Options Industry Council

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The Options Industry Council

Founded	1992
Headquarters	Chicago
Products	Options education
Key People	Gina McFadden, president; Susan Milligan, Executive Director
Web site	www.888options.com/

The Options Industry Council (OIC) is the independent educational arm of the six U.S. options exchanges created to educate investors and their financial advisors about the benefits and risks of exchange-traded equity options. It does not favor one exchange or exchange's product offerings over another, instead maintaining a neutral role in its educational efforts.

Besides its neutral postion vis-a-vis its member exchanges, it has another positive benefit: Though those interested in options are required to sign up to participate in OIC programs, their names are never passed along as leads to brokers.

1 Products and Services
2 Senior Executives
3 History
4 2007 Options Volume Record
5 News
6 References

Products and Services

This page is sponsored by...

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 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 features a dozen podcasts that are 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 the easier-to-dial version 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)^[1] 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, 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 In November of 2007 renamed its website www.optionseducation.org.

2007 Options Volume Record

In 2007, U.S. options volume reached a new annual record. A total of 2,862,826,218 contracts changed hands, surpassing 2006’s record by 41.18%. 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%.^[2]

News

The OIC announced that in November 2007 total options trading volume reached 310,801,122 contracts, a 68.1% increase over the year-ago level of 184,926,170 contracts. This marked the first time options volume surpassed 300 million contracts during a trading month.