Demo Trading

7 Best Options Trading Examples • 2020 • Benzinga

Learning how to trade options helps expand your trading choices. It’s a powerful tool you can use to speculate on and hedge against market moves. But how do you know which strategy to use in a certain situation? Follow the examples below for an introduction in matching a suitable option strategy with your trading personality…

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Simple Scalps

One of the simplest options trading strategies, scalping, typically takes a privileged market position to be consistently profitable. You must also be an extremely disciplined trader with a good understanding of the market and a solid internet connection. The following trades could take place over the space of seconds or even a second. Scalping is all about taking a little bit of profit with high-frequency trades, when possible, and giving the market no time to move significantly against you.

Riding a Rally: Buying Calls

Let’s say you buy 10 American Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) $60 calls when the AMD price is $60 expiring in one month’s time on the 3rd Friday of next month. You pay a $2.70 premium for each option, totaling $2,700. AMD quickly moves up to $63 within a few days, and the now in-the-money $60 call option is worth $4.47 or $4,470 when you sell it, for a profit of $1,770.

You enjoy a 52.5% gain on the $2,700 invested into the option rather than a 5% gain on $60,000 invested, while your losses remain limited to the amount you initially paid for the option

Playing the Dip: Buying Puts

You buy 8 Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) at-the-money puts each with a contract amount of 100 shares and struck at $130 for $1.31 to take advantage of what you think will be a short-term dip in the stock price. After a few minutes, the price of WMT dips from $130 to $128 and the put options are now worth $3.01 each. You profit by $1.70 per contract times 100 shares per contract and 8 contracts for a total gain of $1,360. That compares with making $2 on 800 shorted shares of the stock, which would be $1,600. While your gains may be lower in this scenario, your losses when buying the put option are limited to the premium initially paid, which is not the case with a short stock position.

Profit from Portfolio Protection

Check out a few more examples.

Skimming Off the Top: Covered Call Writing

Let’s say your cost basis per share for Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) is $48, and the current price of the stock is $58 per share. You do not want to sell your 500 shares and take on the tax liability. You sell 5 call options on 100 shares each covered by your underlying shares with a strike price of $62 that expires in a week. You take in $250 of premium minus a nominal broker fee of $3 to sell the options. MU closes the week at a price of $61. The 5 options expire worthless and the options are not exercised. You keep the $250 premium less the $3 broker fee and all of your shares of MU stock. If the stock had instead declined in value, you would have had your losses buffered by the premium you received for selling the covered calls.

Getting Paid to Purchase: Selling a Naked Put

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) trades at $370, but you do not want to buy the stock unless it falls to $350. You sell a put at $350 for $16 on 100 shares that expires in 2 months and take in a premium of $1,600. In 2 months, AAPL shares are trading at $349. The option is assigned and you receive 100 shares of AAPL in your account the following Monday. Because of the premium you received, you essentially bought the shares at $334. Had the market gone the other way, your option would have expired worthless, leaving you with a $1,600 profit and no AAPL stock.

Playing Both Sides of the Fence

Learn more about buying a straddle and selling an iron condor below.

Earnings Season: Buying a Straddle

Let’s say Adobe (NASDAQ: ADBE) will report earnings during the week, and you don’t know what the report will show. You believe that the company will give an important announcement that will move the price of the stock substantially — you just don’t know which direction the move will be. The stock is currently trading at $530. You purchase an at the money (ATM) straddle expiring in about a month consisting of a call and put at the same $530 strike price. Both options have a price of $27.55 each or $2,755 in premium since they are based on 100 shares each, so you spend a total of $5,510 for the straddle.

The price of ADBE skyrockets quickly to $580 after the earnings announcement. The put loses much of its $2,755 value to trade at $10 and so is worth $1,000. The call rises $1 in intrinsic value for each point for a total of $50 plus its remaining $10 in time value to trade at $6,000. The straddle now has a net value of $7,000, so your net profit, if you close the position out, is $1,770, less commissions.

Trading with an Iron Fist: Selling an Iron Condor

Let’s say you notice that Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) has been trading sideways for the past month and there are no indications that it will move away from that range. You set up an iron condor to take advantage of the net neutral movement.

