Learn the basics of options trading, what calls and puts are, how options work, and strategies to hedge or speculate with practical examples for beginners.

Consistent market volatility has become the new normal for traders. Everything from geopolitical conflicts to erratic policy decisions to unprecedented news cycles has markets swinging in ways that ...

Lucas Downey is the co-founder of MoneyFlows, and an Investopedia Academy instructor. Samantha (Sam) Silberstein, CFP®, CSLP®, EA, is an experienced financial consultant. She has a demonstrated ...

The technology sector has been a primary driver of the U.S. stock market's rally in recent years, propelled by optimism surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor demand. However, ...

"I use options to lower the overall risk of just owning long stock or index ETFs, and at times add additional yield/income ...

Tech innovations, dynamic financial markets and evolving investor behavior have made hedging far more accessible to, and suitable for, retail traders.

Options trading is often used to hedge stock positions, but traders can also use options to speculate on price movements. For example, a trader might hedge an existing bet made on the price increase ...