The Option Trader's Hedge Fund: A Business Framework for Trading Equity and Index Options

Introduction 1 Part I: The Framework Chapter 1: The Insurance Business 5 Chapter 2: Trade Selection 19 Chapter 3: Risk Management 31 Chapter 4: Trade Execution 43 Chapter 5: The Trading Plan 55 Chapter 6: Trading Infrastructure 63 Chapter 7: Learning Processes 73 Part II: Implementing the Business Chapter 8: Understanding Volatility 81 Chapter 9: Most Used Strategies 89 Chapter 10: Operating the Business: Putting Together TOMIC 1.0 from A to Z 121 Part III: Lessons from the Trading Floor Chapter 11: Lessons from the Trading Floor on Volatility 131 Chapter 12: Lessons from the Trading Floor on Risk Management 145 Chapter 13: Lessons from the Trading Floor on Trading and Execution 155 Chapter 14: Lessons from the Trading Floor on the Other Greeks 173 Chapter 15: The Beginning 191 Appendix A: Recommended Reading 195 Appendix B: Strategy Learning Sequence 199 Appendix C: OptionPit.com 201 Appendix D: Kite Spread 203 Index 205

Dennis A. Chen is a hedge fund manager, investor, management advisor, and entrepreneur. He is the founder and Chief Investment Officer of Smart Income Partners, Ltd., a hedge fund specializing in generating income using index and equity options. Dennis has been investing and trading equities and options for many years. He has previously served as a management consultant at Bain & Company where he focused on financial services (banking and insurance). He was a principal at Diamond Technology Partners, Inc. As an entrepreneur, Dennis has purchased, improved, and sold several small businesses. He has experience in multiple industries, including banking, insurance, real estate, computer technology, Internet, publishing, advertising, construction, commodities, quick-service restaurants, and automotive. His broad business experience enables him to make better investment decisions at his hedge fund. Dennis earned his MBA from The Wharton School of Business. He also holds a Master's in Computer Science from Arizona State University and a Bachelor's degree in computer science from the University of Texas. Mark Sebastian is a former member of both the Chicago Board Options Exchange and the American Stock Exchange. He is the Chief Operating Officer of Option Pit Mentoring and Consulting, a Chicago-based option education firm. Sebastian has been published nationally on Yahoo! Finance and has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Bloomberg, and on Jim Cramer's Mad Money show on CNBC. He has appeared on CNBC, Fox Business, and Bloomberg. He is an "all-star contributor" for The Street's Option Profits Team. Mark is also the Managing Editor for Expiring Monthly: The Option Traders Journal digital magazine focused exclusively on options trading. He has spoken for the CBOE, the ISE, CME, and VOLX; is a co-host on the popular Option Block podcast; and the Volatility Views podcast. Mark has a Bachelor's of Science in finance from Villanova University.