The stock is trading at $120. You sell a put spread, selling a put at $115 and buying a put at $110. You also sell a call spread, selling a call at $125 and buying a call at $130. You receive a net credit of $550 for the purchase minus a $12 broker fee or $538. All of the options have the same expiration date. At this expiration date, WMT trades at $118. All 4 options expire worthless. You keep the $538 net premium you took in at the start of the short iron condor trade.

Using Synthetics

One more example!

Long Term Dividend Capture: Long Put Hedge

Prudential Financial Inc (NYSE: PRU) was hit hard during the pandemic. Its dividend is at 6% and is paid in shares. You think the price will go up, but you want to receive the dividends while protecting your downside if another market crash occurs.

You decide to buy 1,000 shares and 10 long puts — a synthetic long call. The puts are LEAPS and expire 2 years from now, giving you time to collect 2 years of dividends. The stock is currently trading at $60 so you pay $60,000 to own them. You buy the puts at a strike price of $40 and pay a premium of $4.50 per share or $4,500 and $30 in broker fees. You have now purchased downside protection for your long 1,000-share position below $40.

At expiration after 2 years, PRU trades at $80 and you have received 2 years of dividends on 1,000 shares at 6% per annum, or 120 shares. The puts expire worthless. You now own 1,120 shares of PRU worth $89,600, which you sell for a profit of $29,600. You then deduct the option costs of $4,530 to get your net profit on the trades of $25,070.

Best Option Strategy

The options strategy you use should be based on current market conditions. For instance, selling at the money calls is a bearish strategy that works best in a sideways or declining market. In a bull market, simply holding stocks outperforms selling puts.

In a volatile market, the most effective options strategies involve following established directional trends. The major stock indexes do not always correlate well with each other, so stick to what you know as long as you also follow sound portfolio diversification techniques.

The best option strategy to use can also depend on your personality. For example, can you deal emotionally with getting a small known income to take a substantial unknown risk that short options trading offers? If not, then buying or spreading options may offer the greater security you prefer.

For best results in the current uncertain economic atmosphere, you may want to take a more conservative approach. To get more information on options and experience using them, take a look at every options trading example and try them in a demo account first.

The Benzinga options newsletter provides timely strategies based on real-time market conditions. Sign up for more specific examples as well as general guidelines for successful options trading.

Best Options Brokers

The way that you connect to the options market can impact the overall success of your strategy. Even the best trading tactics might fall short if you can’t find the right option pricing data or experience lag or slippage at the time of order execution. Here are some of the best brokers for options traders.

Consider Whether Options are Right for You

Properly used options can allow you to engage in strategies and encapsulate market views that would otherwise be difficult for stock traders. Modern technology allows you to learn and implement everything from simple long calls to more sophisticated strategies. Traders and investors need education about how to make the most of this incredible market because it can otherwise become a missed opportunity or a very expensive hobby.

Broker Reviews

Sollari Review – top 75 Broker ?

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Sollari Review

Sollari is a global forex and CFD broker with trading platforms that is suitable and fully functional for all devices.

This is a good option for all levels of traders, although the product portfolio is average, and there is an inactivity fee to be aware of.

Initially formulated in 2023 to provide a robust forex trading platform, Sollari offering to include CFDs, indices, shares, commodities, and cryptocurrencies.

Sollari has several trading tools and features designed to make your trading experience as smooth as possible. The trading platform, has been heralded as a simple and convenient platform without losing the functionality you would find at MetaTrader 4. Some education is also available through the trading platform, and highly responsive customer service is available 24 hours a day.

Please read my full Sollari review for further details of this forex broker so you can decide whether Sollari can meet your needs.

Who is Sollari?

Sollari is a global forex, spread betting, and CFD online broker. Sollari is an online Crypto and Forex Broker providing traders across the globe with cutting-edge technology to trade the world’s markets. In a continuous effort to give their traders a more comfortable and safe trading experience, their experts have been improving their service and solutions ensuring traders have the freedom to trade whenever and wherever they like.

They are headquartered in Kingstown, St Vincent and the Grenadines. with offices in Milan, Nassau, Sofia, and Luxembourg and are authorized and

Sollari product range overview

The product range at Sollari is average compared to other brokers. They offer a solid selection of currency pairs and CFDs, no futures CFDs, and an average number of commodity and stock index CFDs. additionally they do offer leverage trading on the main cryptocurrencies.

Sollari Range of Market

Forex trading

More than 50 Forex pairs are available at Sollari with no commission and some of the tightest spreads in the industry.

