Where are Options Traded?
Option contracts are traded either; on a public stock exchange (also known as ETO's (Exchange Traded Options)) implicity agreed between two parties (also known as OTC's (Over The Counter options)). The majority of options, however, are traded via public exchange houses and these will be the options discussed throughout this web site. The OTC market is a complicated one, where traders from large institutions can create and trade non-standard option derivatives. They can, for example, add their own special rules such as: if the underlying stock trades as high as x then the contract terminates and the option is then worthless. This is known as a Knockout Option or a Barrier Up and Out Option. Options are listed and standardized by the stock exchange and are traded by what is known as Serial Months. By standardized, I mean that the specifications that make up the option contracts are set by the stock exchange and cannot be changed. Here is a snapshot of the August 2005 options f...