The Options Industry Council Announces Equity Options Seminar Schedule for Winter/Spring 2010

CHICAGO, IL, Nov 12 (MARKET WIRE) --
The Options Industry Council (OIC) announced today its winter/spring
schedule of equity options seminars for investors and financial advisors.
Seminars focusing on basic, intermediate, and advanced options topics
such as volatility will be offered at select locations across the US.
Additional intermediate and volatility seminars have been added this year
for investors seeking advanced education.

OIC's focus is educating investors on the responsible use of options in
various market environments. With the volatile market conditions of the
past year, investors have found options education particularly valuable.
Options trading has maintained strong levels during the financial crisis,
showing the maturity of the market participants and flexibility of the
options product.

The winter/spring schedule will offer a total 36 seminars from January 26
to May 26. These free educational seminars are taught in a classroom-style
arrangement by experienced instructors from the various options exchanges
and OIC professionals. Registration is required.

Those interested in attending can obtain a detailed schedule (including
dates and locations) and also register via OIC's website
http://www.optionseducation.org/seminars/default.jsp or by calling
1-888-OPTIONS (1-888-678-4667).

Course descriptions:

Basic: Getting Started with Options

This seminar focuses on options fundamentals for the novice options
investor. An options professional will cover essential concepts and terms
of options contracts as well as their risk/reward characteristics.
Attendees will learn about buying and selling calls and puts, how to work
with an expected up or down movement in a stock's price with limited risk,
and how to revive a stock already owned that doesn't seem to be going
anywhere. Options questions will get straightforward answers. A basic
knowledge of stocks, and some experience with stock investing, is
recommended.

Intermediate: Managing Your Portfolio with Options

This seminar extends beyond the fundamentals of buying or selling calls
and puts. After a review of basic concepts, an options professional will
guide the classroom into the world of spread strategies including vertical
spreads and time spreads. This class will demonstrate how truly flexible
options are, and how these limited risk spreads might fit into even the
most conservative portfolios. Participants will learn about straddles and
strangles, and the nature of volatility. They will also learn about ways
to repair existing stock positions. An understanding of the basics, as
well as limited experience trading options is recommended.

Volatility: Measuring Volatility and Understanding Its Significance

OIC's Volatility seminar begins where the Basic and Intermediate seminars
left off. In this seminar, an options professional will cut through the
complexities of volatility and clarify any misconceptions about this
important topic. Investors will learn how volatility is measured, what
that measurement means, and why it is a factor in an option's price.
Investors will gain an understanding of implied volatility and its impact
on various options strategies. A solid understanding of option
fundamentals, comprehension for options pricing, and experience with both
buying and selling options are recommended.

About OIC

OIC is an industry cooperative funded by the Boston Options Exchange,
Chicago Board Options Exchange, International Securities Exchange, NASDAQ
OMX PHLX, NASDAQ Options Market, NYSE Amex Options, NYSE Arca Options, and
The Options Clearing Corporation. OIC was formed in 1992 to educate
investors and their financial advisors about the benefits and risks of
exchange-traded equity options. OIC's resources include: The Options
Industry Services Help Desk at 1-888-OPTIONS, educational Web sites at
www.OptionsEducation.org, www.OptionsEducation.org/advisor and
www.OICoptions.com, evening seminars throughout the continental United
States and Canada, instructional DVDs and educational literature and
software.

Contacts:
Angela Kotso
312.322.6267
Email Contact

Caroline Davis
312.322.1923
Email Contact

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