Indices and Financial Trading

Indices and financial CFDs have flexible margin requirements and low spread , representing some of the industry’s best spreads. There are no overnight or hidden fees of any description to worry about.

Commodities Trading

At Sollari, there are several commodity CFDs, including metals and energies.

Share CFDs Trading

Trade more than 100 company shares without ever owning the underlying security. At Sollari, you can access global stock exchanges with the option to go long and short and benefit from leverage. For non-leverage trading, there is zero commission.

Sollari Accounts

There are five trading account options at Sollari. Of note are the Professional Trading Account and the Islamic Trading Account. There is also a free demo account from where to practice your trading.

Free Demo Account
You can select from the free demo account which platform you would like to practice trading on their trading platform. You will immediately receive $100,000 of virtual funds, which can be used to familiarise yourself with the financial markets and forex and CFD trading.

Islamic Account
This is a Shariah-compliant Islamic account which includes many features that are in keeping with Sharia law.

See here the overview of all the accounts.

	BASIC ACCOUNT	STANDARD ACCOUNT	GOLD ACCOUNT	PRO ACCOUNT	VIP ACCOUNT
MINIMUM DEPOSIT	$5,000	$10,000	$25,000	$100,000	$250,000+
ORDER EXECUTION	Instant	Instant	Instant	Instant	Instant
ACCOUNT CURRENCY	USD, EUR, GBP	USD, EUR, GBP	USD, EUR, GBP	USD, EUR, GBP	USD, EUR, GBP
ACCOUNT MANAGER	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
SPREAD, PIPS	Fixed	Fixed	Fixed & Floating, Variable	Fixed & Floating, Variable	Fixed & Floating, Variable
QUOTATION (NUMBER OF MARKS AFTER POINT)	5 marks	5 marks	5 marks	5 marks	5 marks
LEVERAGE	100	100	200	500	500
MAX. TRADE SIZE	10 lots	20 lots	40 lots	50 lots	100 lots
REQUOTES	None	None	None	None	None
MARGIN CALL LEVEL	40%	40%	40%	40%	40%
STOP OUT LEVEL	30%	30%	30%	30%	30%
TRADING PLATFORM	all devices	all devices	all devices	all devices	all devices
CUSTOMER SUPPORT	24/5 support	24/5 support	24/5 support	24/5 support	24/7 support

Sollari Trading Platform

Sollari provides a web, desktop, and mobile trading platform on their trading platform, which is provided by the High-tech software provider “easytech”.

This trading platform has an excellent reputation among traders.

Sollari Trading Platform

web trading platform

The web platform allows you to place trades directly from your web browser in an easy-to-use interface that is customisable and available in several languages. The web trading platform falls short because of its lack of social trading; however, it is well-designed with several useful features.

There is a two-step login for additional security, and you can search for an asset using its name or by category. Order types include:

I was impressed with both the portfolio and fee reports which were comprehensive and easy to use, with clear information on commission, swap fees, and performance.

There are also the following useful features available on the trading platform:

Trailing stop

Trailing the position of a current price can then trigger a stop order as the price reaches a predetermined distance from a stop order. It works similarly to a stop order but in a more controlled way that aligns with movements in the market.

Market Sentiment

This allows you to closely monitor movements in the market using data from other traders concerning a specific instrument.

Hedging

This allows you to mitigate risks by investing in the same product in a different direction.

Charts

Real-time charts provide up-to-the-moment information, including historical trends, forecasts, and current trends.

Sollari mobile trading platform

The mobile trading platform is in keeping with the web trading platform, with much of the same functionality.

The actual design is well laid out and easy to use with customizability. I found the mobile app fast with personalised watch lists and the ability to open positions directly from real-time charts.

There are price alerts that include statistical alerts, which can be monthly or yearly for currency pairs, indices, etc. Clicking on the alert will automatically open the app on the instrument.

Sollari desktop trading platform

Use the desktop platform. This platform is designed with professional traders in mind, leaving the webtrader as an alternative for beginners and intermediate traders.

There is excellent customizability, some good search functions, and a choice of several languages.

There are several tools and technical indicators designed to enhance your trading activity.

Sollari customer service review

Customer service is excellent at Sollari, with immediate response times across multiple channels.

There are several channels for contacting customer support, including phone and email. When I tested their service, my query was dealt with immediately without even the intervention of a chatbot. The service provided via email and phone was similar, with fast, relevant responses to my queries. Customer service is provided 24/5, which is above average.

