OCC and OIC Support World Investor Week 2023

WHAT IS WORLD INVESTOR WEEK?

World Investor Week is an annual global campaign promoted by the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) to raise awareness about the importance of investor education and financial protection. 

During October 2-8, OCC^® and The Options Industry Council^SM (OIC) are joining organizations across the globe in support of this important initiative to promote investor resilience and sustainable financial practices. Explore the World Investor Week website for details on events and other ways to get involved. 

HOW ARE OCC AND OIC SUPPORTING WORLD INVESTOR WEEK?

OCC, the world’s largest equity derivatives clearing organization, is committed to providing thought leadership and education to market participants and the public about the prudent use of all OCC-cleared products. One of the ways that OCC supports its mission is through the programs and services of OIC.

With more than 30 years committed to providing balanced, practical and trustworthy options education, OIC encourages you to view some featured resources to help increase your knowledge of the options market. 

An Educated Investor…

Reviews Investment Disclosure Documents 

• Options Overview for Investor (PDF Document) 
  This recently released document is intended to highlight a few terms and concepts that should be understood by an investor considering options. The overview contains examples and details concepts such as rights & obligations, exercise & assignment and options pricing, among others. This resource is not a replacement for the ODD and should only be used to support investors as they navigate the disclosure document. 
• ODD Quick Guide (Interactive Guide)
  Through the programs and services of OIC, OCC has created an ODD Quick Guide to support your understanding of the Options Disclosure Document (ODD), Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options. This interactive resource is not a substitute for the ODD but is designed to help you navigate the disclosure document and explore the topics covered. Prior to buying or selling an option, investors should read the ODD.

Practices before Investing

• Options Calculator (Tool)
  OIC offers a comprehensive set of tools to help practice the concepts that you have learned. The options calculator, provided by iVolatility, allows users to customize input parameters to view fair values and Greeks of any option using volatility data and previous trading day prices.
• OCC Learning (Options Courses)
  This self-guided eLearning destination is tailored to a variety of experience levels and offers options-related coursework with knowledge checks, podcasts and videos. Featured courses include Options 101 – Basic Concepts and Terminology, Options Pricing Explained, Options Strategies – Pairing Stock with Options and more. Sign in to your existing OIC account or create a new one to explore these featured courses and more.

Understands the Impact of Changing Market Conditions

• Options Volatility – Forecasting the Unknown (Options Course)
  This course explores the concepts of historical and implied volatility and takes a deep dive into volatility metrics such as IV rank, and IV percentile.
• Volatility: Option Pricing, Vega, Implied Volatility and Option Skew (Webinar)
  This two-part October webinar series provides a review of implied volatility and its potential impact on options pricing, as well an examination of options skew.
• How a Fed Rate Hike Can Affect Option Prices (Article)
  The price of every listed option is the result of many factors, one of which is interest rates. As a result, option investors should be aware of Federal Reserve policy decisions and understand how rate changes effect option premium, which is represented by one of the option Greeks, called Rho.
• 0DTE Options Primer - What Investors Should Know About Expiration-Day Positions (Article)
  Understand the mechanics of this trending concept. 0DTE options, because of their limited time horizon, can allow investors to make one-day, targeted trades. Strategies using these options focus on short-term price movements in the market and are not without associated risks.