Options are very useful investing tools. The main benefit of a stock option is the incredible leverage they offer with a relatively small amount of money. Stock options will allow you to control a large portion of shares. Options can be used to help insure portfolios and manage risk.

An option gives the holder the right - but not the obligation - to buy or sell a number of shares at a predetermined price.
A great benefit of Stock Options is that they have the potential to make you money no matter which way the share price goes, up or down.

The two main types of Stock Option are:

Call Option: Gives you the option to buy shares
Put Option: Gives you the option to sell shares

So if the market is going up you will buy Call options and if the market is going down you will buy Put options. 

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