Series 9 Study Guide

Series 9 Exam - Mastering Advanced Option Concepts On The Series 9 Exam

Short Stock Long Calls

An investor who sells stock short believes that they can profit from a fall in the stock price by selling it high and repurchasing it cheaper. An investor who has sold stock short is subject to an unlimited loss if the stock price should begin to rise. Once again, there is no limit to how high a stock price may rise. An investor who has sold stock short would receive the most protection by purchasing a call. A long call could be used to guard against a loss or to protect a profit on a short stock position. By purchasing the call, the investor has set the maximum price that they will have to pay to repurchase the stock for the life of the option. Before establishing a short stock long call position, the investor will have to determine:

Series 9 Exam - Mastering Option Account Supervision On The Series 9 Exam

Customer option accounts require strict supervision to ensure compliance with all relevant rules and to ensure that customers only trade options within their approval limits. As customers and agents manage positions, it is quite possible for a customer’s account to end up with an option position that is not within the customer’s approval limit.

ROSFPs must review customer accounts frequently to ensure customers stay within their approved guidelines. It would be quite possible for a customer whose account is approved for covered calls only to end up with a naked option position if they sold the underlying stock without covering the short options. If a customer’s account contains a position

Series 9 Exam - Understanding Option Supervision On The Series 9 Exam

A member firm’s public customer option business must be supervised by the firm in accordance with the supervision of its overall public customer business. Registered option and security futures principals (ROSFP) designated by the firm’s written supervisory procedures may supervise the member firm’s option business. The ROSFP is not required to complete the security futures firm element continuing education requirement and being designated as a ROSFP does not permit the ROSFP to supervise the member’s security futures business without satisfying the security futures firm element continuing education program.

Series 9 Exam - Understanding Options On The Series 9 Exam

All standardized option contracts are issued and their performance is guaranteed by the Options Clearing Corporation (The OCC). Standardized options trade on the exchanges such as the Chicago Board Options Exchange and the NYSE Alternext.

All option contracts are for one round lot of the underlying stock or 100 shares. To determine the amount that an investor either paid or received for the contract, take the premium and multiply it by 100. If an investor paid $4 for 1 KLM August 70 call, they paid $400 for the right to buy 100 shares of KLM at $70 per share until August. If another investor paid $2 for 1 JTJ May 50 put, they paid $200 for the right to sell 100 shares of JTJ at $50 until May.