immediately put these concepts to work.
There is certainly something to be gained in this book for all traders. However, if you are a purely discretionary trader you may be better suited elsewhere. For those who have familiarity with systematic trading or option Greeks, the novel concepts in this book are certain to add value to your investment process.
5 Stars: "Must Read For Any Options Trader" - Alex Kyger
This is an excellent book that outlines a very insightful risk adjusted framework for option income strategies. The option risk / return ratios described will help any options trader better understand and manage risk. This is something that I have not seen before in any other options book. The writing is focused and concise with good examples using real data. The accompanying Excel spreadsheet allows you to immediately apply these concepts as well.
5 Stars: "A New, Logical, Fascinating, Study - A Must Read for All Option Income Traders" - R. Dawkins
I don’t usually write book reviews, and I don’t usually read books more than once. Sometimes I don’t even finish a book because it doesn't hold my attention. But this book was unusual in that I couldn't put it down. I read it twice over a weekend and then started to dissect the detailed examples.
I have been studying/trading income strategies and risk management for quite some time and noticed that most of the methods out there are quite similar. Typically they teach a static system that enters a trade, manages, and exits the trade the same way into perpetuity.
Brian takes a different approach by using a method that adapts to the current market environment and shows you how to get the most bang for your buck with the least amount of risk. He takes you from beginning to end, from what is an income strategy to utilizing optimization software to find new hybrid strategies.
In my opinion a basic understanding of options is required to benefit the most from the concepts in this book. For the seasoned option trader this book is a gem. Throughout the book there are detailed graphs, tables, equations, and a downloadable risk/return Excel spreadsheet for you to utilize. I believe that the knowledge I have gained from this book will take my trading to a whole new level.
5 Stars: "Truly innovative approach to access and improve risk/return across and within various option strategies" - Durk Valk
The author has devised a truly interesting approach to express risk/return ratios for option strategies in a unified way across markets, types of strategies, price ranges and various other dimensions. This provides great insight in comparing strategies with regards to sensitivity to (amongst others) price changes and volatility changes. It also provides a good basis for optimization of specific strategies, as well as to devise new strategies.
A spreadsheet is provided with the book to enable the reader to calculate the risk/return ratios for a specific option combination. One could manually optimize a specific option combination using this spreadsheet, intelligently analyzing a number of combinations and seeing how the ratios improve or worsen.
Ideally a more structured (automated) optimization approach should be used. The elements to be adressed in such an optimization approach are explained in the book. To automate such an optimization approach would take serious programming effort and detailed algoritmic understanding of the subject matter.
5 Stars: "Phenomenal Guide to help assess risk and return characteristics of option income strategy" - Dominick Paoloni
Brian does a wonderful job of laying out the frame work to help professional options traders and money managers alike to assess various option income strategies. The book gives the reader quantifiable measures of risk and return characteristics that can be applied to various option income strategies. Despite the dense subject matter that Brian covers in the book, he does a great job of putting it into terms that even a trader with basic knowledge of options can understand. The excel document that Brian has graciously provided owners of this book with will allow any trader to actively implement the concepts presented in this book into their trading. Fully grasping on to the methods presented in this book will help any options trader to better manage risk, which is imperative to being a successful option trader.
5 Stars: "Great Stuff, original ideas" - superchick
So many options books seem to repeat the same options strategies that are readily available on the internet. This work presents new concepts that may finally help get beyond the mystical position adjustment techniques that so many teach. Is it canned and ready to go, no, but with some study and application there is great potential.
5 Stars: "Option Trading Risk Management Clearly Defined" - Roland Smitas
This book is a must for anyone looking to enhance their option trading by structuring detailed risk/reward parameters as a part of their routine. Trading options successfully is all about risk management. Brian's years of experience shine through in a clear, concise manner giving the reader with varying levels of options trading experience the edge needed to succeed using proven strategies. The excel spreadsheet for modeling a variety of possible trades in itself is well worth having to assess and choose the one that suits your style. If you, like most traders, have a library of resources, you owe it to yourself to add this to your collection.
5 Stars: "A Valuable Addition for Your Option Library" - Aristotle
This is an excellent book. It provides a framework for evaluating various option strategies in order to choose the best ones. I plan to use the ideas in this book to implement several different option strategies to balance risk.
5 Stars: "Excellent Book for the Serious Option Trader" - Cary
The author teaches a dynamic strategy designed to maximize the risk/return in various markets. There is some foundational stuff, but this book is for the experienced trader. The author developed a unique analysis for income strategies, and I believe it has great potential. Highly recommended.
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