Seminar & Event Descriptions

Basic Seminar

The basic seminar focuses on options fundamentals for the novice options investor. Taught in a classroom setting, an options professional will cover essential concepts and terms of options contracts as well as their risk/reward characteristics. Learn about buying and selling calls and puts, how to profit from an expected up or down movement in a stock’s price with limited risk, and how to generate income from a stock you already own that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. Get straightforward answers to your options questions. A basic knowledge of stocks, and some experience with stock investing, would be to your benefit when you take your seat.

For an outline of the seminar, click here.

Intermediate Seminar

The intermediate-level seminar will take you beyond the fundamentals of buying or selling calls and puts. After a review of basic concepts, an options professional will guide you into the world of spread strategies. Ever heard of vertical spreads or time spreads? Learn how truly flexible options are, and how these limited risk spreads might fit into even the most conservative portfolios. Ever thought a stock was poised to make a move up or down, but weren’t sure which? Find out about straddles and strangles, and the nature of volatility. Learn about ways to repair an existing stock position that’s moved against you. An understanding of the basics, as well as limited experience trading options, will help you make the most of this seminar.

For an outline of the seminar, click here.

Advanced Strategies

This new seminar from OIC starts with the mechanics of spreads for both calls and puts, then delves into more advanced multi-leg options strategies. Taught in a classroom setting, an options professional will explain debit and credit spreads and how these building blocks can be employed to construct Butterfly, Iron Butterfly, Condor and Iron Condor strategies. Associated benefits and risks for each of the strategies will be discussed in detail.

This seminar is for experienced traders. An intermediate understanding of options, coupled with practical experience with both option and stock investing, will be necessary to fully benefit and understand the material that will be presented.

For an outline of the seminar, click here.

Volatility Seminar

OIC’s Volatility seminar begins where the Basic and Intermediate seminars left off. While the concept of volatility might seem mysterious or perplexing to many options investors, even experienced ones, it has a significant influence in the price behavior of any options position. In this seminar, an options professional will cut through the complexities of volatility and clarify any misconceptions you might have about this important topic.

First, you’ll learn about what volatility really is – and what volatility isn’t – and why it is a factor in an option’s price. You’ll be introduced to how volatility is measured and what that measurement means. Implied volatility will be covered as well, an understanding of which is fundamental for reducing any confusion you might have with respect to changing options prices. Hear how implied volatility can help set realistic expectations for profit and/or loss with your positions. Finally, the impact of implied volatility on various options strategies will be discussed.

To sign up and take this opportunity to advance your understanding of options we recommend:

• A solid understanding of option fundamentals
• A firm comprehension of option pricing
• Familiarity with a wide variety of option strategies
• Experience with both buying and selling options
• Tolerance for some statistical mathematics – just enough to solidify your understanding

For an outline of the seminar, click here.

Greeks Seminar

Prior to the formula developed by Fischer Black and Myron Scholes, the financial world had no standard or accurate means to price stock options. This new presentation covers the options pricing model and the inputs (Greeks) that help determine the price of calls and puts. The seminar is recommended for experienced investors with an advanced understanding of both option and stock investing. Newly designed excel graphs have been incorporated to help the student better visualize how each Greek in isolation contributes to the price of an option, and how simple strategies are affected by changes in these inputs.

Investor Education Day (IED)

OIC’s Investor Education Day (IED) will help you learn to trade Options – a good alternative when the markets aren’t going your way. IED is a full day of Options education and includes topics that vary from options basics to more advanced strategies. Whatever your investment experience, IED offers something that will optimize your trading strategy.

Options Education Day (OED)

The Montréal Exchange, together with The Options Industry Council (OIC), offers Options Education Days, full-day trainings designed to provide retail investors with the knowledge needed to successfully navigate the options market.

Options Education Days offer two different packages that are tailored to an individual's level of investment knowledge. One is geared towards beginners and provides attendees with an introduction to options trading, terminology, essential concepts and an overview of basic options strategies. The other package is tailored for investors with greater investment knowledge, and covers topics including protective options strategies, the importance of volatility, currency options and how to expand on alternative investments.

The workshops are designed for retail investors who possess knowledge and trading experience in equity markets. Options Education Days are also useful for investment advisors who are interested in learning new strategies to assist their clients, and can be especially helpful within a competitive market.

Traders Expo

The Traders Expo provides a chance to take a productive step back from the trading screen and look at the overall markets from a broader perspective. There’s no better time or place to see what the best traders are doing, assess your methods, and regain your focus. Thousands of traders are more skilled, more knowledgeable, and more confident as a result of attending The Traders Expos.

If you aren't sure which OIC seminar is right for you, contact Investor Services at 1-888-OPTIONS.