Library

Take a look at our extensive collection of articles and content designed to help you understand
the different concepts within trading, investing, retirement planning, and more.

Options

Learn the basics of options, explore strategies for trading them, and see how they may fit into a portfolio.


Special Event

Options Summit

March 26-27, 2025

Don’t miss the Options Summit, two days of in-depth webinars to help you expand your know-how and trade more confidently, featuring Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced education tracks.

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On Demand

Options Boot Camp 

Learn about options! E*TRADE's Options Boot Camp is a 6-webinar online event where you'll learn how options work and how they can help you approach different market environments.

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On Demand

Options Forum

Check out the Options Forum webinars, a series of six sessions where you'll learn more complex options concepts such as spread strategies, using the "Greeks," and more.

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Why trade options?

Watch the video to learn the four main reasons investors use options strategies in their portfolios: flexibility, leverage, hedging, and income generation.

Getting started with options trading: Part 1

For many investors and traders, options can seem mysterious—but also intriguing. If you want to start trading options, the first step is to clear up some of that mystery.

Getting started with options trading: Part 2

In Part 1, we covered the basics of call and put options. When you buy these options, they give you the right to buy or sell a stock or other type of investment.

Options on Expiration Day

All options have an expiration date. It is part of the creation and listing of all new series of calls and puts on the various underlying stocks, ETFs, indexes and futures on which options are made available to buy and sell. The expiration date is the end of the contract – the last day the owner of the option has the right to buy or sell the underlying asset at the strike price.

Understanding assignment risk in Level 3 and 4 options strategies

With all options strategies that contain a short option position, an investor or trader needs to keep in mind the consequences of having that option assigned, either at expiration or early (i.e. prior to expiration). Remember that, in principle, a short position can be assigned to you at any time. In this article, we’ll run through the results and possible responses for a variety of short positions.

Three common mistakes options traders make

Take a look at three common mistakes options traders make: setting unrealistic price expectations, buying too little time, and buying more options than are appropriate for a given objective.

How to buy call options

Options are powerful tools that can be used by investors in different ways, and there is a relatively simple options strategy that can benefit buy-and-hold stock investors.

How to buy put options

There are certain options strategies that you might be able to use to help protect your stock positions against negative moves in the market. Read this article to learn more.

Potentially protect a stock position against a market drop

Learn how to use stop orders and put options to potentially protect your stock position against a drop in the stock market.

How to sell covered calls

If you’re like many investors, you might use a limit order to sell the stock at a higher price, and then wait to see if you get a fill. But there’s another way you may want to consider.

How to sell secured puts

You might consider using options to collect money today for being willing to assume the obligation of buying stock if the stock moves to the lower price that you choose.

Understand the risk of cash-secured puts

While all options trading involves a level of risk, certain strategies have gained a reputation as being riskier than others. Read on to learn more.

Understanding options Greeks

An understanding of “the Greeks” can be useful to any options trader. In a nutshell, options Greeks are statistical values that measure different types of risk, such as time, volatility, and price movement. Though you don’t necessarily need to use the Greeks in order to trade options, they can be very helpful in measuring and understanding certain risks.

Automating exit strategies for options trades

In an options trade, a well-thought-out plan can make all the difference, and a key part of that plan to consider should be your exit strategy.

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