Options Industry Council

From MarketsWiki

The Options Industry Council
Founded	1992
Headquarters	Chicago
Products	Options education
Key People	Gina McFadden, President; Susan Milligan, Executive Director
Web site	www.optionseducation.org/

The Options Industry Council (OIC) was formed in 1992.^[1] Today, its sponsors include the American Stock Exchange, the Boston Options Exchange, the Chicago Board Options Exchange, the International Securities Exchange, NASDAQ Options Market, NYSE Arca, the Philadelphia Stock Exchange and The Options Clearing Corporation. These organizations have one goal in mind for the options investing public: to provide a financially sound and efficient marketplace where investors can hedge investment risk and find new opportunities for profiting from market participation. Education is one of many areas that assists in accomplishing that goal. More and more individuals understand the versatility that options offer their investment portfolio, due in large part to the industry's ongoing educational efforts.

OIC was created to educate investors and their financial advisors about the benefits and risks of exchange-traded equity options. Options are a versatile but complex product, and that is why OIC conducts hundreds of seminars and webcasts throughout the year, distributes thousands of interactive CDs and brochures, and maintains a Web site and help desk focused on options education.

Experienced options seminar instructors provide valuable insight on the challenges and successes that individual investors encounter when trading options.

Contents 1 Products and Services 1.1 Online Classes 1.2 Educational Webcasts 1.3 Help Desk 1.4 Virtual Trading System 1.5 Annual OIC/FIA Conference 2 Senior Executives 3 History 4 Options Volume Milestones 5 News 6 Resources 7 References

Products and Services

OIC conducts hundreds of seminars and webcasts throughout the year, distributes thousands of interactive CDs and brochures, and maintains a user-friendly web site. Options seminar instructors from various options exchanges and related firms provide insight on the challenges and successes that individual investors encounter when trading options. Options industry professionals create the content in OIC's software, brochures and a web site. Appropriate compliance and legal staff ensure that all OIC-produced information includes a balance of the benefits and risks of options.

Online Classes

OIC offers online classes for all skill levels:

Getting Started

• Basics
• Symbols & Quotes
• Covered Calls

For Intermediate Level

• Contract Adjustments
• Buying Calls
• Buying Puts
• Pricing

For More Advanced Level

• Options Strategies in a Bullish Market
• Options Strategies in a Bearish Market
• Options Strategies in a Neutral Market
• Introduction to Spreading
• Volatility

Educational Webcasts

As of the beginning of 2008, OIC featured a dozen podcasts that were accessible at the viewers' convenience -- OIC Webcasts.

Help Desk

The Options Help Desk is available for options-related questions that do not focus on trading/investing advice but rather on options education (1-888-OPTIONS or 1-888-678-4667), e-mail options@theocc.com; international callers use 312-463-6193.

Help Desk Hours

• Open all trading days from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Chicago Time).
• Except: the Options Help Desk closes at 3:30 p.m. (Chicago time) every Monday for training purposes, but maintains regular hours on Mondays following expiration.

Virtual Trading System

In November 2007 the OIC introduced the Virtual Trading System (VTS)^[2] to its online educational offerings. The system is designed to provide investors with the most realistic trading environment possible as they practice executing various options strategies.

OIC’s VTS screens allow investors to experience a realistic trading situation for trading stocks and options, using strategies such as spreads, straddles and covered calls, while also investigating different order types like triggers and one-cancels-other. The system also offers stock and options quote detail screens where users can obtain quotes whenever they need to from any screen through the integrated quote window.

Annual OIC/FIA Conference

In 2006, OIC teamed with the Futures Industry Association, to host the first FIA/OIC New York Equity Options Conference in September. Aimed at both retail investors (to promote the responsible use of options) and industry leaders, the program was held again in 2007.

Senior Executives

• Gina McFadden, President
• Susan Milligan, Executive Director
• Mary Savoie, Vice President, Options Industry Services
• Otto Nägeli, Managing Director, OIC, International
• Philip Gocke, Managing Director, OIC, Institutional

History

OIC was formed in 1992. Today, its sponsors include the American Stock Exchange, the Boston Options Exchange, the Chicago Board Options Exchange, the International Securities Exchange, NASDAQ Options Market, NYSE Arca, the Philadelphia Stock Exchange and The Options Clearing Corporation.

To better reflect its long-term commitment to increasing the awareness, knowledge and responsible use of exchange-listed equity options among individual investors and their financial advisors, OIC renamed its website www.optionseducation.org in November 2007.

Options Volume Milestones

• Total options trading volume in June 2008 reached 304,003,964 contracts, a 35.85 percent increase over the year-ago level of 223,771,463 contracts. This marks the third time in history monthly total options volume has surpassed 300 million contracts.

• On April 14, 2008, the one-billion-contract mark was surpassed for the fifth consecutive year, taking only 71 days to reach this achievement compared to 99 days in 2007.

• In January of 2008, total options volume came in at 357,163,288 contracts, an 80.77-percent increase over the year-ago level of 197,577,509 contracts. This set a new monthly trading volume record, 15 percent higher than the previous record set in November 2007.

• In 2007, U.S. options volume reached a new annual record. A total of 2,862,826,218 contracts changed hands, surpassing the 2006 record by 41.18 percent. Equity options volume reached 2,592,102,961 contracts, exceeding the 1,844,181,918 total equity options volume contracts traded in 2006 by 40.56 percent.^[3]

News

May 2008

• The NASDAQ Options Market becomes a member of OIC, joining the member firms and other exchanges of OIC (American Stock Exchange, Boston Options Exchange, Chicago Board Options Exchange, International Securities Exchange, NYSE Arca, Philadelphia Stock Exchange and The Options Clearing Corporation) in helping to promote the use of equity options through education.

• OIC expands its educational efforts designed for institutional investors by providing support for the study, "Collaring the Cube: Protection Options for a QQQ ETF Portfolio," which looked at the performance of a passive collar strategy on the PowerShares QQQ exchange-traded fund (ETF). The results show that returns on the strategy can outperform the index.

April 2008

• Montréal Exchange Inc. (MX) and OIC join efforts to help Canadian investors learn about equity options and accelerate the growth of the options market in Canada. MX and OIC are planning initiatives to include a series of educational events and presentations in major Canadian cities that will introduce leading equity options experts to audiences of interested Canadian investors.

Resources

• www.888options.com/. Options Industry Council. Retrieved on October 23, 2007.

References

1. ↑ About The Options Industry Council. Options Industry Council. Retrieved on June 20, 2008.
2. ↑ "The Options Industry Council Adds Virtual Trading to Its Portfolio of Educational Tools”. OIC. Retrieved on January 11, 2008.
3. ↑ "OIC Announces Options Trading Volume Increases 41% Setting New Record In 2007”. OIC. Retrieved on January 11, 2008.