Our rundown of retail options brokers continues with eOption…

Our rundown of retail options brokers begins with ChoiceTrade…

Mark is joined by Eric Cott, Director of Financial Advisor Education for the Options Industry Council. Mark and Eric discuss the elusive holy grail of the options market – the financial advisor. Countless firms have wasted millions of dollars trying to lure financial advisors into the options fold, all without success. But the OIC believes its new initiative can succeed where so many others have failed.

There have been many interesting experiments in the options brokerage space. Firms have offered unique tools, platforms and even products in an attempt to lure new customers. But none of these experiments were as novel, or generated as many questions from our readers, as the flat rate commission offered by OptionsHouse…

Who should buy options (ordinary or "exotic"), and who should sell?

In this episode, Mark is joined by Mike Tosaw, Financial Advisor, Know Your Options Inc. Mark and Mike explore several different ways to implement options into equity portfolios. They also discuss the common mistakes made by retail option investors and the rise of arrogant condor traders.

The conclusion of Mark's far-reaching conversation with Ned Bennett, Co-Founder and Executive Vice Chairman of OptionsXpress. Ned and Mark debate the relative merits of Optionetic's marketing tactics. They also discuss the long-term impact of the merger on OptionsXpress.

In this episode, Mark is joined by Ned Bennett, Co-Founder & Executive Vice Chairman of OptionsXpress. Ned responds to growing criticism of the Optionetics acquisition, including the recent Barron's article entitled 'OptionsXpress Out Of The Money.'

Many times I get the same question over and over again and although I am not thrilled to write a whole article on the topic of "a bad tick," the repeated appearance of the question pretty much compels me to do so. The question comes from my email box and in the shortest possible terms, the various students ask: "How can we tell with certainty that something IS or is NOT a bad tick?"

In this episode, Mark is joined by Joe Cusick, Senior VP of Education at OptionsXpress. Mark and Joe discuss the controversial Optionetics acquisition. How will this deal impact the educational and content offerings at OptionsXpress? Can the radically different approaches to education and promotion at the two firms even be reconciled? In addition, Mark and Joe discuss futures trading and the common mistakes of new options traders.

OptionsHouse CEO George Ruhana responds to the many rumors circulating about his firm…

Spending a great portion of my life as an independent options trader and firm risk manager, I was always focusing on how to avoid getting hit with a "stray bullet" or some unforeseen world event that was going to take my portfolio down quicker that than a concrete sailboat. For years I spent countless hours creating hedging scenarios that no matter what happened I couldn't lose money. Sadly, these complicated strategies often prevented me from making money as well. So the key is to take smart risk. Risk you understand…