Live From OIC: Our summer radio hiatus, and our long stream of OIC content, draws to a close with Tony McCormick, CEO, Boston Options Exchange (BOX). Mark and Tony discuss BOX's plans to compete with the big boys in the options space. They also debate whether BATS Options is freeloading in the options market. Finally, they discuss Tony's pledge to "defend with his life" the ability for retail customers to receive price improvement. All that and more on this thrilling episode of Options Insider Radio...
Mark is joined by Alan Shapiro, Founder & Chairman of the Transaction Auditing Group (TAG). Mark and Alan discuss the ongoing quest for "best execution" in the options market. They also discuss the growing fixation on execution quality in the retail options world. Finally, they debate the impact of the penny pilot on overall execution quality in the options market.
Live From OIC 2010 - Mark is joined by Rich Hagen, President & COO, TradeKing. Mark and Rich discuss TradeKing's growing online community and how the firm uses that strength to steal customers from other brokers. They also discuss the problems with commissions and order executions in the retail brokerage space.
Live From OIC - Mark is joined by Gary Katz, CEO, International Securities Exchange. Mark and Gary explore the reasons behind the recent drop in ISE's market share. They also analyze the evolving competitive landscape in the options market. Finally, they discuss Gary's ongoing crusade to purge dividend exploits from the options market.
Options Insider Radio Episode 65 - Live From OIC: Trade Alert
Live From OIC - Mark is joined by Henry Schwartz, CEO, Trade Alert.com. Mark and Henry dive into the world of online options analytics and unusual options trading activity.
Options Insider Radio Episode 64 - Live From OIC: Livevol
Live From OIC 2010 - Mark is joined by Stefen Choy, COO, Livevol. Mark and Stefen discuss the dearth of quality online trading tools for professional and high-end retail options traders. They also discuss the difficulties associated with designing and pricing a single trading product to appeal to multiple audiences.
Mark is joined by Jack Walker, Editor, Ivolatility.com. Mark and Jack discuss the wide range of volatility products available to online options traders these days. They also discuss the history of Ivolatility.com as well as how Ivolatility.com creates different tools for different types of options traders.
Live From OIC 2010 - Mark is joined by Peter Hauser, President, Sungard Microhedge. Mark and Peter discuss the plans to incorporate Microhedge into the new Valdi product suite. Mark and Peter also explore Sungard's plans to release a thin-client version of Microhedge aimed squarely at retail traders.
Options-centric brokers don't require double margin on a balanced iron condor or butterfly (i.e., where the vertical spreads are equal and all contracts have the same expiration date)…but thanks to a regulatory crack-down in the wake of the 2008 credit crisis, it's increasingly likely that any deviation from a balanced iron condor or butterfly will cost you margin on both sides, at least until the regulations are updated (and the most optimistic estimates for when that might happen are on the order of several months).
Mark is joined by Susan Milligan, Executive Director, Options Industry Council. Mark and Susan discuss the OIC's latest study of retail options traders. Topics include: Why women don't trade options and the demographic shifts that have occurred in the options market over the past 20 years. In addition, Mark and Susan discuss the numerous challenges facing the derivatives industry in Washington, D.C.
Exclusive OIC 2010 Panel Audio: Globalization - The International Perspective. Moderator: Michael Peters, Eurex. Panelists: Emir Al-Rawi, IMC Financial Markets; Jorge Alegria, MexDer; Paul Maley, Deutsche Bank Securities; Jim Shapiro, Bombay Stock Exchange.
Exclusive OIC 2010 Panel Audio: Adaptation - The Retail Marketplace. Moderator: Kevin Murphy - Citigroup Global Markets. Panelists: Chris Larkin - E*Trade; Randy Frederick - Charles Schwab, Pete Bottini - optionsXpress, John Dominic -TradeKing.
While regulators are still scratching their heads over May's volatile markets, at least one segment of the Street is reveling in it. In spite of, or perhaps due to the May 6 "Flash Crash," options trading volume set a new record in May.
Live from OIC 2010 - Mark is joined by Chris Nagy, MD, TD Ameritrade. Mark and Chris discuss TD Ameritrade's plans for the options market, including the ongoing integration of the ThinkOrSwim options platform. Other discussion topics include: How does TD Ameritrade plan to differentiate itself from ThinkorSwim and continue to attract options traders going forward? Why do so many financial advisors continue to ignore the options market? How difficult is it to be a derivatives lobbyist in the current political climate
Live From OIC 2010 - Mark is joined by Chris Larkin, Senior Vice President, Etrade. Mark and Chris explore the reasons that hard core options users aren't migrating toward Etrade. Chris also outlines some of the upgrades that Etrade hopes will lure customers away from targeted options brokers like OptionsXpress.
Live from OIC - Mark is joined by Tom Wittman, President, NASDAQ OMX/PHLX. Mark and Tom discuss the fact that so many exchanges are copying PHLX by swapping ownership for order flow. They also discuss the claims that NASDAQ and BATS are cannibalizing the options market. Finally, they debate PHLX's controversial pursuit of dividend trade volume. Does this strategy exploit retail traders and distort the overall options market?
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