Sollari is opening an account.

The account opening process is straightforward, fully digital and quick. You will need your ID.

To open your account, you should first decide on the account type you wish to open

Then you can follow these quick and easy steps:

Select your country of residence
Add personal information, including name and email address
Choose a password
Enter your home address and tax residency
Complete some simple questions relating to your trading experience
Fill in information pertaining to your personal finances, such as income and savings and employment status
Select your base currency
Upload your ID documentation and proof of address, such as a utility bill or bank statement.

Sollari Deposit and Withdrawal

Deposits and withdrawals and essentially free, and the minimum deposit is high compared to what you would find at other brokers.

Before making your first deposit, you will need to choose between the following base currencies:

EUR, USD, GBP

Deposit options include:

Bank transfer
Credit and debit card
Cryptocurrency

The minimum deposit is $5000, which is high compared to other brokers. There are no fees should you choose to deposit via bank transfer from your bank account.

Bank transfers take several business days.

Withdrawals can be made using the same methods accepted for deposits, and there are no withdrawal fees for electronic wallets and credit/debit cards.

Sollari safety

Sollari is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) but is performing full due diligence to comply with AML regulations.

In addition, all client funds are held in segregated bank accounts to protect those funds should Sollari go bust.

The Sollari negative balance protection protects client funds should their balance go negative.

Sollari fees

Sollari has low CFD and forex fees and average non-trading fees.

Fees can be separated into two main categories for a CFD and forex broker: trading and non-trading fees.

Trading fees

The trading fees will vary depending on the financial instruments you are trading within each asset class. Trading fees can be charged as a spread, a commission, or a financing rate.

Spreads differ between the bid and ask price for a foreign currency price. Here’s how Sollari spreads compare against some other forex brokers:

Non-trading fees

Sollari has low non-trading fees as they do not charge deposit and withdrawal fees, and there is no account fee.

Inactivity fees are charged. There are inactivity fees to be aware of. However, these will only kick in once your account has been inactive for several months and you have a positive balance.

Who is Sollari suitable for?

Sollari is suitable for all levels of traders looking for a solid trading platform and very competitive spreads.

The selection of account types is aimed at both retail and professional investors.

Demo Trading

The Advantages and Negatives of Forex Demo Trading

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Intro to Fx Demo Trading

Despite the placement as the planets greatest monetary market, the forex marketplace only became easily available to retail traders in latest years because of the introduction of sites based trading via on-line forex brokers.

Aspiring forex investors can right now make use of digital trading systems – like the extremely well-known MetaTrader software program
(offered as a free of charge download by MetaQuotes Software program Company ) to access the large forex market thou they might trade only in very small amounts themselves

The majority of on the web brokers will support MetaTrader and could also provide their own proprietary platforms or web-centred dealing interfaces.

These types of systems typically enable traders to do a quick overview of the currency marketplace and maybe carry out some specialized evaluation, in addition to permitting them to gain access to trading necessities like purchase access and deal delivery for a wide selection of foreign currency pairs.

free of charge fx practice account

Like a common way of motivating forex investors to use their offer setup solutions and first deposit funds with them to make use of as trading accounts perimeter, many online forex brokers will offer a free of charge fx practice account to potential or existing clients.

Referred to as a forex demonstration accounts, such unsecured debts enable a trader to encounter a hands-on demo of what seems prefer to trade currency pairs in the forex market with this broker without placing any actual money at risk.

Although using a FX trading demo account has several benefits for traders, some tricks are well worth talking about because the technicians of getting into a demonstration operate and the producing emotional responses an investor can possess while controlling it can differ significantly from the encounter of live forex trading utilizing their personal hard-attained money.

Additional common demonstration accounts circumstances which make them vary considerably from an actual cash financed account include broker-imposed period limitations and set debris of virtual foreign currency.

The subsequent areas of this content will talk about starting up an on the web trading demo accounts, in addition to probably the most significant benefits and negatives of using a demonstration forex account in comparison to utilizing a live fx accounts for trading foreign currencies.

Starting Up a Free of charge Forex Demonstration Account
Simply about any trustworthy fx broker will allow potential and current customers to open up up a demo account with them free of charge to enable investors to practice currency trading using digital money.

Demo accounts traders frequently also get access to at least a few of the broker’s customer providers and consumer support personnel to ensure that they can obtain a much better feeling for what coping with the broker will end up being like when they determine to finance a trading account with genuine cash.

Investors desperate to open up a demonstration trading accounts can typically get around to the site of one or even more forex demonstration brokers and adhere to guidelines shown there for opening up a demo or practise account with the brokers they select.

Selecting the greatest fx demo accounts for your requirements might require critiquing those provided by a number of online brokers with different features in order to make an knowledgeable decision which broker is the best partner for your start.

When starting a demonstration account, you may even require to choose a quantity of virtual money to fund the demonstration accounts with and get into some personal data to determine yourself with.

In case you feel worried about offering your true personal data to a broker you are will to try not really you have more freedom as no documentation is required for this in general, the moment you open a real account your KYC documentation will be needed for compliance and this protects the broker as well as the traders from money laundering and fraud.

You can also open up a new e-mail account to get communications about the demo forex account if you are concerned about getting your personal email address offered to third celebrations like digital email entrepreneurs.

Pros of Forex Demonstration Trading Demo_trading_advantages

The two beginner and experienced forex investors regularly make use of demo accounts to rehearse trading currencies and check out a fresh broker or trading strategy.

Some of the more common advantages of interesting in forex demo trading consist of the following:

Observe if You Like Trading Foreign currencies

Those fresh to trading foreign currencies or trading generally can use an fx demo accounts to find if they are psychologically and psychologically appropriate to the bustle of trading forex. Everyone is usually different, and some people might actually appreciate trading currencies, as the activity might not match others’ preferences, personas or lifestyles at all.

Operate Forex without Risk Whilst Learning or teaching how to trade

– Beginners who are still learning how to operate foreign currencies frequently experience substantially even more assured putting their real cash in danger in the marketplace if they have an opportunity to try points away from 1st. A demo account allows them to place their training into practice in a near to actual existence environment without placing their genuine money at risk. This enables those to make common beginner’s mistakes while they find out without needing to spend for the effects out with their very own bank.

Practice Great Cash Administration Methods –

One of the secrets to taking pleasure in long-term success when trading forex requires learning to apply well-established cash administration concepts. A demonstration accounts allows a brand-new or skilled trader to practice such methods completely on true exchange rate actions and see on their own how the common benefits accumulate to their demo account in digital money earnings.

Find out to Control Your Feelings When Trading –

Probably the most difficult elements of trading for many people consists of learning how to control their psychological reactions to earning and shedding deals in such a method that it stimulates overall success. Dealing properly with normally regular mental replies to producing and losing cash – such as dread, avarice and wish – can often differentiate the effective fx investor from the loss.

Check a fresh Trading Technique Without Jeopardizing Actual Money –

Smart experienced traders and beginners as well will generally wish to check the achievement of any new trading technique they arrive plan before applying it in a live trading environment. This kind of enables them to accustom themselves to pursuing the program and also to function out any insects in it that may become obvious while using it as real exchange price movements happen.

Try Out a New Broker’s Trading System –

Unless you are utilizing the Mt4 system that a great deal of on-line forex brokers support, you will most likely want to make use of a demonstration accounts to observe whether a fresh fx broker’s private internet or client structured trading platform is usually ideal for your trading requirements.

Examine if a Fresh Broker Offers Useful Features and Solutions –

Fx Brokers keen to possess you open up a live trading account with them will frequently provide demonstration investors gain access to their unique customer features, educational and information services, and customer support departments. This can be a great method to examine your quality of the broker’s general solutions before carrying out any actual trading money to ensure they are the type of trading partner you will need keeping your accounts.

Broker news

Donald Trump blasts ‘fools’ who oppose good Russian ties

US President-elect Donald Trump has posted a progression of tweets censuring the individuals who contradict great relations with Russia as “‘dumb’ individuals, or nitwits”.

Mr Trump promised to work with Russia “to comprehend a portion of the numerous… squeezing issues and issues of the WORLD!”

His remarks came after an insight report said Russia’s leader had attempted to help a Trump race triumph.

Mr Trump said Democrats were to be faulted for “gross carelessness” in permitting their servers to be hacked.

In a progression of tweets on Saturday, Mr Trump said that having a decent association with Russia was “no terrible thing” and that “lone “idiotic” individuals, or simpletons, would believe that it is awful!”

He included that Russia would regard the US increasingly when he was president